Thematic Outline

Step A

Article # is the numeric designator from the Annotated Bibliography you have already completed. Review your articles, and the Annotated Bibliography, to identify two or three of the major themes in each article. The forms will expand as you type. If you have more than 6 articles/sources, then add tables accordingly. (A minimum of 6 peer-reviewed articles are required for the Research Paper).

Step B

As you review your themes from each article you will notice that you can combine themes and that there will be themes which are present in more than one article. Combine, or collapse common themes, and list the result in the order you want to use them in your paper. Ideally, you should end up with between 3 – 5 themes. Reword and review as necessary. Write the results down, and give each of the final themes a letter such as A, B, C, etc.

Now you have a general outline of your paper!

Step C

List each theme you want to use for the final paper, and then write a short paragraph, or statement, that logically transitions from one theme to another. Write your conclusion, and then write your introduction.

This is a GENERIC OUTLINE for your paper and you can use the themes as subheadings. Your paper is now organized and thematically structured! Depending on your topic and class requirements you may have more, or less, themes than what is listed here.

Remember, your themes are your subheadings! The paper is coming together in a logical and effective way.

Now you have a detailed structure for your paper, including subheadings and even transitions. Write your paper in APA style and you are good to go. Submit this entire document to the Thematic Outline Dropbox.