Essay Outline Maker

What is Essay Outline?

Essay outlines are an important part of the essay writing process. Any perfect essay should have a perfect topic and rich content written in a seamless, well-organized outline. So, in a nutshell, essay outlines act as the guiding star to a perfect essay.

So, if you want to write a good essay, you should have an essay outline template ready. The outline format will help you organize your ideas and shape them into proper paragraphs. That way, you can cover all the vital aspects of the essay without missing any.

Creating an essay outline is not mandatory. However, you should know how to write an outline since it helps to draft more coherent and impressive essays.

Here we discuss everything you need to know before writing an essay. Read along.

How to Write Essay Outlines

While writing essays, creating an essay outline is deemed the most crucial step by professional essay writers. For example, if you have the outline of an article ready, you will have a strong synopsis, reducing your writing time. Follow these steps to make a strong essay outline –

Identify a topic that interests you

College students make the mistake of choosing any topic that seems interesting. However, you should only choose a topic that interests you. That way, you will be motivated to work on that topic, even if the essays are long. There are several college essay outline templates available online. You can browse the web and choose an ideal outline for your essay.

Know your target audience

Before you make an outline, understand for whom you are creating it. The essay outline for college students will not be the same for a PhD student. There are several paper outline examples on the internet. You can always surf these examples to understand the minor differences between the essay outlines of different standards.

Research the topic, and gather information

After determining the target audience, you need to start researching the same. While looking on the web for information, you must reflect on the topic to plan the design of your paper. Gather information accordingly, and note them down to create a sound outline essay template.

Determine the essay type you want to use

Determining how you want your essay to shape up is crucial. If you are comparing two objects, you should create a compare-and-contrast essay outline. Similarly, describing the before and after situation of a natural disaster may need you to make a cause-and-effect essay outline.

Group the ideas in separate paragraphs

An essay outline should be divided into separate paragraphs, each explaining the various parts of an essay. For example, the outline for a descriptive essay should have a “hook” to catch the reader’s attention. Then the body should describe the details of the topic in multiple paragraphs to make it more detailed.

Essay Outline Format

Every essay outline starts with –

Introduction

This is the essay's first paragraph and is used to grab the audience's attention. This part should provide background information about the topic. Many writers use controversial statements or a dramatic tone to grab the reader’s interest.

If you check out the outline for expository or descriptive essays, you will see that writers sometimes use statistics, quotes, or rhetorical questions to connect with the readers. This part is known as the hook and is one of the most essential parts of a good introduction.

Body paragraph

In the second paragraph, you must explain the thesis statement you mentioned in the introduction. Use detailed information with abundant supporting facts and evidence to prove your statement. You can also break the body into multiple paragraphs if the essay type demands it.

For example, a quick glance at any research synthesis essay outline will show how researchers use different paragraphs to explain the various parts of their research.

Conclusion

This is the final paragraph of the essay. So, while creating an outline format, ensure that it is strong enough to give your readers closure on the topic. Summarise all the major points you mentioned in the introduction and body of the essay.

Keeping the conclusion concise yet powerful helps to reinstate your thesis statement before signing off. You can also add a “Call to Action” button in your essay outline.

This structure is also termed "Five Paragraph Structure”, as many outline essay templates divide the entire outline into five major parts. This is what a five-paragraph structure looks like –

• Introduction
• Essay topic introduction
• Thesis statement
• Body Paragraph 1
• Topic Sentence 1
• Examples and Evidence
• A brief conclusion that connects it to the thesis
• Body Paragraph 2
• Topic Sentence 3
• Examples and Evidence
• A brief conclusion that connects it to the thesis
• Body Paragraph 3
• Topic Sentence 3
• Examples and Evidence
• A brief conclusion that connects it to the thesis
• Conclusion
• Essay Summary
• Thesis restatement
• Call to Action

Points to Remember While Writing Essay Outlines

Irrespective of an informative, persuasive, or argumentative essay outline, there are certain points that you must remember while creating an essay outline.

• It is not mandatory to make an essay outline while writing essays.
• There is no defined outline format. You can format the evidence and arguments in a way that is comfortable and understandable to you.
• All the points should be presented in a clear and visually appealing way.
• Arrange your arguments in a logical order.
• Avoid data redundancy in the essay.
• Organize the essay outline in an alphanumeric or decimal structure.

Benefits of Essay Outlining

Greater Focus

The thesis statement is extremely crucial for any essay. This sheds light at both ends of the tunnel. So, you need to create an outline format to develop a strong thesis statement. This eventually helps you to focus on your central idea and develop the arguments.

A strong essay outline pulls and highlights your ideas, preventing you from going off track. So, it helps to maintain focus and not get diverted to unrelated topics.

Smoother Transitions

While writing an elaborative piece, it is crucial to use smooth transitions between words and phrases. Without a smooth transition, two separate paragraphs will sound distant and unrelated. So, smooth word transitions glue the lines together. This is where the essay outline plays a vital role.

When you write the essay following a solid outline, your paragraphs don’t seem like jumping from one point to another. The whole essay feels and sounds logical with smoother transitions.

Optimal Order of Content

Teachers and academicians around the world feel differently about the ideal flow of an essay. Many professors believe it is best to start with the weaker points and then gradually move to the stronger arguments. On the contrary, there are academicians who believe that stating the strongest argument at the beginning is better.

No matter how you want the assignment to shape up, a strong essay outline helps you see how the facts can be presented in the most optimal way. For example, the outline for expository essays is systematic in nature. This kind of essay asks the writers to explore ideas, elaborate on the central ideas, evaluate all evidence, and present them in a logical way.

A solid essay outline helps writers understand how to execute all these steps for maximum impact.

Essay outlines also help writers to make the papers concise. Eliminating fluff and writing concise papers always prove to be a challenge for most students. Writing ten words when you can explain it in five words only leads to wordy, hard-to-understand papers.

For example, while writing argumentative papers, writers tend to use duplicate data while trying to prove their point. However, if there is a set argumentative essay outline, you can simply use it as a guide and avoid using redundant data. Instead of getting buried under tons of tangential discussions, you can get rid of the unnecessary words and write only what is needed.

Improved Organisation

Fundamentally, an essay outline is simply an organizational tool. This helps you to organize the different parts of the essay like –

• Have you sensibly approached your argument?
• Have you covered everything you wanted to prove?
• Are you drafting a compelling story?

For example, if you are writing a persuasive essay, a persuasive essay outline can help you take a more organized approach. Similarly, while writing a narrative essay, following a narrative essay outline helps to tell a personal story minus the fluff.

If you want to know more about essay outline examples, click on this link for detailed help.

Types of Outlines

Keyword Outline

This type of essay outline offers a broad overview of the topics you want to focus on. Irrespective of the outline, begin the thesis statement by mentioning it at the top of the page. This highlights the areas you need to explain.

For example, while writing the syllabus of college courses, professors use the keyword outlining to highlight the topics that will be covered during the course.

Sentence Outline

Sentence outlining type offers a more detailed approach than keyword outline. You will also need to write the thesis statement at the top of the paper. After that, bullet points can be used to draft the topic sentences in each paragraph. Under each topic sentence, jot down the supporting evidence and facts. This kind of essay outline is most used while writing persuasive essays.

Classical Outline

Classical outlining mentions Roman numerals and letters in the essay headings and subheadings. This essay outline type is considered one of the most organized forms of outlining as it involves a lot of sequential thinking. This is why this outlining type is most popular among non-fiction writers.

Summary Outlining

In this type of essay outline, the writer ballparks the chapter number in a draft. Then the short summaries of the chapters are mentioned.

There is a well-defined goal for each chapter and the characters. A summary outline is extremely linear in nature. This style can be used to write concise articles where you need to present large ideas in your own words.

Index Card Outlining

Index card outlining is best for those cases where you need to follow a non-linear style. This essay outline type allows the writers to reorganize ideas constantly. This style of outlining is most popular among screenplay writers.

However, students can also use this method to write essay assignments on MS PowerPoint. That way, they can always reorganize the slides to adjust the format of the essay.

Cluster Outlining

Cluster outlining is designed like a web of ideas that eventually connects to make a story. When you are asked to write super long and detailed essays, this outlining type becomes most helpful. You can put your central idea in a central bubble. Then other ideas will radiate out from it, forming the web, which needs to be connected at the end for a cohesive essay.

Essay Outline Examples

Here are a few essays outline examples for you to check and understand –

Expository Essay Outline

• Introduction Paragraph
• Attention Getter (Write the sentence you want to use to capture the attention of the readers)
• Detail – add some details to support your attention-seeking line
• Complete Thesis Statement
• Body Paragraph 1 Topic Sentence (Write entire sentences)
• Supporting detail – Explain your topic sentence
• Supporting detail – Give examples to support your topic sentence and explain them
• Give a statement summarising the topic sentence in detail. The statement should be analytical in nature
• Body Paragraph 2 Topic Sentence
• Repeat point C as mentioned above
• Body Paragraph 3 Topic Sentence
• Repeat point C as mentioned above in the II part.
• Conclusion
• Restate your ideas without making them too similar, like the thesis statement
• Summarise and connect the key points of the essay with the central idea.

Descriptive Essay Outline

• Paragraph 1
• Opening sentence – A topic sentence to grab attention
• The place/thing I am writing about
• Brief detail about the place/thing
• Add sensory details
• Paragraph 2
• Description of another place/thing
• Add factual details
• Add sensory details with vivid details
• Paragraph 3
• Description of another place/thing
• Add factual details
• Add sensory details with great details
• Paragraph 4
• Restatement of how you feel about the place/thing
• Add any additional details (if needed)
• Clincher statement

Argumentative Essay Outline

• Introduction
• Open with a “hook” statement to keep the readers engaged till the conclusion
• Provide background details to understand the context or the topic.
• Add a thesis statement explaining your approach and why you feel that way
• First Reason
• Start with the less controversial evidence to support your argument. Add all the evidential supports explaining your stance.
• Summarise the first reason and connect everything together with substantial evidence.
• Second Reason
• Continue listing the reasons in the same way. List down the reasons from the least controversial to the most.
• First Opposing Point of View
• Point out the weaknesses and inconsistencies
• Refute the stated points with evidence
• Establish your position as a more viable option
• Second Opposing Pont of View
• Continue presenting more information and refuting opposing points in the same format.
• Conclusion
• Repeat your position, mention the thesis statement, and present your strongest evidence to rebut any opposing points.
• Wrap up the essay with a solid concluding statement that provokes thought and remains with the readers.

Narrative Essay Outline

• Introduction
• The Hook statement catches the reader’s attention
• Set the scene – give a brief description of the topic, and establish a context
• Thesis statement – Give a summarised explanation of the issue, or challenge you want to solve.
• Body
• Provide as much evidence as you can
• Give supporting evidence to back a personal narrative
• Write about your experience in a chronological way
• Use smooth transitions of words and phrases
• Conclusion
• End the essay with a moral of the story

Most Frequently Asked Questions By Students

Q 1. What is an essay outline?

Ans: An essay outline is a clear and direct roadmap that guides you to write an essay. It shows the writer how the paragraphs will come in a specific order and all the points will fit to become whole.

Q 2. Why is an essay outline important?

Ans: An essay outline is important since it helps writers understand how to logically connect all the points to support their claims and the thesis statement.

Q 3. What are the components of an essay outline?

Ans: Irrespective of the type, essay outlines are divided into three broad ways – introduction, body paragraph, and conclusion.

Q 4. How do you create an essay outline?

Ans: Follow these simple steps to write an essay outline –

• Start with a gripping introduction
• Explain the thesis statement
• Refute or Back the thesis statement with enough evidence
• Conclude the essay with a thought-provoking statement

Q 5. Can you change your essay outline as you write?

Ans: You should always try to stick to the essay outline at all costs. However, if you feel that you are facing roadblocks while following a structure, it is ok to shift to another essay outline you feel is more suitable for your paper.

Q 6. What are the five parts of an outline of the essay?

Ans: The five main parts of an essay outline are –

• Introduction
• Summarise your argument
• Argue the thesis statement
• Counter the argument with facts and evidence
• Conclusion

Q 7. What is an outline for a 3 paragraph essay?

Ans: Like most essays, a three-paragraph essay also has three parts – an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. However, the main highlighting part of this style is that all the sections are written in only one paragraph.

Q 8. Should an essay outline be formal or informal?

Ans: Essay outlines can be both formal and informal, depending on why you are writing them. Informal essays are also known as personal essays.