English Outline

Paper #1 Sample Outline for a Literary Argument

(You are presenting your arguments to support your thesis [the statement of the theme].)

I. Introduction: For the outline, give the thesis statement only. The thesis should not be overly long. It should give a statement of the theme of the story. (The introduction you will submit for your final paper will be more than one sentence and the thesis should be the last sentence in the introduction. Do not give the full introduction here.) II. Argument #1 Write your entire topic sentence and explain how it relates directly to your thesis. The topic sentence should make a point supporting the story’s theme as you have presented it in the thesis. A. Supporting point. B. Supporting point. (The supporting points should be presented briefly. No need to include quote here.) III. Argument #2 Write your entire topic sentence and explain how it relates directly to your thesis.

A. Supporting point. B. Supporting point. IV. Argument #3 Write your entire topic sentence and explain how it relates directly to your thesis.

A. Supporting point. B. Supporting point. V. Conclusion: For the outline, you only need a restatement of your thesis, not the entire conclusion. In restating the thesis, change the wording so it’s not an exact duplication of your thesis in the introduction.