By Ms. Mandel

To sketch a plan To provide structure to your ideas To order your thoughts To pre-write your draft

Early in the process, rough outlines have advantages, you might start with a your thesis followed by a simple list

Formal outlines are more useful as you continue your research and as your ideas build

The more thorough your outline, the easier it will be to draft your paper

Put the thesis at the top. Make items at the same level of generality as

parallel as possible.◦ If two or more ideas are parallel, they are easier

to grasp when expressed in parallel grammatical form. Single words should be balanced with single words, phrases with phrases, clauses with clauses etc.

◦ Not parallel: The three causes of poverty are lack of education, lack of money and war.

◦ Parallel: The three causes of poverty are lack of education, lack of money and lack of safety caused by war or military conflicts.

Use sentences unless phrases are more clear. Use the conventional system of numbers and letters for the levels of generality.

I.A.B.

1.2.

a.b.

II.

Limit the number of major sections in the outline; if the list of Roman numerals begins to look like a laundry list, find some way of clustering the items into a few major categories with more subcategories.

Be flexible; in other words, be prepared to change your outline as your drafts evolve.

Always use at least two subdivisions for a category, since nothing can be divided into fewer than two parts.◦ Types of food at the party

Pizza◦ Types of food at the party

Pizza Ice cream Soda

Don’t forget to cite your sources in the text of your outline.

What does that mean? Provide parenthetical citations for all

paraphrased ideas or direct quotes Author’s name and page number if

available◦ (Solzhenitzyn 42)

When in doubt, cite it!

What are the characteristics of any effective thesis?◦ Expresses the central idea of the paper that

controls the paper’s focus (takes a position, or proposes an argument or answers a question)

◦ Uses specific language (concise and precise)◦ Fits the scope◦ Justifiable (not too obvious)◦ Expressed in a single sentence

Remove the phrase: The purpose of this paper is…

Remove any first person pronouns and their verbs: In this paper I will

Look at the verbs you chose: describe, analyze, compare and/or contrast

Do what the verb commands

If your purpose was to describe, then you must give a detailed account of something:◦ Controlling purpose: The purpose of this paper is

to describe The Great Depression. Expository thesis: The Great Depression was a time

of economic hardship, political upheaval and social change

If your purpose was to compare, then you must give an account of the similarities between two or more items:◦ Controlling purpose: The purpose of this paper is

to compare the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Expository thesis: Depression and anxiety have at

least three similar symptoms including mood swings, disorientation and an inability to sleep; these similarities may make it difficult to distinguish anxiety from depression.

What are your questions? What have you learned? What are you still struggling with?

Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. New York: Bedford St. Martins, 2009