OBJECTIVE # 11A
TRADITIONAL
TOPIC
OR
SENTENCE
Outline
Compilation
TRADITIONAL TOPIC OR SENTENCE OUTLINE COMPILATION
Once all the previous objectives have been noted and/or accomplished, compiling the
outline is the next objective. Topical outlines or sentence outlines are templates, utilized to
guide the writing process of the initial draft of the argumentative essay. These two types of
outlines organize information acquired from research and notated on note cards. Information is
organized under general headings and logically arranged [and re-arranged] to procure a sound
essay. NOTE: Internal citation/parenthetical documentation is required in sentence outlines,
which will make compiling the argumentative essay much easier.
Rules for outlining:
Incorporate subordination to show the logical relationship of ideas
 The supportive points/reasons to support the arguable claim from the
thesis statement come first, numbered with Roman numerals I, II, III.
NOTE: Do not use a Roman numeral for the Introduction, Thesis, or Conclusion.
 Subtopic per each supportive point/reason, gleaned from research, are listed
below each of these, indented and lettered with Capitals A, B, C.
 Examples per subtopic appear next, indented and numbered 1, 2, 3.
 Additional details per subtopic appear next, indented and lettered with lower
case a, b, c.
 Indentations should be kept in vertical columns. If a sentence is too long for one
line, the second line should line up under the first word of the line above, not
under the letter or number symbol.
NOTE: Remember if there is an A, there must be a B, and if there is a 1 there
must be a 2.
Supportive point/reason to support the arguable claim from thesis statement —
Roman numeral (Topic Sentence of Paragraph)
Subtopic point—Capital Letters Example per subtopic—Numbering
Additional Details—Lower Case
Lettering
I.
There are several types of apples that can be used for baking.
A. Jonathan apples are sweet and tart.
B. Granny Smith apples are sour yet one of the best for cooking.
1. They are grown mainly for their versatility.
a. Granny Smith apples are used in main dishes.
b. They are also used in desserts.
2. They have the daily recommended amount of Vitamin C as well as
many other nutrients.
C. Cortland apples are firm and have a mild flavor.
EXAMPLE:TRADITIONAL TOPIC OUTLINE – formatted in Microsoft
Office Word
Victoria Falls: An Unsurpassed Natural Wonder
Introduction
Thesis: Victoria Falls is the most spectacular Natural Wonder of the World in that its geography,
history, and splendor are unsurpassed.
Body [of paper]
I. Geography of Victoria Falls
A. Location
1.
Zimbabwe
2. Zambia
B. Formation
1. Zambezi River
2. Islets
C. Magnitude
II. History of Victoria Falls
A. Founding/ discovery
1. David Livingstone
2. Mosi-oa-Tunya
B. First inhabitants
1. Khoisan hunter-gatherers
2. Ndebele
C. Revered traditions
III. Splendor of Victoria Falls
A. Appeal
1. Nature at its finest
2. “Moonbow”
B. Additional works of nature
C. Surrounding attractions
1. Victoria Falls Bridge
2. Bungee Jump, the exhilarating Bridge Swing, and the Bridge Slide.
Conclusion
EXAMPLE: SENTENCE OUTLINE formatted in Microsoft Office Word
Steroids: Demise Amid Young Athletes
Introduction
Thesis: Steroids negatively affect athletes and should not be used because they hurt the user,
they give athletes an unfair advantage, and they are too accessible to young athletes.
Body [of paper]
I.
Steroids should not be used by athletes because they cause psychological and physical harm to
the user.
A. Steroids mimic male sex hormones, build tissue, strengthen bones, and repair muscles
(“Update).
B. Steroids can cause tumors to form on the liver, and they also can cause the formation of
blood-filled cysts on the liver, a condition called Peliosis Hepatitis (“Performance”).
C. Steroids raise the user’s risk of cancer and heart attacks (“Update”).
1. Steroids cause high blood pressure and heart disease (“Update”).
2. Steroid abuse has been linked to cardiovascular problems (“Performance”).
D. Steroids have been known to cause kidney and prostate problems and an increased risk of
ruptured tendons (“Update”).
E. Steroids can have unattractive side effects such as acne, hair loss, male breast
development, and voice deepening in women (“Baseball”).
1. Most effects of steroids are reversible if the user stops taking steroids
(“Performance”).
2. Some can be permanent such as voice-deepening in women (“Performance”).
F. Steroids are thought to be addictive because users tend to avoid spending time with
friends and family, and the users spend a lot of time and money to obtain steroids
(“Performance”).
G. Some studies suggest that people who use steroids turn to other drugs to avoid the effects
of steroids (“Performance”).
H. Some studies show that steroids taken in high doses can cause increased aggression and
irritability (“Performance”).
II.
Athletes should not use steroids because the people who take them put those who do not at a
unfair disadvantage.
A. If all the average players used steroids, they would have what are considered “impressive”
careers (Jost).
B. Barry Bonds (the all-time leading homerun hitter) hit 762 career homeruns (Jost).
1. Bonds surpassed Hank Aaron to be the leader; Aaron, the former homerun leader, hit
755 career homeruns (Jost).
2. If Hank Aaron, a player who did not use steroids, hit just as many homeruns as a
player that did – Bonds - then Aaron would still be the homerun leader (Jost).
C. Mark McGwire, a player who used steroids, holds the single-season homerun record with
seventy homeruns in one season (Jost).
D. The former record, sixty-one homeruns, was held by Robert Maris (Jost).
E. A Hall of Fame Prospects Poll showed that baseball fans still like and support players
who took steroids (“Baseball”).
F. Although baseball fans know of big-name players using steroids, they still feel that these
players should be in the Hall of Fame (“Baseball”).
1. Sixty-four percent of fans feel that Sammy Sosa should be in the Hall of Fame
(“Baseball”).
2. Sixty-two percent of fans feel that Roger Clemens should be in the Hall of Fame
(“Baseball”).
3. Sixty-one percent of fans feel that Mark McGwire should be in the Hall of Fame
(“Baseball”).
G. Players who rely on their practicing and hard-work just are not able to keep up with
players who do take steroids (“Baseball”).
III.
Steroids should not be used by athletes because they have become too accessible to young,
aspiring high school and middle school athletes.
A. The growing body of a teen is easily damaged by steroids (Schwab).
B. When teenagers use steroids, the steroids can signal the bones to stop growing
(“Performance”).
C. There are much healthier alternatives to steroids and the supplements that teenage athletes
use today (Schwab).
D. Monitoring the Future found that the peaking point of twelfth graders using steroids was
four percent at one time (“Update”).
1. The University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research conducts an annual survey
of student drug use, and they found that the steroid use of twelfth graders had grown
steadily through the twenty-first century (“Update”).
2. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than six percent of
teens nationally have used steroids at one point (“Update”).
E. Coaches tend to add a lot of pressure to their players, even if they do not mean to
(Schwab).
F. High school students tend to worry about personal performance more than their team’s
performance as a whole (Schwab).
G. One main reason for the 2005 congressional attempts to crack down on steroid use in
professional sports was because of the impact on teenagers throughout the country
(“Update”).
1. Even though professional athletes denounce their use of steroids, teenagers still feel
that they need steroids to get to a higher level of talent (Schwab).
2. Legislators claimed that seeing their role models using steroids will make teenagers
more likely to use steroids (“Update”).
Conclusion