1%

Outlining the Essay





Introduction

Before one starts writing, it is imperative to create the topic question and thesis statement. Once this has been done, resources and supporting data can be gathered to bolster the validity of the essay's arguments to establish the thesis. Before the writing process can begin in earnest, it is important for the author to create an outline. This lesson covers the basic organizational structure common to many essays, as well as the role of reason in establishing a coherent, logical framework, on which to base the actual written text.

Reasoning.Pre-planning the Essay's Structure.

The concept of reasoning is not a new one. It dates back to the ancient Greek philosophers and perhaps even further back into human history. While it may sound like a difficult and overly intellectual ability, reasoning in the context of writing an essay simply means, "...The way in which we try to organize the various facts, opinions, and experiences that we deal with every day." (McClain and Roth, 1999)

By taking some time to consider the logical order of how items should be placed within the essay, the writer will discover that the entire planning process will become easier, and yield much better results. Creating an essay uses many mental faculties, including inductive and deductive reasoning, classification, organization of collected data, and so forth.

A basic procedure for ordering a paper could be done as follows.

  1. Gather information. This is the question heavy part of starting the essay, what is the topic going to be? What is important about the topic?

  2. Organize the information. It is good to get into the habit of grouping similar pieces of data together for ease of identification and use during the writing process. For example, if a number of quotes supporting one point are found, they should be put together and presented as evidence when that point is made in the essay.

  3. Order the information. Organization of the gathered materials is a good starting point. Now, it is important for the author to place the points that he or she wishes to make into the essay in a sequence that makes sense.
With these steps completed, creation of the paper's actual outline becomes much easier. The author can simply plug in the points of his or her argument (and their associated supporting data) where appropriate on the outline and commence writing.

]]>