Although different types of essays have several unique elements, there are standard features that all essays share. It is not easy to remember all these unique components and layouts, especially if you are a student who has to write multiple essays each semester. However, a structured outline template can alleviate the frustrations of determining your essay formatting requirements by guiding your writing process.
For instance, our basic essay outline provides a basic structure that comprises an introduction, body, and conclusion to help you organize your points, ideas, thoughts, and data logically and coherently in incomplete sentences and bullet points. It is a simple roadmap for creating an organized outline that eventually helps you produce a high-quality essay, whether persuasive or expository.
Components Included in This Simple Essay Outline Template
This outline follows the basic structure of any essay – introduction, body, and conclusion before any variations are made to align with the specific requirements of the type of essay. These components serve a unique role in the flow of ideas in your essay. It is thus important to understand why they are part of the basic structure of essays and what you should include in each component. Below is a discussion of the three components we have included in this outline.
Introduction
The introduction fulfills three objectives – it grabs the reader’s attention, generates their interest, and notifies them of the main points you will be covering in the essay. To fulfill these roles, this section has three segments – introductory statement, background information, and thesis statement.
When filling this section, start with a concise and catchy hook sentence that catches the reader’s interest. In the background information segment, offer general and specific insights, data, and concepts that contextualize the topic. If you are discussing a person or literary work – for example, a literary analysis essay for a book, indicate the book’s title and author’s name. To conclude the introduction section, state your main topic and stance in a thesis statement. A well-formatted thesis statement will include a claim + reasons supporting it.
Body
The body is the core of the outline. It provides in-depth details about the topic. It is organized into paragraphs where each paragraph discusses a single idea. This three-paragraph body helps you present supporting evidence for your reasons or key points. Evidence comprises reasons, facts, statistics, quotes (with citations), opinions, etc. that are relevant for conveying your main message. To fill this section, start each paragraph with a topic sentence followed by the supporting evidence. Then, indicate transition sentences or phrases to connect one paragraph (idea) to the next. You can include as many paragraphs as needed to develop your topic satisfactorily.
Conclusion
Use the conclusion to tie every point or idea discussed together. This section reminds readers of the key message of your essay. To fill the conclusion, start by restating the thesis statement, then outline your key arguments and supporting points before finalizing with a closing statement. Your closing statement can be a call to action, recommendation, thought-provoking question, quote, or reflection on the topic. When writing your essay conclusion, avoid introducing new information or evidence or repeating information word for word. Your objective should be to leave a lasting impression on the reader regarding what you have discussed in the essay.
This outline is highly customizable. You can add elements specific to the type of your essay. To encourage customization, we offer diverse versions of this template, including MS Word (DOCX or DOTX), Google Docs, OpenDocument Text (ODT), or PDF. This is also to make the outline accessible across multiple platforms.
Remember…
In essay writing, you should not skip outlining. An outline is a significant reference document that establishes the ideal order in which to present your points and the best way to transition between paragraphs. It greatly contributes to your research efforts and the writing of the final essay.
