Your outline should adhere to standard MLA guidelines (typed, double-spaced, etc.) and should include the following parts:
I. Summarize the relevant parts of the debate. In your outline, only include the basic sentences. Use a template for summarizing (e.g. “In [essay title], [author’s title] [author’s full name] argues...”).
II. State your thesis in 1-2 sentences. Use a template for agreeing, disagreeing, or qualifying.
III. State the topic sentence for your first body paragraph. Include a bullet point list of each supporting detail, e.g.:
a.
b.
IV. Repeat the previous step for each body paragraph.
V. State the 1-2 sentences that will be the “meat” of your conclusion. Use one of the templates below.
Conclusion Templates:
- ______________ is important because ______________
- In the end, what’s at stake with ______________ is ______________
- ______________ has significant consequences for ______________
- Although ______________ may appear trivial, it represents a larger problem of ______________
