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6.00 Writing the Outline and Headings for Your Paper

Follow an outline while writing your paper. Before you do any further writing, revise your original problem statement (see section 2.00) into a formal outline in such a way that you can later use the main outline headings as the headings and subheadings for your paper. Good headings and subheadings provide a graphic scheme of the logic of your paper. They also help your reader to easily follow its organization.

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6.01 Recommended Outline

The main points of your paper (Introduction, items in the major ideas section [the Body], and Conclusion) should form the major headings of your formal outline. Eventually these major outline headings should also appear as headings in your paper itself. The supporting ideas for each of these main points should form the subheadings. The major headings (I., II., III., A., B., C., in the outline below) and the subheadings (1., 2., 3., in the outline below) should have at least two parts. If you have smaller divisions to your outline and paper [a., b., c., (1), (2), (3) in the outline below], they may be one or more parts. Major ideas should be grammatically parallel [(I. with II. with III.) and (A. with B. with C.)] in the outline below). See section 7.07:2, 16.

A brief one-or-two sentence summary for each part will help you organize your ideas and will help you to identify potential "trouble spots." See Hodges and Whitten, p. 369 for a sample. Read section 12.00.

Use an outline similar to the one which follows. See Hodges and Whitten 33f, especially the examples on pp. 368-370. If you know the outlining system taught in Composition 1110 and set forth in Socrates: A College Writing Program, use that.

See section 9.08 for the correct ordering of the paper's parts.

[Center Double-spaced Title Here, Using Upper and Lower Case Letters, and Using No Underlining, Quotation Marks or Brackets.] I. Introduction (See section 7.01) [Add a double-spaced thesis statement here which indicates what you intend to show in your essay as a whole. This will likely later become your final introduction.]   II. Body (See section 7.02) A. Major idea (or claim) one (Problem Definition Paragraph) [state major idea, then develop it with supporting ideas] 1. Supporting idea a. Example or illustration for supporting idea (1) Detail for example or illustration (2) Detail for example or illustration b. Example or illustration for supporting idea (1) Detail for example or illustration (2) Detail for example or illustration (3) Detail for example or illustration 2. Supporting idea a. Example or illustration for supporting idea (1) Detail for example or illustration (2) Detail for example or illustration b. Example or illustration for supporting idea 3. Conclusion to (A.). B. Major idea (or claim) two (One or more argumentative paragraphs informing the reader about the problem and its background) [For each paragraph state major idea, then develop it with supporting ideas] 1. Supporting idea a. Example or illustration for supporting idea b. Example or illustration for supporting idea c. Example or illustration for supporting idea (1) Detail for example or illustration (2) Detail for example or illustration 2. Supporting idea a. Example or illustration for supporting idea (1) Detail for example or illustration (2) Detail for example or illustration b. Example or illustration for supporting idea c. Example or illustration for supporting idea 3. Supporting idea a. Example or illustration for supporting idea b. Example or illustration for supporting idea 4. Conclusion to (B.). C. Major idea (or claim) three . . . . [This may take the form of a paragraph acting acting as a transition between the above background information and your further evaluation and interpretation of the problem and its solution(s). Include supporting information as above.] D. Major idea (or claim) four . . . . [One or more paragraphs may present alternative solutions or interpretations of the problem. Include supporting information as above.]   III. Conclusion to the Paper (See section 7.03) Donald W. Larmouth, in Socrates (Acton, MA: Copley Publishing Group, 1986, p. 214), suggests the concluding paragraph or section contain "conclusion-signal, summary of problem, background, and evaluative conclusions, and the overall thesis statement--either a recommendation of the preferred alternative or the more satisfactory factual interpretation."   IV. Works Cited (See sections 8.10-8.14)   V. Appendices (if any) (See section 7.06)

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6.02 Seriation within a Paragraph or Sentence

To indicate organization within the same paragraph or sentence use lower case letters (not underlined) in parentheses, for example, "(a)." See other examples in sections 3.02 and 4.00.