Did you know essay writing is an invaluable means used by scholars to express their views and interest? When it comes to writing assistance with essay writing, scholarly articles, academic papers, and informative guides, an essay outline is the primary planning method to be used. Most outlines have an introduction, body, and conclusion. Each part is explicitly written to strengthen and organize content in a coherent manner. The processes in most essay writing organizations are somewhat similar, although some minor differences may arise.
• It is essential to understand the essay guidelines given by your instructor. Note the critical phrases and words, and if anything is unclear, seek clarifications.
• List the ideas or anything that comes to mind to create a topic for your essay. Write different ideas, both good and bad ones, so that you could identify your topic.
• Determine the purpose of your essay – should it inform, persuade, or entertain the reader. The keywords and phrases you’ve noted down should be a key to understanding what the instructor expects from you.
• Think of your audience, what reactions you expect from them. Consider what they know, what misconceptions they have, and what they do not know about the subject matter.
Key Elements In Outlining
i. Prioritize your thesis. A thesis statement is supposed to summarize the entire essay, but it should be worked on before other sections. Generally, it guides the whole planning and writing process.
ii. Research. Before you start writing anything, ensure that you find credible sources which can offer reliable references. There are trustworthy websites and academic search engines. Note down all the relevant findings you get for the essay outline.
iii. Using the sources obtained, write the primary headings of the outline. The key points should be supported by the references in the body sections of the essay.
iv. Most formal essays will have the references included in the body section.
v. The introduction is the opening of the essay paper. It should be catchy and at the same time, outline what the essay is all about. It is usually a reflection of the entire essay.
vi. Conclusion – the final paragraph summarizes the entire essay with a clear decision from the writer of their take on the whole paper. The last sentence should reflect the goal of the paper.
An Essay Outline with Guided Instructions
A five-paragraph essay is the most commonly applied standardized essay outline taught at school. So, it is essential that students learn the essence of the five-paragraph essay. It allows the expression of ideas and claims in an organized manner. Essay skills are tested throughout the student’s life.
- Introduction
This is the first paragraph which should express an opinion, introduce a topic, and capture the reader’s interest. It is crucial that the thesis is an intriguing question or a fact with descriptive keywords. The first few sentences of the introduction paragraph should be able to lead to your thesis statement. The thesis statement should be the last sentence in the introduction paragraph. Also, the thesis sentence should be divided into three arguments to support the topic and provide themes for the following paragraphs.
- Background
Generally, it is a short paragraph which should cite sources of information used as the backbone of the essay. Bring out a historical overview of your topic, and the link between history and your current argument. Then, you should draw the attention of the reader to what you seek to achieve, or the gap you want to explore. An essay will be a link between two main ideas.
- Body
The essay includes three paragraphs with each paragraph advocating for one idea. To create a flow in each of the paragraphs, make sure you start with a topic sentence. The sentence should be in support of your topic. Then, support the argument with evidence in three sentences. Validate your claims through examples and explanations, and finally, conclude with a transition statement which leads to the next point of the simple paragraph structure.
It is always advisable to revisit your thesis statement to check whether it is well-supported with the paragraphs. The paragraphs should mainly focus on the thesis statement sentence and summary. If your paragraphs seem out of line or do not clearly bring out the intended conclusions, then it is time to rewrite and adjust content.
Sample Body Paragraph – Statement, Support, Transition
i. Topic sentence
ii. Reference – statement or fact which you’ve used as a source
iii. Claim or explanations – a few sentences validating and supporting your idea
vi. Link sentence or transition statement – such as ‘as a result of this…’
- Conclusion
The final paragraph should reassert your claim and give a summary of your points. It should not be an exact repeat of what has been mentioned in the rest of the paragraphs but should summarize what you have spoken about. Rephrase your thesis to support your idea. The first sentence should restate the main idea presented in the paragraphs. The following sentences should briefly explain how the main points support the topic. The final sentence should leave an impact on your reader by discussing the implications of the theses and propose possible cause of action to solve the problems.
Essay writing is easy with the right structured outline. One can choose the alphanumeric structure or a decimal structure to show how the ideas relate to one another. The section titles are essential, and they should stand out from the rest of the subsections. It is good to check the requirements of the essay. Essay writing is vital in the presentation of facts and either supporting or arguing against these facts.