Completing Your Outline
Organizing Fact Cards
When finished with your research, you need to organize the cards.
Outline
An outline is a way to map out your writing. It helps you organize your facts, prior to writing a draft. Using your Fact Cards, complete an outline for your paper. (Use the outline given to you by your Global Studies teacher.)
Research Paper Outline with Explanations
I. Introduction Paragraph: (Paragraph One: 6-8 sentences)
Attention Grabber: Anecdote (brief story that makes a point), Engaging Question, Unusual Fact, Analogy (a comparison between the topic and something with which the readers are already familiar)
Background Information and/or Preview: Give the reader an idea of what topic you will be discussing. (Do not say, "I will be...)
Thesis Statement (from your planning page): Use the template provided. Do NOT say,“The purpose of this report is, My paper is about, I am writing this to…”
Transition sentence from Introduction to Subtopic 1: Sentence connecting one paragraphs to the next. Since each paragraph offers a separate thought, you need to connect these two different thoughts in some logical way for the reader. The transitions supply the logic of how two paragraphs connect, how one idea leads to the next, or how the two are related. List of Transitions
II. Body:
A. Subtopic #1: (Paragraph Two)
Topic Sentence: A sentence that clearly states the main idea of the paragraph.
Evidence 1: The information from your fact cards. Don't re-write your fact card, just write the "letter" from the card.
Commentary: Your explanation connecting what this fact shows/proves, and how it connects back to the topic sentence & thesis. (You don't need commentary after each piece of evidence; however, you do need to include sufficient commentary in each paragraph.)
Source: “Number” you wrote on your Fact Card for this evidence.
Transition sentence from Subtopic 1 to 2:
-----CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE SAME FORMAT TO FINISH YOUR OUTLINE------
B. Subtopic #2: (Paragraph Three)
C. Subtopic #3: (Paragraph Four)
III. Conclusion: (Paragraph Five: 6-8 sentences)
Restate Thesis:
Restate most important points from your research: Review your strongest support for your thesis.
Final thought: End with a strong statement to pull paper together.
When finished with your research, you need to organize the cards.
- Go through your Fact Cards and "letter" them A-Z+.
- Cut your Fact Cards apart, and sort them by subtopic. Each subtopic will be a body paragraph.
- Put each group of subtopic cards in an order that you feel is logical.
- Once all your cards are sorted and put in order, be sure to keep them in order.
- Notice where you have gaps in information. Plan to do specific research to fill in these gaps.
- Miscellaneous facts may fit into your Introduction.
Outline
An outline is a way to map out your writing. It helps you organize your facts, prior to writing a draft. Using your Fact Cards, complete an outline for your paper. (Use the outline given to you by your Global Studies teacher.)
Research Paper Outline with Explanations
I. Introduction Paragraph: (Paragraph One: 6-8 sentences)
Attention Grabber: Anecdote (brief story that makes a point), Engaging Question, Unusual Fact, Analogy (a comparison between the topic and something with which the readers are already familiar)
Background Information and/or Preview: Give the reader an idea of what topic you will be discussing. (Do not say, "I will be...)
Thesis Statement (from your planning page): Use the template provided. Do NOT say,“The purpose of this report is, My paper is about, I am writing this to…”
Transition sentence from Introduction to Subtopic 1: Sentence connecting one paragraphs to the next. Since each paragraph offers a separate thought, you need to connect these two different thoughts in some logical way for the reader. The transitions supply the logic of how two paragraphs connect, how one idea leads to the next, or how the two are related. List of Transitions
II. Body:
A. Subtopic #1: (Paragraph Two)
Topic Sentence: A sentence that clearly states the main idea of the paragraph.
Evidence 1: The information from your fact cards. Don't re-write your fact card, just write the "letter" from the card.
Commentary: Your explanation connecting what this fact shows/proves, and how it connects back to the topic sentence & thesis. (You don't need commentary after each piece of evidence; however, you do need to include sufficient commentary in each paragraph.)
Source: “Number” you wrote on your Fact Card for this evidence.
Transition sentence from Subtopic 1 to 2:
-----CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE SAME FORMAT TO FINISH YOUR OUTLINE------
B. Subtopic #2: (Paragraph Three)
C. Subtopic #3: (Paragraph Four)
III. Conclusion: (Paragraph Five: 6-8 sentences)
Restate Thesis:
Restate most important points from your research: Review your strongest support for your thesis.
Final thought: End with a strong statement to pull paper together.