Essay writing doesn’t imply adherence to strict rules. Writers can give arguments, prove the correctness of their point of view before formulating the problem, which often coincides with the conclusions. By writing essays, students learn to think creatively. It allows them to fully express their thoughts, reflect on their considerations and ideas about the world.
But its structure can’t be simply thought out. You have to take a piece of paper and write down an outline. To put it bluntly, the outline is the “skeleton” of the text. And you subsequently build up the “body” on it.
Why Write an Outline for an Essay?
If you think that you can’t do it yourself, you can always ask someone to “write my essay for me, please”. Usually, professional agencies help students online and they do it fast. Their services are quite cheap, so you don’t have to pay a lot of money to get excellent work.
But if it seems easy to you, then you can try to write it yourself. So, if you are going to write a good essay, then you need to do an outline first. Without this, your essay will be confusing, not thought out, and the main idea will not be revealed. How to do an outline correctly? How to reflect the structure of the plan in the text?
Before you start drawing up an outline for an essay, you need to understand the whole sequence of work. First of all, you need to think about the topic of the future text, decide on its main idea. Secondly, you need to select statements and quotes. Thirdly, you need to come up with an introduction and conclusion. And only then can you go directly to writing an essay.
Outline Structure
When drawing up an outline, it must be remembered that the essay is divided into several significant parts.
- The first part is an introduction. The main thesis is formulated here. The reader’s first opinion about the text is formed. It can be interesting or repulsive, so it is not recommended to experiment with the introduction. The first part of the essay introduces readers to the course of the matter. There is no need for a long introduction. Usually, one or two paragraphs are enough.
- The second part of the essay is called the main part. The main part needs the most attention, especially when doing an outline. This part is supposed to be followed by full and comprehensive proof of the thesis stated in the introduction. By “thesis” we mean a short, complete thought that the author wants to convey to the reader of the essay. It is important here to preserve the consistency and conciseness of the text.
- The third part (the conclusion) is just as important as the main part. It summarizes everything that was said in the essay. You sum up the results. But conclusions shouldn’t be far-fetched.
All three parts should be related to each other in meaning. The outline can be refined and concretized in the process of working on the essay.
How to Do an Outline Correctly?
As a rule, an outline is not separate words but whole and detailed phrases. It is very difficult to convey the main thought in separate words. Therefore, you need to write informatively and concisely, as much as possible conveying your idea in sentences.
Read the Assignment Carefully
Highlight or underline important words and phrases in the assignment. Make sure you understand all the requirements before starting the outline. If in doubt, you should contact your teacher.
Explore the Topic
An outline helps develop and organize ideas. Make a list of all the ideas that come to your mind (good or bad), then go through the completed list and group similar ideas. Expand the list with additional ideas or use a different exercise.
Use Questions
Write “Who? What? When? Where? What for? How?” on a piece of paper. Each question should be written two or three lines apart to leave room for an answer. Each question should be answered in as much detail as possible. This exercise will help develop your ideas and identify areas of the topic that require further study.
Define a Goal
Think about what you want to achieve with your essay. Do you want to entertain, convince, or educate your reader? It is important to make sure that your goal matches the assignment you received. Pay attention to the keywords in the assignment and define the purpose of the work.
Study the Author’s Position
To write a good essay, it is necessary to familiarize yourself not only with literary criticism but also with different manuals. Only a complete understanding of the context will help you form an idea of the authors and their work as accurately as possible.
Form Your Position
Your essay has to be well-reasoned. And it is up to you whether you agree with the author or not. Use quotes from the text, other sources, and personal experience as arguments.
Formulate a Thesis
After developing ideas, analyzing the goal and target audience, you should be ready to write a thesis. Each effective thesis expresses the main topic of the work and formulates a provable statement. The length of the abstract shouldn’t exceed one sentence.
Match the Work Plan to the Requirements of the Assignment
If you are striving to successfully complete work, then always check the finished plan and the initial assignment. Make sure you can meet all the teacher’s requirements.
Use Additional Information
This doesn’t mean that you can copy an essay from the Internet. Still, you can use examples of other people’s essays and note some of their ideas. You need to be able to correctly use the information.
So, the entire text has to be united by one thought, and the selected fragments are logically connected. As a result, you should get a text with the introduction, the main part, and the conclusion.
