English/Schwartz

Essay Outline Guide!

Introduction:

Engaging Opening: Capture the reader’s attention with a hook that doesn’t directly talk about the text yet.  Ease your reader into your topic.  A series of rhetorical questions, a vivid description, a dictionary definition, or a thought-provoking statement about a related topic are all examples of strategies for an engaging opening.

Background Information: Here’s where you state what text you will be talking about, the author, and basic background information (for instance, a brief summary of the plot, references to characters, events, topics, etc., you will discuss).  You should be gradually moving from the general to the more specific, ultimately leading to your…

Thesis Statement: (write it out exactly, a full, well-written sentence!)  Here is one sentence in which you state your main idea for your essay.  A thesis should be a claim (something that must be proven, not a statement of fact from the text).   Your thesis should cover all that you want to talk about in all of your body paragraphs (you might start by planning your topic sentences and then write a thesis statement that “umbrellas” them).  Your thesis should be clear, strong, and go right at the end of your introduction paragraph.

Body Paragraphs:

Topic Sentence: (write it out exactly, a full, well-written sentence!)  This is like a mini-thesis, just for the one body paragraph.  It should state a claim or a supporting reason that directly supports your thesis statement.  Everything in the body paragraph should, in turn, relate to the topic sentence.  Topic sentences should always start each body paragraph (except when, in your draft, you insert transitions).

Evidence: (write out direct quotations exactly, and note page numbers!) Collect evidence from the text (mostly direct quotations, with some paraphrases) to support/illustrate your topic sentence. 

Analysis: Take notes on what you will say about each piece of evidence (what is its significance?  How does it support/relate to the topic sentence?  These are your ideas about the text).  You only need notes for your outline, but remember that analysis is the “meat” of your essay; you want to fully explain.  (In your draft, you may want to add a “summary statement” at the end of body paragraphs as well.)

Conclusion:

Summary of Main Ideas: Restate your thesis statement (perhaps in greater detail, now that we’ve read your argument).  Remind your reader of what you have shown them in your essay.

Satisfying Closing:  Now it’s time to lead your reader back out into the world.  Tell them a thought-provoking idea, or the value of having read the essay or explored what the essay discussed.  Find some way to wrap up your essay so it comes to a thoughtful end (don’t “hit the brakes” by suddenly just ending; come to a gradual stop, and finish strong!)