How do you i write an outline for an essay?

Answer 1

According to the MLA Handbook (2009), and the Purdue Online Writing Lab (2011), among others:

First, begin with upper-case Roman numerals - I., II., III., etc.

Then, use upper-case letters - A., B., C., etc.

Then, use Arabic numbers - 1., 2., 3., etc.

Then, use lower-case letters - a., b., c., etc.

From there, use lower-case Roman numerals - i., ii., iii., etc. (Not all style guides that have outline information drill down this far.)

For lower levels yet, repeat from A on down, but put the numbering in parentheses instead of following it with a period - (A), (1), (a), (i)

For extremely low levels, the same but a single (trailing) parenthesis is used - A), 1), a), i)

The Chicago Manual of Style (2010) instead recommends an oddly inconsistent system, based on the usage of the United State Congress in drafting legislation. The order (with punctuation) is: I., A., 1., a), (1), (a), i). It is commonly (but neither exclusively nor universally) used in law and political science in the US, and is also favored by some journalists and other devotees of Chicago style. Its use in the sciences is uncommon.

There is no APA standard for outlining, nor any such thing as a "Harvard outline" ("Harvard-style" or "Harvard-format" refers to a system of reference citation, not outlining).

Regardless of the system chosen, as you move down and indent further, your text is more specific.

Here is an example (using _ underscores to indicate indentation; as the Answers.com editor's indent feature indents too far):

I. Egyptian Empire

_A. Early Dynastic to Middle Kingdom

_B. New Kingdom to Late Period

__1. Notable emperors

___a. Amenhotep I

___b. Akhenaten

___c. Tutankhamen ("King Tut", "the Boy King")

____i. Reign

____ii. Death and burial

____(A). Tomb discovery and excavation

__1. Nefertiti

_C. Graeco-Roman

__1. Ptolemaic emperors

___a. Ptolemy I

__2. Absorption by Roman Empire

II. Roman Empire

_A. ...

_B. ...

__1. ...

___a. ...

___b. ...

__2. ...

___a. ...

___b. ...

_C. ...

Spacing: Except in very compact outlines, there is usually a space between each Roman numeral section and the one preceding it. For complex outlines, there may also be spaces between upper-case letter sections, and for very large and detailed outlines with a great deal of text, even lower segments might also be spaced apart, for readability. Check any in-house style guide, or (for students) see the paper writing standards used in your field for potential guidance, and if in doubt, ask your instructor or teaching assistant. But many fields' style guides do not in fact cover outline formatting at all.

Outlines can be topic outlines or sentence outlines. In a topic outline, each item in the outline should be a topic heading, with the assumption that the outline will be used as the "skeleton" for a paper, article or other work, with various paragraphs, even entire chapters, under each topic outline item. In a sentence outline, each item in the outline should be a complete sentence, with the assumption that the outline will be used as the first draft of the material itself, with additional sentences inserted as needed.

The above examples are all alphanumeric outlines. A completely different style is the decimal outline. It uses periods (dots) between successive Arabic numerals to indicate levels of nesting of topics, usually without indentation. Here is an example of a business plan done in this style:

Executive Summary

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

1.2 Purpose and Objectives

2. Analysis of the Environment

2.1 External Analysis

2.1.1 Macro environment

2.1.1.1 Demographic, Cultural & Social

2.1.1.2 Political

2.1.1.3 Economic

2.1.1.4 Technological

2.1.2 Market

2.1.3 Competition

2.2 Internal Analysis

2.2.1 Performance

2.2.2 Management and Staff

2.2.3 Infrastructure and Delivery

2.2.4 Customers

3. SWOT Analysis

3.1 Opportunities

3.2 Threats

3.3 Strengths

3.4 Weaknesses

4. Fundamental Marketing Strategies

4.1 Supply Strategies

4.2 Demand Strategies

4.3 Positioning Strategies

4.4 Competition Strategies

5. Marketing Mix Strategies

5.1 Product

5.2 Price

5.3 Place

5.4 Promotion

5.5 Personnel

6. Implementation and Control

6.1 Implementation

6.2 Control

7. Financial Forecast

8. Conclusion

Answer 2

To write an outline for an essay, start by identifying your main points or arguments. Then, organize these points in a logical order, with supporting evidence or examples for each point. Include an introduction, body paragraphs for each main point, and a conclusion. Review and revise your outline to ensure it flows well and covers all necessary information before you start writing your essay.

Answer 3

It depends on the essay. Usually start with topic ideas for each paragraph, a thesis basically, and find evidence in whatever topic you are writing about to support these topic scentences and develop your paper that way. Always conclude an essay by pushing ideas forward rather than simply re-stating what you have written about.

Answer 4

Here's how to write a good outline for a fictional narrative:

• Write down a one-line description of every scene you can imagine being in your story
• Line up the scenes in logical order
• Read over what you've got and look to see if you need more scenes in between to tell more of the story - add those scenes if you need to
• Beneath the heading for each scene, write a brief description of what happens. Give the setting. List any characters who make their first appearance in that scene. Give the conflict in the scene.
• Check over your outline to make sure you've got conflict leading up to a climax, and then a couple of scenes to wrap things up afterwards. If not, add scenes (or remove them) where needed.

That's your outline!

Answer 5

Outlines are usually written by bullet-pointing major points. In addition, sub-points are included under each bullet point with more details.

Answer 6

Usually an outline will have numbering and indentation and/or bullet points. See the related link for further information.