PHASE V: PREWRITING
Task
Sentence Outline
Explanation
Typed sentence outline with thesis
statement, topic sentences and
supporting details with citations.
Due Date
Monday, January 14th
OUTLINE YOUR IDEAS:
One way to organize and plan your report is to make an
outline. An outline maps the ideas you plan to include in your paper.
On the next page is a sentence outline for a five-paragraph research essay on Indira Ghandi and
Queen Elizabeth I as leaders. Each Roman numeral serves as the topic for a body paragraph in
the report. Each letter serves as the topic sentence for the body paragraph. Each number
serves supporting information contained in the body paragraph.
You might notice that you are not outlining the introduction or conclusion here; we’ll address
those later. Write a sentence outline for your report, using the details from your research.
You must cite the source from which you took your information. Be sure that each topic
sentence supports the thesis statement and that each detail supports its topic sentence.
You can download the Word template for the sentence outline on the English II CP Handouts tab
on my teacher page.
Thesis: Bill Clinton and Alexander Hamilton are American heroes because both men rose to prominence despite humble
backgrounds and preserved their legacies as respected statesmen despite personal failings that resulted in sex
scandals.
I.
II.
III.
Topic Sentence
A.
Your idea that supports topic sentence (My Idea)
1.
Research-based support (Complete Sentence with parenthetical citation)
2.
Research-based support (Complete Sentence with parenthetical citation)
B.
Your idea that supports topic sentence (My Idea)
1.
Research-based support (Complete Sentence with parenthetical citation)
2.
Research-based support (Complete Sentence with parenthetical citation)
Topic Sentence
A.
Your idea that supports topic sentence (My Idea)
1.
Research-based support (Complete Sentence with parenthetical citation)
2.
Research-based support (Complete Sentence with parenthetical citation)
B.
Your idea that supports topic sentence (My Idea)
1.
Research-based support (Complete Sentence with parenthetical citation)
2.
Research-based support (Complete Sentence with parenthetical citation)
Topic Sentence
A.
Your idea that supports topic sentence (My Idea)
1.
Research-based support (Complete Sentence with parenthetical citation)
2.
Research-based support (Complete Sentence with parenthetical citation)
B.
Your idea that supports topic sentence (My Idea)
1.
Research-based support (Complete Sentence with parenthetical citation)
2.
Research-based support (Complete Sentence with parenthetical citation)
Example of sentence outline (Thank you, Ms. Fetherolf!)
Thesis: Indira Gandhi and Queen Elizabeth I were both excellent leaders because they
defied gender stereotypes by being strong and effective.
I.
Indira Gandhi was a successful prime minister in India because of her experience and character.
A. Indira Ghandi grew up in a political family so had a lifetime of experience.
1. She had “politics in her blood” (Axelrod-Contrada.)
2. Indira Ghandi helped father in independence movement ("Indira Gandhi.")
a. As a child, she formed her own political group to help the Independence
movement when India was still under Britain’s rule (Axelrod-Contrada).
b. When her father became the second prime minister of an independent India,
Indira Gandhi worked as his aide. ("Indira Gandhi").
3. Indira Gandhi worked as minister of information for the first prime minister of India
("Indira Gandhi").
4. Indira Gandhi became prime minister of India after her father’s death and became “a
formidable leader in her own right” (Axelrod-Contrada).
B. Indira Gandhi was able to lead India effectively because of her strength of character.
1. She grew strong during her privilege, but lonely childhood (Axelrod-Contrada).
a. Her father was arrested and imprisoned by the British for his involvement in
independence movement (Axelrod-Contrada).
b. She cherished her father’s letters from prison as a child (Axelrod-Contrada).
c. Many uncles and other family members were also imprisoned, so Indira Gandhi
was alone much of the time (Axelrod-Contrada).
2. Indira Gandhi herself was arrested while speaking out in public for independence
("Indira Gandhi.").
C. As a result of her experience and strength of character, Indira Gandhi was a successful prime
minister.
1. She unified a religiously divided India (Axelrod-Contrada).
2. She “triumphed in foreign affairs with India's 1971 defeat of Pakistan” ("Indira
Gandhi").
3. She was popular with Indian people (Axelrod-Contrada).
II. Queen Elizabeth I of England was a strong and effective leader.
A. Queen Elizabeth I was devoted to England.
1. She put her devotion to England first, before her personal life (“Elizabeth I”).
2. She was called the Virgin Queen and idolized by her subjects (“Elizabeth I”).
a. She never married so that she could keep the power of the monarchy for
herself (“Elizabeth I”).
b. At that time, she would be expected to share power with her husband
(“Elizabeth I”).
B. Queen Elizabeth I was popular with and had the support of her citizens.
1.She was called the Virgin Queen and idolized by her subjects (“Elizabeth I”).
2. Elizabeth I was “welcomed wholeheartedly by the citizens” (Woolfe).
C. Queen Elizabeth I was a powerful and effective queen.
1. Early in her reign, she and her advisors had a law passed that required public
officials to swear an oath of loyalty to her as the supreme governor which gave her
complete power (“Elizabeth I”).
2. Elizabeth I attempted to heal the religious divisions in England with tolerance
(Woolfe).
2. Because of Elizabeth I, England built up its navy and defeated the Spanish Armada
(“Elizabeth I”).
3. There was great “stability for the kingdom” and “a sense of national identity” under
Elizabeth I (“Elizabeth I”).
III. Queen Elizabeth I and Indira Gandhi were both women who defied gender stereotypes and
became effective leaders on their own terms.
A. Both women lived in times when it was unusual for women to lead.
1. Elizabeth’s sister Mary Tudor had given power to her own husband during her own
reign (“Elizabeth I”).
2. Indira Gandhi was first supported as a choice for prime minister by a group of men
who believed they could control her (Axelrod-Contrada).
B. Both women were strong enough to make difficult decisions.
1. Elizabeth I called for the execution of her own cousin, Mary Queen of Scots,
because her cousin was plotting against her (Woolfe).
2. Indira Gandhi was not afraid to use force, although she believed in Mahatma
Gandhi’s non-violent approach (Axelrod-Contrada).
C. Both women unified religiously divided countries and gave India a sense of pride.
1.
India’s Hindu and Islamic citizens were in conflict (Axelrod-Contrada).
2. England had experienced struggles between Catholic and Protestant factions
(“Elizabeth I”).