Complete the Outline
[Delete this text; must provide header and page number in MLA style]
Title: [Delete this text and type here.]
INTRODUCTION
Hook: [Delete this text and type here.]
Topic introduction/Background information: [Delete this text and type here.]
Referential sentences (optional): [Delete this text and type here.]
Three-point thesis statement: [Delete this text and type here.]
Body Paragraphs (Develop Your Argument)
Claim #1 - Topic Sentence: [Delete this text and type here.]
A. Major detail: [Delete this text and type here.]
a. Evidence: [Delete this text and type here.]
i. Summarize the quote: [Delete this text and type here.]
ii. Connection: [Delete this text and type here.]
B. Major detail: [Delete this text and type here.]
a. Evidence: [Delete this text and type here.]
i. Summarize the quote: [Delete this text and type here.]
ii. Connection: [Delete this text and type here.]
C. Transitional sentence: [Delete this text and type here.]
Claim #2 - Topic Sentence: [Delete this text and type here.]
A. Major detail: [Delete this text and type here.]
a. Evidence: [Delete this text and type here.]
i. Summarize the quote: [Delete this text and type here.]
ii. Connection: [Delete this text and type here.]
B. Major detail: [Delete this text and type here.]
a. Evidence: [Delete this text and type here.]
i. Summarize the quote: [Delete this text and type here.]
ii. Connection: [Delete this text and type here.]
C. Transitional sentence: [Delete this text and type here.]
Claim #3 - Topic Sentence: [Delete this text and type here.]
A. Major detail: [Delete this text and type here.]
a. Evidence: [Delete this text and type here.]
i. Summarize the quote: [Delete this text and type here.]
ii. Connection: [Delete this text and type here.]
B. Major detail: [Delete this text and type here.]
a. Evidence: [Delete this text and type here.]
i. Summarize the quote: [Delete this text and type here.]
ii. Connection: [Delete this text and type here.]
C. Transitional sentence: [Delete this text and type here.]
Rebuttal section
Rebuttal - Topic Sentence: [Delete this text and type here.]
A. Opponent’s strongest argument: [Delete this text and type here.]
a. Evidence: [Delete this text and type here.]
i. Summarize the quote: [Delete this text and type here.]
ii. Connection (how does your opponent’s argument make sense/why would someone believe it?): [Delete this text and type here.]
B. Your position or nature of your disagreement: [Delete this text and type here.]
a. Refutation/Evidence: [Delete this text and type here.]
i. Summarize the quote: [Delete this text and type here.]
ii. Connection (how does your quote help support/prove the nature of your disagreement?): [Delete this text and type here.]
C. Transitional sentence: [Delete this text and type here.]
CONCLUSION
A. Restate the importance of your issue: [Delete this text and type here.]
B. Restate thesis statement: [Delete this text and type here.]
C. Paint a picture of the world depicting what would happen if your argument is (or is not) implemented/or any last thoughts/ May be similar to hook: [Delete this text and type here.]
*Topic introduction/Background information: Introduce your topic and issue. You may want to explain why it is controversial and give context. Remember who your audience is and why they should care. Consider reusing information from your proposal!
*Referential sentences (optional): Summary or preview of what is to come in the body paragraphs. This is optional because you might not want your intro to be very long, or you have already given a preview of what is to come through the topic introduction.background information section.
*Three-point thesis statement: Should contain your topic, opinion, and three points.
Topic: the armored catfish in the San Felipe Creek
Opinion: continued efforts to eradicate are necessary
Points: for the conservation of flora, fauna, and riverbank structure
*Topic sentences- Should start with a transitional word or word phrase (first, therefore, ultimately, etc.) and contain your topic, opinion, and point for that paragraph.
Example: Another reason armoured catfish need to be removed entirely from the San Felipe Creek is to maintain the structure of the riverbank.
Transitional word/word phrase: Another reason
Topic: the armoured catfish from the San Felipe Creek
Opinion: need to be removed entirely (notice the writer has reworded their statement slightly)
Points: to maintain the structure of the riverbank. (unlike a thesis, a topic sentence focuses on one claim)
*Major detail –develops your claim within each body paragraph. Essentially, a major detail is your strategy for developing a specific claim (the claims listed in your thesis). Below are the different strategies you might use.
· Cause and effect.
· Classifying and dividing – the process of grouping or separating.
· Comparing and contrasting – similarities and differences.
· Defining –categorizing and adding characteristics that distinguish it from others in that group.
· Describing –providing specific details to show what something looks like –think of the senses.
· Explaining a process- imagine telling someone how to do something.
· Narrating –telling a story.
· Using examples.
*Evidence –a detail that supports a major detail by giving specific information. Cite evidence correctly. Also, frame your quote correctly by providing context information such as who said it, where it came from, or its purpose.
Example: According to a grant report regarding water quality for the San Felipe Creek Commissioners and the city of Del Rio from eight years ago, “The armored catfish appear to damage the bank areas contributing to erosion and bank stability issues. Each of these species contributes to negatively impacting water quality by increasing the amount of suspended solids introduced into the creek and by reducing the ability of the riparian area to act as a buffer or filter” ( “San Felipe Creek” 25).
Notice that the work above does not have an author, but it does have a title and page number properly cited. Also, the author introduces the quote by giving context information, “According to a grant report regarding water quality for the San Felipe Creek Commissioners and the city of Del Rio from eight years ago.”
*Summarize the quote – Summarize the quote in your own words. Your interpretation or understanding of the quote might differ from how the reader perceives it. To avoid confusion, clearly state how you see the quote.
*Connection – Explains why the quote supports your major detail. Always clarify how a quote, paraphrase, or example supports the major detail, the topic sentence, and, ultimately, the thesis.
* Transitional sentence -The last sentence of each body paragraph should be a re-worded version of the topic sentence for that particular paragraph, but it can vary if you choose to point back to your thesis statement or choose to transition to your next body paragraph.
*We will discuss the rebuttal section later.
Goal for next time.
Progress on your outline.
Find your opponent’s strongest claim against your argument.