#Essay outline how to#

ProWritingAid helps you catch these issues in your essay before you submit it. Want to improve your essay writing skills? Use ProWritingAid!Īre your teachers always pulling you up on the same errors? Maybe your sentences are too long and your meaning is getting lost or you're using the same sentence starter over and over again. Have you used an essay outline before? Let us know in the comments. I always plan and write my introductions last, but you can plan it first. You can add as much or as little detail as you like – whatever works for you! You can also work in any order you like. This outline is meant to be a starting place. First piece of evidence: Fact, data, example, or anecdote Commentary.Second piece of evidence: Fact, data, example, or anecdote Commentary.First piece of evidence: Fact, data, example, or anecdote Commentary (how this supports your point, what it means).That’s fine! Just add more sub-points on your outline. Remember, start with your thesis statement! For each major point, you might have more than two pieces of evidence. Here’s an outline format that you can use to plan your essay. Three to four sentences is a good rule of thumb. Conclusions don’t have to be long, either. The most important thing to remember for the conclusion is not to introduce any new information. It might provide a call-to-action, ask an evocative question, or offer a prediction about the future. And it ends with something that will make the reader think and feel satisfied that the question was answered. A good conclusion restates the thesis and ties all of your points together. In a persuasive essay about why the minimum wage should be raised, your context will state what the minimum wage is and how long it’s been at that rate.įinally, you can plan your conclusion. For example, in an essay about the lasting effects of the New Deal, your context will tell readers what the New Deal is and how it was put in place.

This provides a little more information about your topic before your thesis. Then plan your background information or context. Will you use a quote or a shocking fact? Perhaps you’ll use a rhetorical question.

The first thing to plan is how you will open your essay. Once you have the meat of your essay planned out, you can plan your introduction. However, I do recommend that if your essay is timed writing, like on the AP test, start with your strongest point in case you run out of time. This way you start strong and end with a bang! Put your weakest or shortest point in the middle. Use your second-most compelling argument first and your strongest last. I am in the camp that uses the sandwich method. Other people will say it’s better to get more compelling as you write, so start with your least strong argument. Some writers or teachers will tell you to write your strongest, most compelling argument as the first point, followed by the second strongest and least strong. How do you decide which order your major points will go? There are different schools of thought on this. Some major points will be stronger than others. Keep in mind that the major points do not have to have the exact same number of sub-points. How many sub-points you have will vary depending on your topic, the essay length, and the individual major point. It might be research, quotes, or anecdotes. This is the evidence to support each point. Otherwise, just list the topic in your outline.Įach major point will have sub-points. You can craft your topic sentences and place those in your outline. Sometimes, you might have four or five major points, and that’s okay, too.ĭecide your major points that support your thesis. If you only have two very strong points to support your thesis, you might not need a third one. In general, your essay will have three major points. Usually, this will give me some good ideas to make my introduction compelling. But I think it’s easier to plan the meat of my essay before the introduction. Some people like to plan their introduction first.

#Essay outline how to#

Everything in your essay must support your thesis statement.įor more information about how to craft a strong thesis statement, check out this article on introductions. Without a strong thesis statement, even an outline can’t help you write a cohesive essay. It defines your stance and lets your reader know what your major points are. The thesis statement tells what your essay will be about. This is typically one or two sentences, and it acts as the GPS for your entire essay. The first thing you want to write for your outline is your thesis statement.

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