Prposal essay

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Research Process: A Step-by-Step Guide: 4b. Outline the Paper

Get Started Step 1: Develop a Topic Step 2: Locate Information Step 3: Evaluate

Step 4: Write Step 5: Cite Get Help! 

Why Outline?

Oultines provide a means of

organizing your information in an

hierarchical or logical order.

For research papers, a formal outline

can help you keep track of large

amounts of information.

Example

Thesis: Federal regulations need to foster laws that will

help protect wetlands, restore those that have been

destroyed, and take measures to improve the damange

from overdevelopment.

I. Nature's ecosystem

A. Loss of wetlands nationally

B. Loss of wetlands in Illinois

1. More flooding and poorer water quality

2. Lost ability to prevent floods, clean water and store

water

II. Dramatic floods

A, Cost in dollars and lives

1. 13 deaths between 1988 and 1998

2. Cost of $39 million per year

B. Great Midwestern Flood of 1993

1. Lost wetlands in IL

2. Devastation in some states

C. Flood Prevention

1. Plants and Soils

How to Create an Outline

To create an outline:

1. Place your thesis statement at the beginning.

2. List the major points that support your thesis. Label

them in Roman Numerals (I, II, III, etc.).

3. List supporting ideas or arguments for each major

point. Label them in capital letters (A, B, C, etc.).

4. If applicable, continue to sub-divide each supporting

idea until your outline is fully developed. Label them

1, 2, 3, etc., and then a, b, c, etc.

How to Structure an Outline

How to Write a College PapeHow to Write a College Pape……

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4/18/2020 4b. Outline the Paper - Research Process: A Step-by-Step Guide - Research Guides at Georgia Tech Library

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2. Floodplain overflow

III. Wetland laws

A. Inadequately informed legislators

1. Watersheds

2. Interconnections in natural water systems

B. Water purification

IV. Need to save wetlands

A. New federal definition

B. Re-education about interconnectedness

1. Ecology at every grade level

2. Education for politicians and developers

3. Choices in schools and people's lives

Example taken from The Bedford Guide for College Writers (9th ed).