Research: Your
Outline
Mrs. Cumberland
Why create an outline?
Helpful when you want to show the
hierarchical relationship
Show logical ordering of information
Keep track of large amounts of
information
Primary reasons
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
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Aids in the process of writing
Helps you organize your ideas
Presents your material in a logical form
Shows the relationship among ideas in your
writing
 Constructs an ordered overview of your writing
 Defines boundaries and groups
How do I create an
outline?
Determine the purpose of your
paper
Determine the audience you are
writing for
Develop the thesis of your paper
Then
 Brainstorm:
 List the ideas that you want to include in your paper
 Organize
 Group related ideas together
 Order
 Arrange material in subsections from general to
specific or from abstract to concrete
 Label
 Create main and sub headings
Remember
Creating an outline before writing
your paper will make organizing
your thoughts a lot easier
Main Components for
Effective Outlines
 Parallelism- How do I accomplish this?
 Each heading and subheading should preserve parallel
structure. If the first heading is a verb, the second heading
should be a verb
 Example:
 I. Choose Desired Colleges
 II. Prepare Application
 (choose and prepare are both verbs- present
tense is usually preferred for an outline)
 Coordination
 All the information contained in Heading I should have
the same significance as the information contained in
Heading 2
 Example:
 I. Visit and evaluate college campuses
 II. Visit and evaluate college websites
 A. Note important statistics
 Look for interesting classes
 Subordination
 The information in the headings should be
more general, while the information in the
subheadings should be more specific.
 Example:
 I. Describe an influential person in your life
 A. Favorite high school teacher
 B. Grandparent
Division
Each heading should be divided into 2
or more parts
Example:
I. Compile resume
 A. List relevant coursework
 List work experience
 List volunteer experience
Example of the way one student
formulated a thesis statement and
determined the major topics of support
 First, Jon wrote a tentative thesis statement
about the dangers of professional football.
 Then, based on his knowledge of the sport and
on some preliminary reading, he decided to try
these supporting topics:
 A. Head injuries
 B. Shoulder and spinal cord injuries
 C. Knee injuries, leg fractures
 Finally, he write down his thesis statement and
entered his major topics on the outline opposite
A,B, and C. Later, after he does his research,
he will fill in a brief list of examples, facts,
quotations, and he like that he will use in his
paper. He will enter them under each major
topic, using the number provided. He may also
find another major topic, for example, injuries
resulting from artificial turf.
 Of course, Jon may find so much
information about head injuries that he
will decide to limit his essay just to
concussions suffered by quarterbacks. In
that case, he’ll change his thesis
statement and reverse his topics. Since
writing a paper is an exploration, it’s not
surprising that the writer often ends up in
an unexpected place.
Preliminary Outline
Thesis Statement:
Despite efforts to improve safety
through rules and equipment changes,
professional football is a violent game
that causes many serious injuries
A. Head injuries (Major topic)
1.
2.
3.
Statistical or numerical evidence- the incidence of
head injuries in the National Football League
Quotation from Dr. Robert Cantu, medical director
of the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury
Research in Chapel Hill, NC.
Example: Drew Bledsoe, Buffalo Bills quarterback,
who has suffered multiple concussions.
B. Shoulder and Spinal cord injuries
1.
2.
3.
C. Knee injuries
1.
2.
3.
Points to Remember
1. Look for supporting facts,
statistics, details, examples, nd
quotations, under your major
topics, in this case:
A. Head injuries
B. Shoulder and spinal cord injuries
C. Knee injuries
2. The number of major topics is not
fixed
There are often more than three
The number of subtopics is also not
fixed, but would never have fewer
than two under a given topic
Strive for logic, consistence, and
completeness in your outline
The major topics are the chief
supporters for the thesis statement
Subtopics provide further support in
the form of facts, quotations,
statistics, and examples
Topic outline, rather than a fullsentence outline, is usually
sufficient for most research essays
Summary
 Topic Outlines
 Make clear the structure of your paper
 Show how supporting topics and subtopics
connect to your thesis statement
 Remind you tat the topic headings on your
note cards should match the major topics in
your outline
 Change during the research process
Sample
Thesis Statement
 A. First Major
Supporting Topic
 1. Specific
examples, details
 2. Specific
examples, details
 3. Specific
examples, details
 B. Second Major
Supporting Topic
 1. Specific
examples, details
 2. Specific
examples, details
 3. Specific
examples, details