Outlines

Example Formal Outline An outline consists of short fragments that will allow you to understand what you are going to use in each section. Roman Numerals break down into points you are going to talk about. They are NOT paragraphs. They are just ideas

I. Thesis  A. Main Point 1 (subtopic)  B. Main Point 2 (subtopic)  C. Main Point 3 (subtopic)

(There can be as many subtopics here are you may need. It can be as short as two or as long as 10, depending on the length of the final paper and the topic you are writing about.) II. Main Point 1  A. sub point  1. details of sub point  2. details of sub point  B. sub point  1. details of sub point  2. details of sub point

(There can be as many sub points here are you may need. Again, it depends on the length of the final paper and the topic you are writing about.)

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20.8px;">Depending on how many main points, depends on how many Roman numerals you end up with.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20.8px;"> III. Conclusion - Restate the thesis and main points. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20.8px;"> A. Main Point 1 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20.8px;"> B. Main Point 2 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20.8px;"> C. Main Point 3 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20.8px;"> D. Recap important Points <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20.8px;"> E. Draw your reader back to your main point and connect it back to your introduction.

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px;">Your formal outline is going to lay out your entire paper for you. <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px;">It is going to be as long as you need it to be to make sure you touch on all the research and other outside information you choose to use for your paper. <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px;">Use notes and abbreviations that you will understand, so that when you go to write the rough draft, you have an idea of where to go. <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20px;">Organize your note cards to coincide with your outline.