Note to instructors
This exercise asks students to produce a pre-draft outline of their argument/essay.
This is a useful process because it forces students to organize their ideas and start to
figure out how the different ideas fit together into a cohesive whole. Depending on
the assignment, outlines may include the introduction (how the argument will be
framed, why the topic matters, a thesis statement, etc.), where evidence might be
used (paragraph organization), big analytical claims, counterarguments, and how
the essay will conclude. Encourage students to be concise but also as specific as
possible in the outline; vague outlines are less useful in developing a helpful
framework for the draft/essay.
Providing an example outline gives students a clear sense of what you expect to
receive from them. You may give students an example outline from a previous
semester. If you don’t have an appropriate outline, you can create one by forming a
reverse outline from a previous student essay (on the same topic or an entirely
different topic), or you could make one up.
Feedback can be given in several ways. You can provide written
feedback/comments on student outlines (see Commenting section for more specific
details). Additionally, you can discuss outlines in class in a workshop format (have
students discuss a sample outline as a group, including discussion of what works,
what might be problematic, etc.). Students can also assist each other with outlines
through small group or one-on-one peer review (see Peer Review section for more
specific details on student assessments of their peers).
Alternative exercises: This same exercise could be modified to encourage students
to work on introductions, conclusions, and/or other paragraphs in the essay.
This document is intended to serve as a shared resource for instructors in the Harvard
community. Please feel free to download and adapt it for your course. If your students
ask about its origin, please attribute it to the Harvard College Writing Program.
Handout for students
Outline
This pre-draft exercise asks you to prepare an outline for your upcoming
assignment. Many people find that outlining their argument prior to writing is a
good way to organize ideas and highlight potential problems in organization or
logic. You may change your thesis and/or your argument before you complete your
essay. However, thinking about the organization of your argument prior to writing
should help you formulate your ideas, think about why your argument is imoprtant,
and plan for the structure of your essay.
Please prepare a preliminary outline of your argument. Your outline address all or
most of the following questions/variables:

What question will your explore or what thesis will you defend in your
essay? What is the framework for your argument? How broadly will you
explore this topic, and is this breadth appropriate to the requirements of the
assignment (e.g., length requirement)?

What points do you want to make? How will each of these sub-topics relate
to the larger question/thesis?

What specific evidence might you use to support the components of your
argument? Go beyond vague sub-topics and include specifc examples or
pieces of evidence that you might use to support an argument. You don’t
need to include a lot detail about your examples, but you do want to think
about how you are going to support specific points in your essay.

Consider the best way to organize your topics. How can you create a logical
flow from paragraph to paragraph? How will your argument grow?

Consider why your argument matters. Particularly in the introduction and
conclusion, how might you communicate with your reader the importance of
your topic? What question(s) are you trying to resolve?

What sources will you use to support your argument?
Please use the example outline on the backside of this handout as a guide to the
expectations of this exercise and how much detail to include in your outline.