An outline is a formal system used to think about and organize your paper. For example, you can use it to
see whether your ideas connect to each other, what order of ideas works best, or whether you have
sufficient evidence to support each of your points. Outlines can be useful for any paper to help you see
the overall picture.
Make the Outline
1. Identify the topic. The topic of your paper is important. Try to sum up the point of your paper in one
sentence or phrase. This will help your paper stay focused on the main point.
2. Identify the main categories. What main points will you cover? The introduction usually introduces
all of your main points, then the rest of paper can be spent developing those points.
3. Create the first category. What is the first point you want to cover? If the paper centers around a
complicated term, a definition is often a good place to start. For a paper about a particular theory,
giving the general background on the theory can be a good place to begin.
4. Create subcategories. After you have the main point, create points under it that provide support for
the main point. The number of categories that you use depends on the amount of information that you
are going to cover; there is no right or wrong number to use.
By convention, each category consists of a minimum of two entries. If your first category is Roman
numeral I, your outline must also have a category labeled roman numeral II; if you have a capital
letter A under category I, you must also have a capital letter B. Whether you then go on to have
capital letters C, D, E, etc., is up to you, depending on the amount of material you are going to cover.
You are required to have only two of each numbered or lettered category.
Television and Children's Violence
I. Introduction
A. Does television cause violence?
1. Brief mention of previous areas of research
2. Identify causation dilemma
B. Present studies on both sides
1. Some studies are "for"
2. Some studies are "against"
C. After weighing evidence it appears that TV does not cause violence
II. Research "For"
A. First study "for"
1. Method
2. Results
3. Analysis of their conclusions
a. insufficient sample size
b. but representative sample
B. Second study "for"
1. Method
2. Results
3. Analysis of their conclusions
a. faulty instructions
b. poor control group