What Is An Essay Outline?
An essay outline is a basic skeletal structure for an argumentative, expository, narrative, or research essay. In short, this means that an outline can help a writer organize any type of essay by listing, in order, the topics covered in different sections of the essay. A formal essay outline contains Roman numerals and subheadings in order to provide a detailed structure for the essay. Outlines typically are not written in complete sentences. Rather, they contain detailed information in lists.
Purpose of an Outline
Teachers, instructors, and professors often require students to write an outline before they write an essay. Professional writers also often write outlines before they write essays. Although this usually is not required of them, many writers feel it helps them write their rough drafts more effectively.
One reason writers write outlines before their rough drafts is because it helps them organize and compile their thoughts and data into one easy-to-peruse document. Outlines can be changed much more easily than essays, and outlines are also much quicker to write. It is also easier to see the overall organization of an essay in an outline, which takes up less visual space than an entire essay.
Another reason writers use outlines is because it helps them maintain a logical flow of ideas. The information in an essay should be ordered in a way where one idea progresses seamlessly into the next. Many find it easier to tell if their writing has a logical flow if they organize it in an outline first.
A third reason why writers use outlines is because they can make sure no important information is left out. A writer can easily look over an outline to make sure there is no extraneous information and also ensure that all crucial information is included.
Some of the most important features of essay writing are structure, quality of ideas, and organization. An outline helps a writer ensure that their writing is strong in all of these areas.
Essay Organization and Structure
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One simple way to organize an essay is in the five paragraph format. Below is the basic organization of a five-paragraph essay.
Paragraph One: Introduction. The introduction ends in a thesis statement, which makes an assertion and then lists the three main points the writer will use to prove that assertion.
Paragraph Two: This paragraph discusses point one. The first sentence is often a topic sentence that explains the main idea of the paragraph, and the last sentence is a transition that moves the reader on to point two.
Paragraph Three: This paragraph discusses point two. The first sentence is often a topic sentence that explains the main idea of the paragraph, and the last sentence is a transition that moves the reader on to point three.
Paragraph Four: This paragraph discusses point three. The first sentence is often a topic sentence that explains the main idea of the paragraph.
Paragraph Five: This paragraph is the conclusion. Along with providing closure for the essay, it should also restate the thesis statement in different words.
When writing a five-paragraph essay, or any essay for that matter, there are two main types of outlines a writer may choose.
An alphanumeric outline is what many people are most familiar with. An alphanumeric outline uses the following characters in the following order: Roman numerals, capital letters, Arabic numerals, lowercase letters.
I. Introduction
II. Main Point Number One
- A. Supporting Point One
- 1. Detail One
- 2. Detail Two
- a. Supporting Fact One
- b.. Supporting Fact Two
- B. Supporting Point Two
- 1. Detail One
- 2. Detail Two
- a. Supporting Fact One
- b. Supporting Fact Two
III. Main Point Number Two
- A. Supporting Point One
- 1. Detail One
- 2. Detail Two
- a. Supporting Fact One
- b. Supporting Fact Two
- B. Supporting Point Two
- 1. Detail One
- 2. Detail Two
- a. Supporting Fact One
- b. Supporting Fact Two
IV Main Point Number Three
- A. Supporting Point One
- 1. Detail One
- 2. Detail Two
- a. Supporting Fact One
- b. Supporting Fact Two
- B. Supporting Point Two
- 1. Detail One
- 2. Detail Two
- a. Supporting Fact One
- b. Supporting Fact Two
V. Conclusion
A decimal outline is very similar to an alphanumeric outline. The main difference is that instead of Roman numerals, the writer uses the decimal system. Below is an example.
1. Introduction
2. Main Point Number One
- 2.1 Supporting Detail One
- 2.2 Supporting Detail Two
3. Main Point Number Two
- 3.1 Supporting Detail One
- 3.2 Supporting Detail Two
4. Main Point Number Three
- 4.1 Supporting Detail One
- 4.2 Supporting Detail Two
5. Conclusion
With either the alphanumeric or the decimal outline, the writer will usually write in sentence fragments containing just the main ideas. In a full sentence outline, however, the writer may use one of the structures above but will write in complete sentences instead. The benefit of using fragments is that it is easier to see the format of the whole essay and the structure. A benefit to the full sentence outline is that the writer will already have part of the essay written when the outline is done.
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Four Key Characteristics of Outlines
Parallelism: Parallelism is a grammatical concept that requires all items in a list to start with the same part of speech. This applies to outlines because each point in an outline should start with the same part of speech.
False (Incorrect) Parallelism
I Writing an Outline
II You need to write a rough draft.
III. Edit
Correct Parallelism
I Create outline
II Write a rough draft
III Edit
Notice that in the correct outline, each item starts with the same part of speech: a verb.
Coordination: Coordination means that items that have the same number or letter need to have the same level of significance. For example, all items following a Roman numeral should be main points. Likewise, in a decimal outline, 1.1 and 1.2 need to be of the same significance and importance.
Subordination: Subordination in an outline deals with how the writer orders ideas. Ideas should go from general to specific or abstract to concrete.
Division: Division means that each new designator has at least two points. In other words, a writer can’t have a 1.1 without a 1.2 or I without a II. There does not need to be an even number of entries; there just needs to be at least two.
How to Make an Outline for an Essay
There are six steps to developing an outline for an essay.
- Understand purpose and audience: A writer needs to know why they are writing. What purpose do they hope to achieve? Knowing the purpose will help a writer devise the content of the essay. Knowing the audience helps a writer know what types of information to include. It will also help a writer determine the language to be used and the level of formality required.
- Take notes and research as necessary: Not all essays require research, but if one does, now is the time to do it. A writer should read through sources and take careful notes making sure to include the source it came from in the notes. The notes and research will help in forming the essay, and the source documentation will help in compiling a works cited or reference page.
- Create a thesis: A thesis statement states the main point a writer will attempt to prove in an essay. Most essays contain explicit thesis statements (a one-sentence statement that states the main idea,) and it is usually the last sentence of the first paragraph.
- Brainstorm: Brainstorming is a way to come up with new ideas to include. One main way of brainstorming is to write the main idea in the center of a piece of paper and then write supporting ideas around that idea. A key to brainstorming for a writer is to not edit themselves. A writer should write down any ideas that come to mind. They can get rid of unhelpful ones later.
- Group relevant ideas under topic sentences: A topic sentence is like a thesis statement of a paragraph; it should state the main idea of that paragraph. A topic sentence is usually the first sentence of a paragraph.
- Support each topic sentence with details and evidence: Having great ideas is not sufficient by itself. The ideas (thesis and topic sentences) need to be supported with ample details and evidence. The more specific and detailed the evidence, the more supported a thesis statement will be.
Other Strategies for Essay Outlines
A writer may create a reverse outline. This is an outline a writer writes after they have written the essay. The purpose of creating a reverse outline is to more easily see the overall organization of an essay and the support included. In other words, a reverse outline helps a writer determine whether or not they have achieved their purpose.
Another technique a writer may use is to verbally explain information and then take notes. This is often helpful for people who struggle with writing. A writer can speak into a tape recorder and then play that back while taking notes, or they could speak to a friend and explain what they intend to do in their essay, taking notes the whole time.
Oftentimes, but not always, the different headings in an outline will coordinate with the different paragraphs of an essay. If a writer knows the main paragraphs they want to include, they can use this to create an outline.
Example of a Basic Essay Outline
Below is an example of a decimal outline about how to write an essay.
1. Writing an essay is made easier by following certain procedures. (Thesis Statement)
2. Research
- 2.1 Research reputable websites
- 2.2 Compile a list of references used
3. Outline
- 3.1 Choose a type of outline style
- 3.1.1 alphanumeric
- 3.1.2 Decimal
- 3.2 Choose the forms of writing
- 3.2.1 Full Sentences
- 3.2.2 Fragments
4. Write Rough Draft
5. Revise and Edit
- 5.1 Revise for overall clarity
- 5.2 Edit for grammar and spelling
6. Conclusion
Lesson Summary
Creating an essay outline is a crucial step in the writing process. It contains the skeletal structure of the essay. There are multiple reasons to write an outline: they help writers organize ideas, gather information, and see the skeletal structure of the essay on just a page or two. An outline can use either the alphanumeric or the decimal system. One way to organize an essay is the five paragraph essay. The five paragraph essay is centered around a thesis statement, three supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion. The thesis statement should be written before writing an outline because a writer can use this thesis statement to check each point of the outline to make sure all of the subtopics support this thesis statement. Many of the points in an outline will come from this thesis statement. This thesis statement should clearly present the main idea of the essay.
There are different types of outlines, but a formal outline should include the major points of an essay along with subpoints and details about those subpoints. These major points are expressed in topic sentences that express the main idea of the paragraph. Writing an outline can be made easier by following the six step process. Other methods for writing outlines are the reverse outline or a verbal outline. Four key concepts that can be applied to outlines are: Parallelism, which is a grammatical concept that requires all items in a list to start with the same part of speech; Coordination, which means that items that have the same number or letter need to have the same level of significance; Subordination, which mean ideas should organized from general to specific or abstract to concrete; and division, which means that each new designator has at least two points.