Barbara P.
Barbara P.

How to Create an Essay Outline - Types of Essay & Examples

6 min read

Published on: Jan 28, 2020

Last updated on: Apr 15, 2023

Essay Outline

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Every formal writing needs to be structured in order to be readable and understandable. Especially for academic assignments, student’s grades immensely depend on well-written and formatted documents.

An outline is drafted to provide structure and to your content. It organizes all the haphazard information and ideas. An outline is a plan through which a writer creates his/her document and ensures its effectiveness.

If you are a student, you will be required to draft a plethora of essays for your academics. This blog will help you draft an amazing essay outline for your academic essays. Continue reading to learn how an essay outline is drafted.

What is an Essay Outline?

An essay outline is defined as a written plan for your academic essays and papers. An outline structures the content of your essay by organizing the main points into paragraphs. This makes the writing process easier for you.

When you are drafting a piece of document for the readers, it is essential to make it look structured. This is to make sure that the readers read and understand the message effectively. Similarly, when writing an essay, your content should be recognizable by the audience.

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Purpose of an Essay Outline

The purpose of drafting an outline is to create a map for the writer as well as for the audience. It allows the writer to categorize the main points in order to make them understandable.

An outline helps the writer throughout the writing process. It prevents him/her from getting stuck when actually writing the detailed essay.

A well-written and developed outline will present the thesis statement of the essay, the idea of the body paragraphs, and the shreds of evidence.

An essay outline helps the writer in the following ways:

  • It helps the writer organize all the thoughts and pieces of information gathered during the research process.
  • Let the writer understand the flow of information and be able to organize it accordingly.
  • Helps the writer not to miss any important information or idea that needs to be discussed in the content.

In a nutshell, an essay outline ensures better and efficient work. So always draft an essay outline for all your essays to make them impactful.

How to Write an Essay Outline?

While essays can be of several types, the basic writing structure and outline remain the same. The basic essay outline that can be used for every essay type is a ‘5 paragraph’ structure. According to this, the outline has 5 parts.

“What are the 5 parts of an essay?”

  1. Introduction
  2. Body Paragraph 1
  3. Body Paragraph 2
  4. Body Paragraph 3
  5. Conclusion

The process of writing an outline is not as daunting as it sounds. Instead, the process is very simple. Follow the steps provided below to create an outline:

  • Form Your Analysis on the Topic: After deciding on the topic, the writer needs to have a sense of what he will argue upon in the essay. Develop your analysis and go through all the credible sources of information available on the topic.
  • Form Categories: Rearrange all the gathered ideas and notes in an order that best supports your thesis statement. Arrange this information into logical categories. According to the traditional essay outline, your major categories are an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

Organize your researched information in these categories, and your outline is ready.

Although this essay outline can be used for every essay type, it is important to identify which type of essay you have to draft. Every type requires a writer to form a specific tone and mood to complement the content.

Following are some outlines drafted for different types of essays.

Argumentative Essay Outline

An argumentative essay is a form of essay in which a writer forms an argument to persuade the audience. The writer gathers factual and logical supporting evidence to prove his point and to convince the readers.

Below is an example of an argumentative essay outline.

IntroductionBackground information about the topic
Thesis statement
Body ParagraphsArgument 1 + Supporting Evidence
Argument 2 + Supporting Evidence
Argument 3+ Supporting Evidence
Opposing ArgumentsCounter Argument + Writer’s response
Counter Argument + Writer’s response
ConclusionSummary of the major points
Restated thesis statement
Essay’s contribution to the field

Compare and Contrast Essay Outline

In a compare and contrast essay, the similarities and differences between the two objects or subjects of the same category are presented. This essay is written using the following outline:

IntroductionIntroduction of the chosen subjects Thesis statement
Body Paragraph 1A topic sentence that supports your thesis
Your claim Example
Body Paragraph 2A topic sentence that supports your thesis
Your claim Example
Body Paragraph 3A topic sentence that supports your thesis
Your claim Example
ConclusionResult obtained from comparing the subjects Suggested further research

Informative Essay Outline

An informative essay is a type of essay that informs and explains the topic in detail to the readers. Unlike a narrative essay, this essay is written purely to inform the audience about a selected topic.

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An informative essay can be drafted using the following outline.

IntroductionHook statement Background information Thesis statement
Body Paragraph 1Explanation of point 1
Body Paragraph 2Explanation of point 2
Body Paragraph 3Explanation of point 3
ConclusionRestated thesis statement Summary of the major points Broader implication of the thesis statement

Essay Outline Template

Searching for more outlines for your essays? Professional essay writers of EssayWritingService.college have gathered some outline templates for all your academic essay types.

Simply follow the templates to draft a strong outline for your essay.

Writing essays for academics can be really challenging. It requires a writer to have good writing and analyzing skills to make the content impactful. If drafting an essay is not something you are good at, hire a professional essay writer.

EssayWritingService.college is a professional writing company that provides "write essay for me" assistance. If you are running short of time and your deadline is approaching, contact our essay writing service. Here, you get quality written assignments in no time.

Place your order today at the most reasonable prices and get custom essays written in just a snap.

Barbara P.

WRITTEN BY

Barbara P., Literature, Marketing

Dr. Barbara is a highly experienced writer and author who holds a Ph.D. degree in public health from an Ivy League school. She has worked in the medical field for many years, conducting extensive research on various health topics. Her writing has been featured in several top-tier publications.

Dr. Barbara is a highly experienced writer and author who holds a Ph.D. degree in public health from an Ivy League school. She has worked in the medical field for many years, conducting extensive research on various health topics. Her writing has been featured in several top-tier publications.

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