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Persuasive Essays

Creating an Outline

Once you have your thesis you might be tempted to jump right in to researching and writing your paper, but hold on! Outlining is a valuable step in the process tat will help you in the long run. Creating a brief outline of your argument and describing the points you want to make will help you make a more logical and organized argument, and will help focus your research efforts.

A simple outline gives a brief rundown of each paragraph you plan to write, and may initially look like this:

  1. Introduction
  2. Argument 1
  3. Argument 2
  4. Argument 3
  5. Conclusion

Here is an example of an outline that includes detail about each point the writer wants to make within their argument:

  1. Introduction: All college students should required to take financial literacy classes (thesis)
  2. Argument 1: To help them with their personal financial decisions throughout their life
    • Point: When students are 18 they are financially independent and need to understand how their decisions now impact the rest of their lives
    • Point: Many college students don't understand how important it is to save and have a healthy relationship with money
  3. Argument 2: So they can understand student debt better
    • Point: Many adults have crippling student debt that they acquired at a young age
    • Point: Understanding how students debt works will help college students manage and reduce debt and better their lives
  4. Argument 3: So they can be better prepared for the future and be happier and healthier
    • Point: Decisions now can impact college students for the rest of their lives
    • Point: Developing a healthy relationship with money at an early age will help people be more financial stable and aware, and will save them stress and anxiety
  5. Conclusion: Summary of my argument

With a clearly delineated outline like this, a student has a roadmap to their argument and also a guide to help them with their research.

 

Tools for Writing Your Outline