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Step 1
Write the working title of your paper at the top of a blank sheet of paper. The working title does not need to be the one you use for your final paper; "Midterm Paper" or "History Paper" will suffice.
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Step 2
Beneath the working title, write a few lines about the goal of the paper and the steps you will take to achieve that goal. For example: 'In this paper, I will show the secrets of a successful and happy life, using scholarly journals from psychologists and veterinarians.'
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Step 3
Follow the summary with a statement of your paper's thesis ' for example, 'Owning a dog can make one's life healthier and happier.'
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Step 4
Begin to lay down the basic framework for your paper by dividing its content into sections.
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Step 5
Start by writing either an Arabic or Roman numeral 1 - depending on your style of outline - followed by a period, then the title of the section (a "section heading"). In an informal outline use Arabic numerals; in a formal outline use Roman numerals.
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Step 6
Write a few lines describing what you wish to accomplish in the section.
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Step 7
Use subsections to list specific examples or topics that you wish to discuss under each heading. Mark them with a lowercase letter (a, b, c and so on).
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Step 8
Follow this format for each section heading, then put the sections in the following general order: introduction, body, conclusion.








Comments
Anonymous said
on 8/8/2006 Line up all the A's and B's throughout paper and the ones and twos and so on. Also if you have an A you MUST have a B. If theirs a one their must be a two, and so on throughout the entire outline a good outline is about five pages! Have fun.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 Line up all the A's and B's throughout paper and the ones and twos and so on. Also if you have an A you MUST have a B. If theirs a one their must be a two, and so on throughout the entire outline a good outline is about five pages! Have fun.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 This is the University of Chicago Press outline-style sequence: I. A. 1. a) (1) (a) i). Of course, if you need a I, then you at need at least a II as well. The i) is followed by ii), iii), iv) - like in book prefaces.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 I think that there are numbers(e.g. 1, 2, 3 ... etc.) that go beneath the A, B, and C subheadings. Thank you and buh bye!