Civic Engagement outline

The goal of the outline is to generate your thesis statement, synthesize information from multiple sources by grouping it into subtopics, and order your information in the most effective way for your essay. A strong outline will make drafting far easier. You will find that drafting from your outline is must faster than trying to draft straight from research notes.

In order to draft effectively from the outline, you will find it helpful to include source information on your outline as well as the information itself. Generally, you can copy and paste directly from notes and then add the source citation.

Please note: In the sample outline I have provided, you will see numbers – I pre-numbered my sources for this paper. Those numbers will translate to in-text citations in the draft.

Both Google docs and Word will recognize that you are writing an outline when you start with the Roman numeral I (capital I). Use backspace, enter, and tab to make the outline structure (see my outlining video).

Thesis statement: At the top of your outline, write your papers thesis statement. Remember, your thesis statement is the sentence in your introductory paragraph that states your main idea.

I. Body paragraph #1: topic

A. supporting detail (source or source #)

B. supporting detail (source)

C. supporting detail (source)

1. additional information (source)

2. additional information (source)

II. Body paragraph #2: topic

A. supporting detail (source)

1. additional info. (source)

2. additional info. (source)

B. supporting detail (source)

C. supporting detail (source)

OUTLINE TIPS:

• Put the actual information from your notes onto your outline NOT vague info. (see example). Be sure to put the source by each piece of information; this will make drafting easier for you.
• I should be able to write your paper myself from reading your outline – that’s how thorough it should be!
• Dont forget page numbers for book/pdf sources.
• Each Roman numeral should represent a body paragraph.
• You dont have to outline your introduction or conclusion, but you may if it helps you.
• Follow the indentation rules above, as well as the order for numbers and letters!