Drafting an outline or completing a graphic organizer for your research essay is one of the many ideal ways to organize your essay itself.
Before you begin to draft your outline or complete your graphic organizer, you should identify your research essay topic.
Or you may use the following outline sample to format your research essay outline:
I. Introduction:
A. Hook
B. Context (providing a rhetorical pattern of your choosing that you think will help draw the audience into the topic)
C. Thesis Statement (what is your argumentative viewpoint, assertion, or stance that you will speak to in your research essay)
II. Body Paragraph #1 (topic sentence that elaborates on the thesis statement)
A. Evidence #1 (researched information, conclusions that you have made from the research, data, facts, expert opinions, examples)–Make sure to write your interpretation, i.e. major details, of the researched information that you believe is relevant to this topic sentence and that will underscore this topic sentence. This evidence should be persuasive and convincing to the reader. You will also have to use paraphrases and summaries as part of your evidence to support your interpretations, i.e. minor details.
i. major details (elaboration of topic sentence that should be rooted in research)
a. minor detail #1 (further elaboration of the major details)
b. minor detail #2
ii. major details
a. minor detail #1
b. minor detail #2
B. Evidence #2–follow the same steps that you would for evidence #1
C. Evidence #3
D. Evidence #4
For the additional body paragraphs that you will draft, you should follow the format above.
III. Conclusion paragraph (projection of the future regarding the social issue and a reinforcement of the points)
