Writing Help: General Essay Outline

When you are writing an essay for class, creating  an outline can help guide your writing to make it more clear and concise.

Paragraph I.  Introduction

In this paragraph, you are introducing to your reader what the essay is about.  You need to include a lead, your thesis statement and three main points.  A lead gets your reader interested in what you have to say.  The lead can be a story, a joke, a question or something provocative that the reader may not have expected.

Paragraph II.  Topic Sentence 1

Use this paragraph to prove one point in support of your thesis for the essay.  Give details and examples.

A.  Support topic sentence 1

  • Detail/example
  • Detail/example

B.  Support  topic sentence 1

  • Detail/example
  • Detail/example

Paragraph III.  Topic Sentence 2

Use this paragraph to prove one point in support of your thesis for the essay.  Give details and examples.

A.  Support topic sentence 1

  • Detail/example
  • Detail/example

B.  Support  topic sentence 1

  • Detail/example
  • Detail/example

Paragraph IV.  Topic Sentence 3

Use this paragraph to prove one point in support of your thesis for the essay.  Give details and examples.

A.  Support topic sentence 1

  • Detail/example
  • Detail/example

B.  Support  topic sentence 1

  • Detail/example
  • Detail/example

 

Paragraph V.  Concluding Paragraph

In this paragraph, you summarize your points, restate your thesis, and give a final comment or conclusion.