skeleton essay outline

Research Paper: A step-by-step guide: 3. Thesis Statement & Outline

1. Getting Started
2. Topic Ideas
3. Thesis Statement & Outline
4. Appropriate Sources
5. Search Techniques
6. Taking Notes & Documenting Sources
7. Evaluating Sources
8. Citations & Plagiarism
9. Writing Your Research Paper

About Thesis Statements

Qualities of a thesis statement.

Thesis statements:

state the subject matter and main ideas of a paper.
appear in the first paragraph and announces what you will discuss in your paper.
define the scope and focus of your essay, and tells your reader what to expect.
are not a simple factual statement. It is an assertion that states your claims and that you can prove with evidence.
should be the product of research and your own critical thinking.
can be very helpful in constructing an outline for your essay; for each point you make, ask yourself whether it is relevant to the thesis.

Steps you can use to create a thesis statement

1. Start out with the main topic and focus of your essay.

youth gangs + prevention and intervention programs

2. Make a claim or argument in one sentence. It can be helpful to start with a question which you then turn into an argument

Can prevention and intervention programs stop youth gang activities? How? ►►► "Prevention and intervention programs can stop youth gang activities by giving teens something else to do."

3. Revise the sentence by using specific terms.

"Early prevention programs in schools are the most effective way to prevent youth gang involvement by giving teens good activities that offer a path to success."

4. Further revise the sentence to cover the scope of your essay and make a strong statement.

"Among various prevention and intervention efforts that have been made to deal with the rapid growth of youth gangs, early school-based prevention programs are the most effective way to prevent youth gang involvement, which they do by giving teens meaningful activities that offer pathways to achievement and success."

5. Keep your thesis statement flexible and revise it as needed. In the process of researching and writing, you may find new information or refine your understanding of the topic.

You can view this short video for more tips on how to write a clear thesis statement.

An outline is the skeleton of your essay, in which you list the arguments and subtopics in a logical order. A good outline is an important element in writing a good paper. An outline helps to target your research areas, keep you within the scope without going off-track, and it can also help to keep your argument in good order when writing the essay. Once your outline is in good shape, it is much easier to write your paper; you've already done most of the thinking, so you just need to fill in the outline with a paragraph for each point.

To write an outline: The most common way to write an outline is the list format. List all the major topics and subtopics with the key points that support them. Put similar topics and points together and arrange them in a logical order. Include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

A list outline should arrange the main points or arguments in a hierarchical structure indicated by Roman numerals for main ideas (I, II, III...), capital letters for subtopics (A, B, C...), Arabic numerals for details (1,2,3...), and lower-case letters for fine details if needed (a,b,c...). This helps keep things organized.

Here is a shortened example of an outline:

Introduction: background and thesis statement

I. First topic

1. Supporting evidence 2. Supporting evidence

II. Second Topic

III. Third Topic

I. Summarize the main points of your paper II. Restate your thesis in different words III. Make a strong final statement

You can see examples of a few different kinds of outlines and get more help at the Purdue OWL .

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Last Updated: Apr 18, 2023 12:12 PM
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Outline Template for Essay – Word, PDF

An easy outline is like the skeleton of your essay. It presents the structure that you should follow when writing your essay. It helps you to remain focused, on tract, and prevents you from deviating from the main goals of your essay. In other words, we can say that an essay outline is a short plan of your essay. It covers the main ideas, topics, and structure of your paper.

The outline will enable you to organize your content sensibly and coherently. It’s thus essential to know how to create essay outlines since some instructors require students to submit their essay outline before working on their research papers. The draft offers the direction your essay will take and ensure you don’t miss out on any significant point in your paper. Writing academic papers can be a challenging affair; that’s why you should use essay outline templates to assist you in organizing your work and guiding your research process. With an essay outline, the writing process becomes easy and fast.

Essay Outline Templates

How to write an essay outline

Read and understand your assignment: Before you start outlining your essay, it’s essential to ensure you’ve read and understood what your assignment entails; there is no need to rush into outlining your essay only to find you’re off topic. Thus before outlining your essay, know the purpose of your essay.
Identify your audience: Although it’s your professor/teacher who will read your essay, you must figure out your intended audience and what you want them to know. Once you’ve identified your target audience, developing your arguments becomes easier. This will also help you in choosing the right resources and evidence for your arguments.
State your thesis: Your thesis statement will be the hook that will capture your readers and enable them to gain interest in reading your paper. It should be arguable and offering sufficient details that will help your readers know what your essay is about.
Choose a structure for your essay: After crafting your thesis statement, it’s upon you to choose a suitable structure for your essay. You can use the standard alphanumeric or decimal format for your essay. Although most individuals prefer the alphanumeric outline, you can use the decimal format if you deem it more precise and comfortable to use.
Organize your outline: This is one of the most important and involving sections of your article. You should begin by outlining your introduction, thesis, and the essay body. When outlining your essay body, you should develop a topic sentence for each paragraph, including supporting evidence. If you include more details in your essay outline, your writing process will be easier.
Outline your conclusion: The final part is outlining your conclusion. In this section, you’ll need to restate your thesis and a concluding statement. In simple terms, you’ll be stating if the problem you had identified has been solved.

Tips for writing a clear outline

Research on the topic.

Before you start outlining your essay, it’s crucial to conduct adequate research on the subject. Ensure you know your topic very well. Conduct your research both online and in the library to gather as much information about the problem as possible. Use keywords related to the topic to find useful information from Google. This background research will help in forming your opinions about the matter.

Identify essay objective

After forming your opinion about the subject, it’s now time to craft an objective for your research. This can be a thesis statement or a question that will help in starting a conversation with your audience. The objective will help you to focus on the topic and avoid straying from the main point.

List the key research points

At this point, you should list all the key points that will form your essay but avoid details. These points will act as the frame of your essay. You’ll later expand or shrink these points in your writing process; thus, no need to worry. Organize these points in order and ensure each point is relevant to the topic.

Revise your outline

Revise all the major points in your outline, and remove any redundant points and paragraphs. Each point in the outline must be related to the main topic and relevant to the thesis statement; if not, it has no room in the outline. You can also rephrase some of the points to make them relevant.