Week 3 Assignment
Learning Resource
Insights: Outlining
Decide How to Present the Evidence
An outline sets up the organization of a paper, a key step in developing and presenting work that is unified and coherent in its final version. There are various types of outlines, from the formal version to the informal jotting down of ideas.
Before starting your outline, your thesis statement should be complete, and you should have identified ample evidence from the story to support the thesis. Next, consider the best way to organize and present that evidence.
Literary analysis papers do not have to be organized according to the chronology of the story. Instead, they may be organized according to the importance of the ideas presented. The body paragraphs may be organized hierarchically—presenting ideas in increasing order of importance and underscoring how each one supports the thesis.
An outline that governs the paper’s structure will help you prioritize your ideas. When you present your ideas in order of relative importance, you are less likely to make the mistake of presenting too much summary material.
Dedicate as much time as needed to organize your ideas before starting to draft a paper. This will help to establish a strong foundation for your writing. By devoting time to prewriting tasks, you can achieve a solid structure for your paper before adding the details.
Resources for Outlining
· Microsoft Word has a built-in feature to create an outline.
· Your introduction and thesis statement are placed after Roman numeral I.
· Use Roman numerals (II, III, IV, V, etc.) to identify the main points you will use in support of your thesis statement.
· Use capital letters (A, B, C, D, etc.) for the evidence that will support the main points.
· Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) if you need to add more details to your evidence.
· The final Roman numeral is where you will write an idea for your conclusion.