How have the theories of Carl Von Clausewitz and/or Henri Jomini influenced the birth of combined arms warfare? In your conclusion, suggest the significance to today’s military professional.

Creating a Sentence Outline

It has been more than a few years since you have written a formal paper in an academic setting. In your former jobs, you focused on accomplishing the mission in front of you. Yet, in the next ten years of your career, you will be placed in positions where your ability to write and to articulate your ideas clearly are the most important skills you possess. The sentence outline is a tool to improve not only your writing, but to assess your thoughts and logic. If clear writing is a reflection of clear thinking, then the outline should allow you to test the clarity of your thinking.

The rationale for a sentence outline is clear. The Army standard defines good writing as “understandable in a single, rapid reading and generally free of errors in grammar, mechanics, and usage.” By forcing yourself to evaluate your argument and to summarize its main points in a one-page sentence outline, you will focus on those key elements that compose your essay’s component parts. The sentence outline also forces you to judge whether you are attempting to cover too much in your argument, and whether you should reduce your scope, reorder the paragraphs, or add additional points in order to argue your case. If properly done, each sentence in the outline becomes a topic sentence for a paragraph. By expanding the work you have already done, you create your essay.

A few cautions: Writing a sentence outline does require you to know your subject and have a fully developed thesis. A good outline does not guarantee a good paper. However, you can deal with problems with analysis, logic, and organization early, while problems with grammar or prose may become clear only when you write your paper.

The elements of a sentence outline follow on the next pages.

Pick the example outline which corresponds to the question you intend to answer: either Question 1 or Question 2. (PICK ONLY ONE)

Key Guidance for the Sentence Outline:

• First – review ST 22-2 – this refrence will help you understand the academic

writing style needed for CGSC

• Second: Use the naming convention for your documents:

smith_john_H100_outline.doc

• DO NOT complete the essay before the outline – this only leads to heartbreak in

most cases.

• Understand the structure of an essay – introduction, main body, and conclusion.

• Each sentence will become the “topic sentence” of the paragraph and usually

appears as the first sentence of a paragraph when you expand the outline into your

paper.

• Use complete sentences (subject, verb, complement) that communicate full

thoughts.

• Organize the sentences to construct a coherent argument leading to your paper’s

conclusion.

• One sentence per idea – don’t simply put an entire essay in outline form.

• Single-space the sentences in the outline; double-space between paragraphs.

• For academic writing, use third person and active voice.

Sentence outline for Question 1: Question: How have the theories of Carl Von Clausewitz and/or Henri Jomini influenced the birth of combined arms warfare? Use evidence from H100 (the Western Way of War) to support your argument. In your conclusion, suggest the significance to today’s military professional. I. Introduction

A. Attention sentence: How will you convince the reader of the importance of your topic? B. Thesis: state either one and/or both theoriest, what they did and then describe which theories you will argue. C. Major points supporting the thesis: Write a sentence that introduces the major points of evidence that support your thesis. Spell out which theories you plan to argue.

II. Major Point 1 Topic Sentence- a broad statement of your argument for this paragraph. A. Supporting evidence written in a complete sentence. State the specific theory you intend to argue B. Supporting evidence written in a complete sentence. Describe where in Combined arms warfare this theory is applied successfully (ex. a battle, policy or doctrine) BE SPECIFIC

III. Major Point 2 Topic Sentence- a broad statement of your argument for this paragraph. A. Supporting evidence written in a complete sentence. State the specific theory you intend to argue. B. Supporting evidence written in a complete sentence. Describe where in combined arms warfare this theory is applied successfully. (ex. a battle, policy or doctrine) BE SPECIFIC

IV. Major Point 3 Topic Sentence-a broad statement of your argument for this paragraph A. Supporting evidence written in a complete sentence. State the specific theory you intend to argue B. Supporting evidence written in a complete sentence. Describe where in combined arms warfare this theory is applied successfully. (ex. a battle, policy or doctrine) BE SPECIFIC

V. Conclusion: Restate the thesis and revisit your main points. This is where you mention why your argument is significant for today’s military professional (do not introduce new elements of your argument).

Sentence Outline for Question 2: Which Military Revolution (MR*) has had the greatest impact on the birth of combined arms warfare? Use evidence from H100 (the Western Way of War) to support your argument. In your conclusion, suggest the significance to today’s military professional. * Pick one of the five Military Revolutions as defined by Knox and Murray in The Dynamics of Military Revolution 1300-2050 I. Introduction

A. Attention sentence: How will you convince the reader of the importance of your topic? B. Thesis: State the ONE Military Revolution (MR) you think had the greatest impact on the birth of combined arms warfare in a thesis statement. C. Major points supporting the thesis: Write a sentence that introduces the major points of evidence that support your thesis. Spell out which RMA you plan to argue contributed to the MR you picked.

II. Major Point 1 Topic Sentence- a broad statement of your argument for this paragraph. A. Supporting evidence written in a complete sentence. State the conditions which existed prior to the innovation or change implemented due to the MR

B. Supporting evidence written in a complete sentence. Describe what the innovation or change was. C. Show a specific successful use of the innovation or change – a Battle or Operation is best. BE SPECIFIC

III. Major Point 1 Topic Sentence- a broad statement of your argument for this paragraph. A. Supporting evidence written in a complete sentence. State the conditions which existed prior to the innovation or change implemented due to the MR

B. Supporting evidence written in a complete sentence. Describe what the innovation or change was. C. Show a specific successful use of the innovation or change – a Battle or Operation is best. BE SPECIFIC

IV. Major Point 1 Topic Sentence- a broad statement of your argument for this paragraph.

A. Supporting evidence written in a complete sentence. State the conditions which existed prior to the innovation or change implemented due to the MR

B. Supporting evidence written in a complete sentence. Describe what the innovation or change was. C. Show a specific successful use of the innovation or change – a Battle or Operation is best. BE SPECIFIC

V. Conclusion: Restate the thesis and revisit your main points. This is where you mention why your argument is significant for today’s military professional (do not introduce new elements of your argument).

EXAMPLE OF SENTENCE OUTLINE THIS IS ONLY AN EXAMPLE TO SHOW A SUCCINCT OULINE QUESTION: What caused the downfall of the Napoleonic Empire? I. Introduction

A. Attention step: Despite being one of the greatest generals of the modern era, Napoleon could not make a lasting peace using military action.

B. Thesis: Napoleon lost his empire because he failed to understand the limits of military power, the enormous social and financial costs of the wars, and the eventual coordination of his enemies against him.

II. French military power failed to create the conditions for a permanent political settlement.

A. Britain was an untouchable enemy because the French army could not directly strike at Great Britain due to the weakness of the French navy.

B. In the Iberian Peninsula, Spanish peasants refused to recognize French authority, and supported by Britain, fought a bloody and debilitating guerrilla war for six years.

C. Napoleon’s attempts to keep conquered peoples under control created resistance to his rule in Tyrol, Calabria, and the Vendeé.

III. Napoleon failed to understand the social and financial costs to France of his military exploits.

A. The financial strain of the Continental System created a black market economy that undermined Napoleon’s rule and denied him valuable revenue.

B. After twenty-five years of near constant warfare, the French people no longer supported Napoleon’s aggressive foreign policy during the 1813–14 campaigns.

IV. Ultimately, Napoleon’s opponents coordinated their political and military activities, denying him the ability to “divide and conquer.”

A. Austria, Russia, and Prussia reformed their armies along the French model, removing much of the asymmetry that had previously existed.

B. In 1813–14, the Allies formed a more solid coalition with a headquarters directing military operations that synchronized the military and political response to Napoleon.

V. Conclusion: While Napoleon was able to achieve great success early in his reign, in the end he faced a grim defeat. By focusing only on military action instead of including the other elements of national power, paying for the burden of extensive and brutal war, and underestimating the abilities of his enemies to adapt and adopt, Napoleon lost his empire. Lessons learned from the Napoleonic era encourage future military officers to consider limitations as well as capabilities, and to include all elements of national power in the development of strategy: diplomacy, information or intelligence, military action, and economics (DIME).