The Importance of Outlines

An outline is like a map that shows you where your essay is going to go. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that outlining your ideas before you start writing your essay is a waste of time. The outlining process can help improve many aspects of your essay:
  1. It can help you develop and strengthen your thesis because it shows you the basic structure of your argument and helps you double check that all your main points actually support your thesis.
  2. It can help you finalize your main points. An outline can help you see which points are strongest and which points can be taken out. It can also help you identify related points that could be combined into a single, stronger paragraph. 
  3. Once you have your thesis and main points, it can help you with your research by identifying areas where you need to gather more evidence.
  4. It can help improve the organization of your essay, which will strengthen your argument and make your essay easier to understand. 

Your outline can be as brief or as detailed as you would like. Some people even take the time to identify where they will place specific quotes, statistics and other supporting evidence within their essay during the outlining process. You can scribble all over it as you make changes or you can write more than one draft of your outline before you even start writing.

Here is just one sample of what an outline might look like:

Writing an Outline for an In-Class Essay

An outline is especially useful when writing an in-class essay where you do not have time to write a rough draft and make improvements that way. Instead of just diving in to the writing and hoping it all works out, take a few minutes to draw up a short outline first. It will help you gather your thoughts, organize your ideas and write a better, more persuasive essay.

Here is just one sample of what a short outline for an in-class essay might look like:

These helpful worksheets will help you learn to create your own outlines: