Outline

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Student outline Sample taken from Research, Analysis, and Writing by Denise Snee, Kristin Houlton, and Nancy Heckel. Edited by Kim Jacobs. Copyright © 2012 American Public University System Electronic Press. All rights reserved.

THESIS STATEMENT FROM STUDENT OUTLINE

Thesis Statement: The practice of politicians trading stocks while in office must be

put to an end by means of legislative action aimed at making such moves illegal for

each individual holding office within the federal government.

Using your thesis as the guide, your first step is to break the thesis into its main parts. In a problem-solution report, for example, you will need to identify the problem first so

begin your outline with a discussion of the problem. In the student sample above, the

problem is elected federal officials actively trading stocks while holding office; the solution is

a law to stop it. Now go through your research notes, dividing them into three categories:

problem, alternate solution[s], proposed solution[s]. Working from these notes, begin by

developing the problem section of your outline. Here is how one student developed the

problem in his thesis statement:

PROBLEM SECTION OF STUDENT OUTLINE

I: Politicians are legally allowed to trade stocks while in office, essentially creating a conflict

of interest between their personal finances and laws that can affect stock prices.

a. Allowing politicians to continue to trade stocks while in office allows them to use their

elected position for monetary gain.

b. Politicians holding stock in a company that may be affected by proposed legislation

has the potential to cause that individual to vote differently than if he/she held no

such stock.

Notice that the student heads this section with a general statement identifying the

problem and then uses sub-topics to develop specific support for his initial statement. When

he moves from outlining to composing his first draft, the student will be able to develop this

section further with specific examples. Keep in mind that developing and supporting your

problem may take more than one section of your outline. The amount of time you devote to

explaining and supporting your problem will depend on the complexity of the problem and on

how likely your audience is to accept that the problem exists and is significant.

Once you have adequately developed the problem, your next task is to propose your solution. In some cases, it may also be necessary to present (and reject) alternate solutions.

If alternative solutions to your problem exist, including them in your presentation is essential

to establishing your credibility. In the sample below, notice how the student introduces, and

then dismisses, an alternate solution before presenting his proposal. In the main heading,

the student offers an alternate solution and then uses his sub-topics to refute the efficacy of

that alternative

ALTERNATE SOLUTION TO PROBLEM

III: Regulating insider trading would hold politicians accountable for making trades

on stock between the time of acquiring political intelligence and actually voting on

the legislation.

a. This does not completely eliminate the practice of trading stocks while in

office, but aims to propose disciplinary action for those politicians caught

using political intelligence for monetary gain.

b. Pursuing this as a solution would merely be a step in the right direction rather

than ending the corrupt practice altogether.

Once you have presented and dismissed alternative solutions, you can propose your

solution as demonstrated in the final section of the student outline below.

PROPOSED SOLUTION TO PROBLEM

IV: Requiring politicians to place their stock holdings into a blind trust for the

entirety of their time as an elected official is the best solution to this problem.

a. This solution would allow politicians to vote without conscious of their

current holdings, essentially eliminating the conflict of interest issue.

b. Having a third party handle the stock holdings of politicians removes the

temptation for them to make trades based on political intelligence.

c. Protecting the sanctity of a politician’s vote in combination with removing

the temptation to shirk one’s duty to represent his/her constituents to

obtain personal gain will restore voter confidence in our elected officials.

A problem solution report makes organizing your outline a bit easier. As seen above,

you will present the problem along with specific evidence establishing its significance and its

causes. Next, turn your attention to solving the problem. In this section of your outline, it

may be necessary to first provide and, through analysis of the evidence, dismiss alternative

solutions before providing and supporting your own solution. You will need to fully explain

your solution and provide evidence that it is the best way to solve the problem. In the

drafting and revising stages, you will use your notes to add flesh to the bare bones of your

outline. Here is an additional tip: providing informal source notes within the draft of your

outline will aid in the drafting the final paper. Including the author’s last name or

the title of the article in which the information can be located will help you track

your sources and eliminate unintentional plagiarism. Remember, if you have

questions about Plagiarism, be sure to review the material in Lesson 3 or ask your

instructor.