RESEARCH PAPER OUTLINE
Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
-- Yoda
Introduction in Three Parts
1.
Introduction (introduces topic in interesting
way; introduces key ideas to help explain your
argument) 2-3 Sentences



Quote
Statistic
Startling Fact
Introduction in Three Parts
2. Background Information: (information to
help reader understand the broad
context of your topic) 2-3 Sentences
3. Thesis Statement: (your argument &
road map) 1 Sentence
Body Paragraphs


Supporting Argument #1/#2
TOPIC SENTENCE
 EVIDENCE
(A) *Insert 1-2 quotes found in sources
 EVIDENCE (B) *Insert 1-2 quotes found in sources
 EVIDENCE (C) *Insert 1-2 quotes found in sources
How does this PROVE your thesis?
You should be able to write the answer to this
question at the end of EACH section for your
supporting arguments!
Body Paragraphs

Opposing Argument: This is where you
explain the arguments AGAINST your thesis,
and REFUTE the argument of your thesis and
supporting statements.
Oppose thesis
 Oppose supporting idea #1
 Oppose supporting idea #2

*Insert 1-2 quotes found in sources
*Insert 1-2 quotes found in sources
*Insert 1-2 quotes found in sources
Conclusion

Conclusion: (restate thesis, summarize
main points, offer insight to the larger
significance of your topic and thesis)
Sample Outline
Note: Follow the instructions, closely! DO NOT
write this outline according to your personal
preferences; that course of action will result in a
FAILING grade!
Sample Outline Introduction
1. Introduction: Introduce your argument and end
with your thesis statement.
a. Set the scene
b. Include background information that helps the
reader understand your position
c. Thesis Statement: 1. provable, 2. arguable, 3.
how you will prove your argument (Road map)
Example: Thesis Statement

TOPIC: “How did Great Depression affect the unity
of the United States?”
Despite the unifying messages of hope from
President Franklin Roosevelt, the Great
Depression pulled the country apart as
discrimination increased, families were
separated, and the division between social
classes grew.
Help! What Should I Put in the
Background Paragraph?
Background Paragraph: Additional
background information on your subject,
event, person, etc. that helps the reader
understand what you are writing about.
a. What caused the Great Depression?
b. The effort the government made to fix it –
New Deal
c. How GD was different than previous decade
Topic Sentence – S.A. #1


Topic Sentence: Controlling sentence that tells you
what the section/paragraph is going to be about. It
is kind of like a “mini-thesis” in that it is an argument
and you say how you will prove it.
Example: Economic hardships of the times
increased the nature and extent of discrimination.
TOPIC: Economic hardships of the times increased the
nature and extent of discrimination. (S.A. #1)
a. Job competition
1. Mexican Americans—deportations
2. African Americans—increased racism, Jim Crow
laws expand
3. Married Women—feared they would take away
men’s jobs
b. Increased racial violence—(list specific examples)
c. Oakies faced discrimination in California (list
examples)
Clincher Sentence – S.A. #1

Clincher Sentence: This sentence ties what you
discussed in this section to your thesis statement.
Example: The discrimination during the 1930s
widened already existing divisions between race,
class and gender causing further fractures in the
country.
TOPIC: Another way in which the country suffered divisions was in the
breakdown of the family structure. (S.A. #2)
a. Hobos – men left their families to look for work
b. Kids left to raise themselves
1. Juvenile delinquents
2. Fewer children went to school
c. Women went to work—lower pay, even when they’re
sole breadwinners
d. Statistics reveal family trends: Divorce rates
increased, marriage and birth rates decreased
Clincher Sentence – S.A. #2
The family was a microcosm of the country;
as traditional families disintegrated, so
did the foundation of the country.
Thesis
Despite the unifying messages of
hope from President Franklin
Roosevelt, the Great Depression
pulled the country apart as
discrimination increased, families
were separated, and the division
between social classes grew.
Opposing Arguments
Explain the arguments against your thesis and refute
them.
a. FDR’s role as a unifying force and inspirational speaker
 • Refute: many felt loyal to FDR, but that didn’t change
their relationship with others
b. New Deal provides range of jobs
 • Refute: jobs are mainly limited to younger white men;
causes animosity
c. Pop-culture (radio, film) expands to unite country with
common language, experiences
Conclusion
Lastly, include a concluding paragraph
(or paragraphs) that summarizes your
main points, restates your thesis, and
offers a connection to the larger
historical significance of your
argument or issue.
Comparisons
Introductory Paragraph
A

B
This paper will seek to
analyze the
privatization effort of
Ukraine and come to a
conclusion about the
factors contributing to
the lack of success of the
attempt to reform and
revive the troubled
economy of the country.

In the early 1990s a
newly independent
Ukraine, seeking to revive
and reform its troubled
economy, embarked on a
major privatization effort.
The effort largely failed.
This paper analyzes
Ukraine's privatization
effort and the reasons for
its large-scale failure.
Thesis Statement
A

B
A key issue in America today
is wealth and poverty. Over
the last twenty years, rich
Americans have gotten richer
and the poor have gotten
poorer. At the same time, the
poor have been increasingly
blamed and abandoned by
the rest of society. Once we
tried to help poor Americans
up; today, though we are
richer than ever before, we
blame the poor for their
poverty and enact policies
that will keep them poor.

A key issue in America today is
wealth and poverty. Despite the
immense differences between
how the wealthiest and poorest
Americans live, American culture
is not marked by rigid, longstanding class divisions. Through
hard work, millions of Americans
who were born poor have been
able to achieve prosperity for
themselves and their families.
America today is the most
economically mobile country in
the world.