Why Create an Outline?
Creating an outline before you start writing your essay can help you organize your arguments in a logical way. Laying out your essay sections or paragraphs and listing all the information you will be including is also a good way to make sure you meet assignment criteria. For research papers, using an outline can help you keep track of large amounts of information.
Other Benefits:
Aids in the process of writing;
Allows you to show the relationships between ideas in your writing;
Constructs an ordered overview of your writing.
How to Create an Outline
First:
Carefully read your assignment details.
Decide on a topic.
Create a thesis statement for your paper.
Then:
List all the ideas and/or specific examples that you want to include in your paper.
Group the related ideas together under common headings; these will form your body paragraphs.
Ensure all your ideas flow together in a logical way.
Additional Resources
Five-Paragraph Essay Format
Five Paragraph Essay Sample Outline. From English Current (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2021 from https://www.englishcurrent.com/writing/template-5-paragraph-essay-outline/