Getting somewhere can be easy if you know where you’re going, and while we might become too comfortable and exaggerate when quantifying how much we know about something, it’s always best to have a plan. Writing an assignment is, the majority of the time, a lot like life. We could just figure it out as we go, but we’ll likely encounter more than a few challenges because we didn’t prepare. This is why a research paper outline is so important because it gives you organization and structure. We’re going to go over a few tips on how to write an outline for a research paper.
Have a Topic
We can’t start crafting a research paper outline without a topic, well, we could, but we don’t recommend that. Having a topic means you can then narrow down your thesis and what you want to write about. Depending on your assignment, your topic could be arguing in favor or against something, explaining a historical event, providing instructions for something, etc., and these are the things that will help you get started.
Do Some Preliminary Research
The outline doesn’t always need specific details, but you should know what kind of data you’ll be working with. Check out a few articles, books, and videos to know what evidence you need and will support your outline. You can always use Litero’s AI chat to know more about your topic or possible ideas for it.
Choose an Outline Format
If you have a format for a research essay outline that you have to follow, then that’s one less thing you have to do. However, if you’re doing an outline for you as an exercise or to help you write, we’ve got some options to choose from. Your outline should focus on details and crucial information; it’s where you’ll include relevant data and arguments, and you can expand them when you start writing the assignment but not before. However, regardless of which format you use, make sure to always use one that flows logically. Using a word processor can help you with this because it’ll automatically create the numbering system, like A) then 1) then i) or any other format.
Outline with Titles
This format follows this general structure for body paragraphs:
TITLE OF SECTION/PARAGRAPH TOPIC
- Idea #1
- Sub-point within Idea #1
- Supporting Details (facts, statistics, etc.)
- Sub-point within Idea #1
- Supporting Details (facts, statistics, etc.)
- Sub-point within Idea #1
- Idea #2
- Sub-point within Idea #2
- Supporting Details (facts, statistics, etc.)
- Sub-point within Idea #2
- Supporting Details (facts, statistics, etc.)
- Sub-point within Idea #2
Outline with Full Sentences
This research essay outline is probably more familiar to you since it requires that you have a basic idea of your topic:
- Paragraph Topic:
- Topic Sentence
- Sub-point #1
- Evidence
- Sub-point #1
- Evidence
- Transition:
The importance of these formats depends on how well you can organize your thoughts, ideas, and arguments, so try to always include the necessary details.
Tip: if you’re struggling with how to organize or structure your topic, you can use Litero’s outline function that will give you a full structure you can adapt to what you need. Also, if you have an outline you don’t like, Litero can give you a new one whenever you need it!
What to Add to Each Section
It’s easy to look at these formats and think that you’ll just know how to fill each section, but we also know that this can be confusing. We’ve got a few rules and tips to help you with this:
Go from General to Specific
Define the topic of your paragraph and stick to it. If the topic for that paragraph is that banning plastic straws will benefit lobsters, then your sub-points and supporting details should focus on this. Start by saying something like ‘Reducing the usage of plastic straws can mean less contamination in areas where lobsters live, allowing them to eat and thrive without pollution.’ A sub-point can be tha” pollution means easier reproduction for lobsters, and another sub-point can be that protecting the lobster population means more stability for marine environments.
Parallelism
Each section and sub-section in your research essay outline should be in the same verb form and structure; this helps you keep things logical and ensures the flow of the outline.
There’s No Limit On Sections
We added two sub-points within the example above, but you can (and should!) add as many sections as you need. If you have three sub-points, then add them. You should keep in mind how long each paragraph will be, but you can always separate them later on. If you’re working with an outline that focuses on sections and their points rather than individual paragraphs, you can always divide these sections into smaller parts. The goal is to ensure that you have enough information.
Introduction and Conclusion
Now that you have your points ready, you can get started with the beginning and end of your outline for a research paper.
Introduction
Your introduction should start with a hook and highlight the topic. From there, you should give an overview of the topic that allows your audience to know why this topic is relevant. It should look something like this:
- Introduction
- Hook
- Context of the topic
- Specific idea(s) you’re presenting
- Highlight importance
- Working thesis
This should allow you to organize your ideas and help you identify which parts are the most important.
Conclusion
Your conclusion should reintroduce your thesis and summarize the points you’ve made in your research essay outline, and it should look something like this:
- Conclusion
- Restate thesis statement
- Summary of point #1
- Summary of point #2
- ‘
- Concluding statement.
You should use crucial details and information, but because having a research essay outline doesn’t mean you have the paper ready, this part of the outline could include things like “Summary of point #1 and implications of it.” It all depends on your topic. If you need help with which points to include, using Litero’s conclusion function is a great place to start.
Editing
After you’ve spent a long while familiarizing yourself with the topic, you’ll probably make modifications. Take this time to proofread and add facts and figures that you’ve found and include where you got them from. Here, you can use Litero’s grammar and plagiarism check tools to make sure that your research essay outline doesn’t have any odd details and is the best it can be for your assignment.