1
A Guide for Organizing Essays and Informal Outlining
Brian Johnson, Ph.D.
Gordon College
English Department
Invite your professor/instructor over for some T.E.A
How to use this sheet:
This sheet is to be used PRIOR TO WRITING THE ESSAY to help assist with essay planning and
organization. While there are several ways to plan and outline an essay, one simple way to plan your
essay is simply by organizing it according to TEA before your begin. This organizational system does not
cover discussions of introductions, transitions between subordinate ideas and conclusions, which do not
represent the substantive portions of an essay’s argument and are fairly easy to accomplish. However, it
does cover the following substantive elements for persuasive academic essay writing:
T-THESIS STATEMENT
(t)-TOPIC SENTENCES containing subordinated ideas in relation to the thesis statement
E-primary EVIDENCE for support
A-the ANALYSIS of primary evidence in relation to the thesis statement
What is the basic structure of an essay according to TEA?
Thesis (Central Idea, Main Idea, Main Point, Opinion, Significant Idea, Interpretation, View Point,
Narrative Point, Response to a writing prompt, etc.)

Is There a Thesis? A THESIS STATEMENT is the controlling idea of any essay. It usually
responds to an instructor’s writing prompt, examination question or a course-related topic. For
most essays, the THESIS STATEMENT is expressed in 1-3 sentences or a separate THESIS
paragraph. It expresses an arguable opinion. You should then proceed to use the entire essay—
including TOPIC SENTENCES, EVIDENCE and ANALYSIS—to persuade the reader to the
opinion that is expressed in the THESIS STATEMENT. For smaller essays the THESIS
STATEMENT should be placed near the end of the introduction.

Essay Prompts: An essay prompt is simply what the instructor is asking the student to respond to.
The student’s response to the prompt will be the THESIS STATEMENT and its subsequent
support comprises the essay. Even if the prompt contains several parts, it is possible to reduce
the prompt to an essential question. Some instructors may have poorly constructed essay
prompts. Nevertheless, it is your responsibility to craft an appropriate THESIS STATEMENT that
responds to the prompt. (If uncertain, ask the instructor and carefully study the prompt before
planning the essay.)
Sample Prompt: “Is the Virginia lottery beneficial or harmful to the citizens of Virginia? Why or
Why not? Write a 5 page essay that supports your response.”
Sample Prompt: Consider Chaim Potok’s The Chosen, particularly Danny and Reb Saunders’
and Reuven and David Maulter’s struggle to discern the sons’ callings within and
beyond their respective communities. After considering Potok’s depictions, what
2
appears to be the single most important area to be discerned for helping
individuals to understand their unique (vocation) calling?
Claims and Reasons/Essay Maps: Until you become comfortable with creating specific and clear
Thesis Statements, you might wish to create a THESIS STATEMENT using a CLAIM &
REASON. An essay map uses the reasons that support the claim to guide or map the
direction of the essay for the reader and the writer.
Claim- A claim would respond directly to the prompt by directly answering the question.
Ex. The Virginia lottery is harmful…(Prompt 1)
Reason-A reason would tell why the Virginia lottery is harmful.
The reason is what will be supported with evidences and analysis throughout the essay.
Ex. (because) it suggests that persistent hard work is unnecessary. (Prompt 1)
Essay
Map- An essay map are a group of reasons that will be reflected in supporting topic sentences,
evidence and analysis.
Ex. (because) it suggests that education, ethics and social responsibility is only
incidental to success in life. (Prompt 1)
Claim- Ex. Passion is the most important area of discernment that assists individuals with
discerning their calling. (Prompt 2)
Reason-Ex. (because) it is tied to one’s innermost yearnings. (Prompt 2)
Essay
Map- Ex. (because) it is tied to one’s innermost yearnings, it continually arises in a
variety of circumstances and it produces persistent motivation. (Prompt 2)

Does my THESIS STATEMENT express one single central idea/opinion in response to the essay
prompt or course-related topic? Can you fully support your thesis in the amount of pages required
for the assignment? If it expresses more than one main idea, it is probably too broad for a short
essay. In the essay map example, the entire THESIS STATEMENT is still considered to be a
single idea. Note: The breadth of the essay’s main idea depends upon the scope and length of
the assignment. You only have time and space to support one narrow and specific main idea in
smaller essays and smaller papers.

Have I arrived at a THESIS STATEMENT only after a careful and well thought out consideration
of the prompt or topic and EVIDENCES at your disposal? In order to do this well, you should
engage in extensive prewriting, deliberation, introspection and meditation about what your
response to the prompt or topic. Discussion with peers and instructors about the idea you wish to
convey is a useful way to arrive at your carefully crafted main idea. Crafting the final THESIS
STATEMENT should be done only after having a clear idea about what you’re expressing.

Does my THESIS STATEMENT express a fact? If the THESIS STATEMENT is an event or
documentable fact that actually occurred or a statement that is obviously true, then your THESIS
STATEMENT does not express a central idea/opinion.

Is my THESIS STATEMENT too broad? Can I provide convincing support my THESIS
STATEMENT in the required page-length? If your THESIS STATEMENT cannot be convincingly
supported with facts/examples/evidence/details/text and analysis during the assigned scope and
length for the essay, then your THESIS STATEMENT may be too broad. Specificity is key here
for your THESIS STATEMENT may be appropriate for a 25 page essay but not for a 5 page
essay.
3

Is my THESIS STATEMENT clear and precise? This may be a question of style, mechanics or
grammar. At any rate, the THESIS STATEMENT must “mean what you say and say what you
mean.” You must take responsibility for the way your opinion is expressed in your THESIS
STATEMENT. Since it is the controlling idea of the essay, your reader will hold you accountable
for what is expressed here.

Having expressed a narrow, clear and precise THESIS STATEMENT that responds appropriately
to a prompt or topic, do I immediately begin to support my THESIS STATEMENT by providing
subordinate ideas expressed in TOPIC SENTENCES, EVIDENC and ANALYSIS in the body
paragraphs after the THESIS STATEMENT? Once the THESIS STATEMENT is stated, do not restate or summarize what has already been expressed. Proceed with the argument.

Has my THESIS STATEMENT changed as a result of the evidence that I selected? If so, I need
to change my thesis during the drafting process so that it fits the evidence selected for the essay.
If you have not found convincing support for your thesis, then your essay will not be persuasive.
In the planning and outlining stages, you should refer to your THESIS STATEMENT as a
tentative THESIS STATEMENT.
Remember: The main goal of an essay is to support the Thesis statement with adequate primary
Evidence and Analysis. The entire essay hinges upon the creation of a well conceived and clearly
expressed Thesis Statement that responds to the writing prompt or topic.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------
(t)opic Sentences (Subordinate Ideas, Development, Subclaims, Reasons, Lines of Argument,
Supporting Arguments, Specific Issues)

Do I have TOPIC SENTENCES? Topic sentences express subordinate ideas that advance,
support, or develop the main idea expressed in the THESIS STATEMENT. To be sure, the first
sentence of every paragraph located in the body of the essay do not function as a TOPIC
SENTENCE. Some may continue providing EVIDENCE or ANALYSIS for a subordinate idea
expressed in a previous TOPIC SENTENCE.

Do my TOPIC SENTENCES correspond to the THESIS STATEMENT? All ideas contained within
the essay should be within the scope of the essay’s controlling idea, the THESIS STATEMENT.
This does not mean that the TOPIC SENTENCE cannot introduce a subordinate idea that
opposes the THESIS STATEMENT or a preceding subordinate idea. Nevertheless, if the TOPIC
SENTENCE introduces an opposing idea, the opposition should be directly related to argument
you’re making.

Do my TOPIC SENTENCES reflect main ideas instead of subordinate ideas? Remember, by
definition subordinate ideas and sub-claims fall within the scope of the main idea. They should
not rival the essay’s THESIS STATEMENT by expressing an altogether new main idea that would
require an entire essay (not a body paragraph) to support. A subordinate idea should be
supported in the course of only 2-3 paragraphs for smaller essays.
Evidence (Facts, Borrowed Quotations, Details, Statistics, Events, Support)

Do I have primary EVIDENCE? Primary EVIDENCE simply means that these EVIDENCES will
be the principal ones used to support the THESIS STATEMENT. To be sure, you may have
additional pieces of EVIDENCE mentioned throughout your essay. These may be located in the
introduction, conclusion TOPIC SENTENCES and ANALYSIS. However, before you begin, you
should know what primary EVIDENCES will be supporting your THESIS STATEMENT.
4

Have I selected specific primary EVIDENCES—textual references, facts, events, quotations,
hypothetical examples, biographical information, biblical text, statistics, interviews, history or any
other factual details designated by the writing prompt that directly support my thesis statement?
Specific evidence is persuasive EVIDENCE.

Are any of the details of my primary and specific EVIDENCES irrelevant? An essay expresses a
single idea in its THESIS STATEMENT and the remainder of the essay serves to support the idea
by using only relevant EVIDENCES. For example, if you are using a particular textual quotation or
statistic as specific EVIDENCE, did you carefully select only those portions of the quotation or
statistic that support your THESIS STATEMENT?

Do I have enough EVIDENCE to support my thesis statement? Do you include enough textual
support, historical support and secondary resources to convincingly make this claim?

Does my EVIDENCE fulfill the requirements for the essay? Some instructors have particular
guidelines about what types of EVIDENCE should be included as support for your essay. A
convincing argument that does not use EVIDENCE adhering to the instructor’s guidelines or the
writing prompt is an argument that does not follow instructions.

Have I selected convincing and persuasive EVIDENCE? Will my EVIDENCES persuade my
reader to the view expressed in my thesis statement? This is a matter of audience.

Have I inserted opposing EVIDENCES or interpretive views of EVIDENCE (see ANALYSIS) to
complicate my argument? Inserting opposing EVIDENCES show the reader that you’ve carefully
considered what does not support your idea. This strengthens your THESIS STATEMENT
because it demonstrates your own impartiality and objectivity when forming a carefully reasoned
opinion.

Have I organized the BODY of my essay in a way that allows me to analyze EVIDENCE in some
logical ORDER? Sometimes EVIDENCE can be organized according to chronology or from
strongest to least persuasive (or vice versa). The issue is that your EVIDENCE should be orderly
presented. Are TOPIC SENTENCES and paragraph units arranged in such a way that it allows
for proper division and discussion of EVIDENCE? TOPIC SENTENCES and paragraph units also
assist with providing direction for the reader.

Does each selected piece of primary EVIDENCE contribute to a different subordinate idea or subclaim expressed in distinct TOPIC SENTENCES, which develops support for my THESIS
STATEMENT? Do I have strong development? Each piece of EVIDENCE that is discussed
according to some logical paragraph division should substantiate a different idea to help advance
the THESIS STATEMENT. The idea here is not to suggest that you might not have more than
one primary EVIDENCE to make a single idea that helps to advance and substantiate your thesis.
In fact, you may have two primary EVIDENCES that establish the same subordinate idea found in
a TOPIC SENTENCE. It simply means that you should have a variety of primary EVIDENCES
that will introduce different ways to support the same overarching controlling idea (Thesis
Statements).
Remember:
The main thrust of the BODY of the essay is not to simply fill your essay with
plenty of EVIDENCE, but to explain why do the selected EVIDENCES support the
THESIS STATEMENT. This is called ANALYSIS or interpretation of evidence.
Analysis
What is an ANALYSIS? How do I analyze?
5
An ANALYSIS explains, interprets, or relates to the reader why a specific primary piece of
EVIDENCE supports the thesis. An ANALYSIS needs to do this for each piece of primary
EVIDENCE. You do this by closely examining a specific piece of EVIDENCE and addressing its
important and relevant parts, piece by piece, to explain why it supports the THESIS
STATEMENT. You can do this for any piece of factual EVIDENCE including literary texts,
statistics, interviews, speeches, personal experience etc.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thesis Statement: The Virginia lottery is harmful to Virginia youth because it suggests that persistent
hard work is unnecessary in life.
(t)opic sentence: Myths about the value of money are often perpetuated through lotteries.
Specific Primary Evidence: A columnist in the Virginia Observer writes, “The Virginia lottery gives young
people the false impression that money falls out of the sky.”
Analysis: The writer in this piece is right when she makes this suggestion. When Virginia youth grow up in
an environment that supports gambling as an effort to gain money, it goes against American notions of
hard work and diligence for success. Moreover, such a sentiment is not reasonable when you consider
the odds of winning a lottery versus the odds of going on to college to become successful in a productive
career.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------Thesis Statement: Passion is the most important area of discernment that helps individuals to
discover their unique calling
(t)opic sentence: When one allows passion to assist in the discovery of one’s unique calling, an individual
will discern the meaning of a heart-felt engagement, which is an important part of calling.
Specific Primary Evidence:
In the following passage, Danny expresses the distinction between monotonous study in comparison with
study that excites the human passion:
I told you. I get bored studying just Talmud. And the English work in school isn’t too exciting. I think the
English teachers are afraid of my father. They’re afraid they’ll lose their jobs if they say something too
exciting or challenging. I don’t know. But it’s exciting being able to read all those books. (Potok 80)
Analysis: As we discover later, Danny’s heart-felt engagement with the books he was reading provided a
useful clue about his desire to become a psychologist. Although Danny was knowledgeable about a great
many subjects—including the Talmud—nothing produced the heart-felt engagement that those books
recommended by Reuven’s father did. When Danny remarks that it is “exciting being able to read all
those books,” he indicates that both his heart and head was engaged in it; thus, this gives the reader an
indication that some vocational calling relating to these books (not the Talmud) would be Danny’s ultimate
calling.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thesis Statement: Women should not be allowed to have abortions because it is an immoral act.
(t)opic sentence: When a woman has an abortion, it is not simply an immoral act committed against an
unborn child, but against the Creator himself.
Specific Primary Evidence: The Bible records, “I was fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Analysis: The Bible is the highest moral law in our society. Its’ scriptures serve as a foundation for many
of our laws, and its precepts are respected universally. When the scripture states that “I was fearfully and
wonderfully made,” it implies that God creates all individuals and is ultimately in charge of every individual
6
that He has made. Although women are involved in a sexual act that produces a baby, God is the one
who is most responsible for the birth. This suggests that people, including women, should not be allowed
the right to decide to terminate a life because a baby really belongs to someone else. The parent is truly
God. If women are allowed to have abortions they are committing an immoral act because they are
disrespecting the laws and ownership of God.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do I have an ANALYSIS for each piece of primary evidence? There is no particular rule about
how to go about this. An ANALYSIS may be inserted alongside of the evidence. It may also be
inserted after several primary EVIDENCES that substantiate the very same idea. Also, there is no
limitation on how long the ANALYSIS should be. This discussion, interpretation or ANALYSIS of
EVIDENCE can take one or two paragraphs to complete.

Does my ANALYSIS go beyond merely re-stating what is obvious in the EVIDENCE? Although
your ANALYSIS should not go beyond what can been plausibly deduced from your EVIDENCE, it
should provide some insight that your reader has not previously considered about the
EVIDENCE. This will help persuade your reader to thoughtfully consider the whole of your
argument. It demonstrates critical insight that gives the reader indication that your entire essay is
probably a good one.

Even for primary EVIDENCE that provides strong support for your THESIS STATEMENT, have
you offered at least one brief opposing ANALYSIS that demonstrates to the reader that you are
aware of other possible interpretations of the same EVIDENCE? You can provide the opposing
view yourself or insert someone else’s opposing view. You need not do this for every primary
EVIDENCE but it should be found somewhere within your essay. This is a hallmark of critical and
insightful thinking and argumentation. If your argument acknowledges (and withstands) opposing
ANALYSES, then you have a sound argument. *Remember, an argument is not a proof, but
providing adequate and convincing support for the opinion contained in the paper’s THESIS
STATEMENT.

During planning and outlining (even after the draft has been written), can I draw a clear arrow that
starts from the ANALYSIS to the specific primary EVIDENCE, then to the subordinate idea found
in the TOPIC SENTENCE—and finally—to the THESIS STATEMENT? This is an excellent way
to inspect the logic of your argument before proceeding to write the essay.
7
TAKE A SHEET OF PAPER AND PLAN YOUR ESSAY ACCORDING
TO THE INFORMAL OUTLINE LOCATED ON THIS PAGE. THE
NUMBER OF E’S AND A’S WILL VARY ACCORDING TO THE SIZE OF
THE ESSAY. REMEMBER THAT THIS INFORMAL OUTLINE DOES
NOT INVOLVE PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE. IT PROVIDES THE
SKELETON OF A CAREFULLY REASONED ARGUMENT. MOST
IMPORTANTLY, THIS INFORMAL OUTLINE SHOULD BE WRITTEN
PRIOR TO WRITING THE ESSAY.
T (THESIS STATEMENT)
(t) (Topic Sentence/Subordinate Idea)
1. E (PRIMARY EVIDENCE—THIS MAY INCLUDE MORE THAN
ONE EVIDENCE.)
2. A (ANALYSIS—WRITE 2-4 SENTENCES HERE THAT INTERPRETS
THE EVIDENCE IN LIGHT OF YOUR THESIS STATEMENT.)
(t) (Topic Sentence/Subordinate Idea)
1. E
2. A
(t) (Topic Sentence/Subordinate Idea)
1. E
2. A
(t) (Topic Sentence/Subordinate Idea)
1. E
2. A
(t) (Topic Sentence/Subordinate Idea)
1. E
8
2. A
(t) (Topic Sentence/Subordinate Idea)
1. E
2. A
(t) (Topic Sentence/Subordinate Idea)
1. E
2. A