outline some basic essay writing skills

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How to Perfect Your Essay Writing Skills

While school and college students are required to write numerous essays throughout their education, they are not always supported with adequately honing their essay writing skills. Here’s how to perfect your essay writing skills so you get the grades you deserve.

When it comes to essay writing, some students struggle with how to bring together information and ideas. Other students have all the information they need in their heads, but can’t quite get to grips with the craft of writing it all down. Whatever you need to improve on, these essay writing tips can be applied to any type of essay, giving you a process you can use again and again.

Craft An Outline

If you don’t already do this, making an essay outline is something that will revolutionize your approach to essay writing. Many people avoid making an outline as they are anxious to just start writing and not waste time. In fact, an outline will save you time in the long-run, and make the essay writing part itself much easier. Every essay starts with an introduction and ends with a conclusion, but you might save the outline of these until the end. What you really need to note down in your outline is all the different points you need to make in your essay. Each different point will be a different paragraph. Jot down the subject of each paragraph, plus a few notes of points you definitely need to make. Then outline your introduction and conclusion. This is basically your essay already written in note form.

Write The Essay

Once you have your outline, make a start at writing the full essay. This involves fleshing out all the points you have noted down in your outline, and making persuasive arguments about these points. Write clearly and without using over-complicated language, but make effective use of adjectives and good sentence structures. If you’re unsure about some aspects of grammar and punctuation, educate yourself about the things you’re not sure about along the way. This will help to make you a better essay writer as time goes on. Some people who are in the process of perfecting their essay skills do the best job they can do, before putting their essay into an article rewriter . This automated tool can make suggestions on how the style and language of the essay could be improved, and is a great way to understand the art of essay writing better.

Hone In On Your Essay Purpose

Part of becoming a better essay writer is to be able to critically analyze your own work. When you’re doing this, focus on the purpose of the essay. What was the task originally set to you by your school or college, and does your essay properly address this? Then think about the main argument of your particular essay, and the key point you want to make. Everything you write in your essay should serve the purpose of supporting your key argument. If your essay goes off on unrelated tangents, these are sections that need reviewing, editing and possibly removing entirely. Remember that a longer essay is not necessarily a better one, and being able to stick to the point is a key essay writing skill.

Keep It Unique

While you want all the points you make in your essay to support its main purpose, make sure you do not keep repeating the same points. Each paragraph should have a unique purpose and bring something new and original to your essay. Also think about being unique in the words and phrases you use. Do not over-use any single word in an essay (it is a common problem to get a word stuck in your head!) so use a thesaurus for inspiration if you are struggling for alternatives. Also review your essays to see if you have a tendency towards using particular phrases, and then try to mix it up a little bit by introducing some alternative phrases.

Plain English

If you aren’t already aware of Plain English , read into it so you understand its principles. It means that you shouldn’t use overcomplicated language when something simpler does the job just as well. Note that Plain English does not mean simplifying your ideas, but rather making the delivery of your ideas crystal clear and easier to understand. Getting to the heart of what you mean is very effective in essay writing. Plain English also means avoiding the use of clichés. A cliché is any phrase that is overused and is not very original, for example: ‘there are plenty of fish in the sea’ or ‘the mountains have awe-inspiring views’. Whenever you can, come up with a more original way of putting things – it’ll win you some points with whoever marks your essay. Originality and being clear about your argument will go a long way towards improving your writing skills.

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Trying to devise a structure for your essay can be one of the most difficult parts of the writing process. Making a detailed outline before you begin writing is a good way to make sure your ideas come across in a clear and logical order. A good outline will also save you time in the revision process, reducing the possibility that your ideas will need to be rearranged once you've written them.

The First Steps

Before you can begin outlining, you need to have a sense of what you will argue in the essay. From your analysis and close readings of primary and/or secondary sources you should have notes, ideas, and possible quotes to cite as evidence. Let's say you are writing about the 1999 Republican Primary and you want to prove that each candidate's financial resources were the most important element in the race. At this point, your notes probably lack much coherent order. Most likely, your ideas are still in the order in which they occurred to you; your notes and possible quotes probably still adhere to the chronology of the sources you've examined. Your goal is to rearrange your ideas, notes, and quotes—the raw material of your essay—into an order that best supports your argument, not the arguments you've read in other people's works. To do this, you have to group your notes into categories and then arrange these categories in a logical order.

Generalizing

The first step is to look over each individual piece of information that you've written and assign it to a general category. Ask yourself, "If I were to file this in a database, what would I file it under?" If, using the example of the Republican Primary, you wrote down an observation about John McCain's views on health care, you might list it under the general category of  "Health care policy." As you go through your notes, try to reuse categories whenever possible. Your goal is to reduce your notes to no more than a page of category listings.

Now examine your category headings. Do any seem repetitive? Do any go together? "McCain's expenditure on ads" and "Bush's expenditure on ads," while not exactly repetitive, could easily combine into a more general category like "Candidates' expenditures on ads." Also, keep an eye out for categories that no longer seem to relate to your argument. Individual pieces of information that at first seemed important can begin to appear irrelevant when grouped into a general category.

Now it's time to generalize again. Examine all your categories and look for common themes. Go through each category and ask yourself, "If I were to place this piece of information in a file cabinet, what would I label that cabinet?" Again, try to reuse labels as often as possible: "Health Care," "Foreign Policy," and "Immigration" can all be contained under "Policy Initiatives." Make these larger categories as general as possible so that there are no more than three or four for a 7-10 page paper.

With your notes grouped into generalized categories, the process of ordering them should be easier. To begin, look at your most general categories. With your thesis in mind, try to find a way that the labels might be arranged in a sentence or two that supports your argument. Let's say your thesis is that financial resources played the most important role in the 1999 Republican Primary. Your four most general categories are "Policy Initiatives," "Financial Resources," "Voters' Concerns," and "Voters' Loyalty." You might come up with the following sentence: ÒAlthough McCain's policy initiatives were closest to the voters' concerns, Bush's financial resources won the voters' loyalty.Ó This sentence should reveal the order of your most general categories. You will begin with an examination of McCain's and Bush's views on important issues and compare them to the voters' top concerns. Then you'll look at both candidates' financial resources and show how Bush could win voters' loyalty through effective use of his resources, despite his less popular policy ideas.

With your most general categories in order, you now must order the smaller categories. To do so, arrange each smaller category into a sentence or two that will support the more general sentence you've just devised. Under the category of "Financial Resources," for instance, you might have the smaller categories of "Ad Expenditure," "Campaign Contributions" and "Fundraising." A sentence that supports your general argument might read: "Bush's early emphasis on fundraising led to greater campaign contributions, allowing him to have a greater ad expenditure than McCain."

The final step of the outlining process is to repeat this procedure on the smallest level, with the original notes that you took for your essay. To order what probably was an unwieldy and disorganized set of information at the beginning of this process, you need now only think of a sentence or two to support your general argument. Under the category "Fundraising," for example, you might have quotes about each candidate's estimation of its importance, statistics about the amount of time each candidate spent fundraising, and an idea about how the importance of fundraising never can be overestimated. Sentences to support your general argument might read: "No candidate has ever raised too much money [your idea]. While both McCain and Bush acknowledged the importance of fundraising [your quotes], the numbers clearly point to Bush as the superior fundraiser [your statistics]." The arrangement of your ideas, quotes, and statistics now should come naturally.

Putting It All Together

With these sentences, you have essentially constructed an outline for your essay. The most general ideas, which you organized in your first sentence, constitute the essay's sections. They follow the order in which you placed them in your sentence. The order of the smaller categories within each larger category (determined by your secondary sentences) indicates the order of the paragraphs within each section. Finally, your last set of sentences about your specific notes should show the order of the sentences within each paragraph. An outline for the essay about the 1999 Republican Primary (showing only the sections worked out here) would look something like this:

I. POLICY INITIATIVES

II.  VOTERS' CONCERNS

III.  FINANCIAL RESOURCES

            A.  Fundraising

                        a.  Original Idea

                        b.  McCain Quote/Bush Quote

                        c.  McCain Statistics/Bush Statistics

            B.  Campaign Contributions

            C.  Ad Expenditure

IV.  VOTERS' LOYALTY

Copyright 2000, David Kornhaber, for the Writing Center at Harvard University

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Creating an Essay Outline for Success!

Krystal N. Craiker

Writing essays can be overwhelming for many students. But crafting a strong outline before you start writing is a surefire way to make the process much easier.

If you’ve never written an outline , where do you start? You can think of your essay as having six main parts:

Introduction

• Thesis statement

Major Point 1

Major point 2, major point 3.

We’ll go through each of these to explain how to put your outline together in a way that is simple and makes sense. But here’s a hint: we aren’t going to work on these in order!

Thesis Statement

Major points, outline format, want to improve your essay writing skills.

The first thing you want to write for your outline is your thesis statement. This is typically one or two sentences, and it acts as the GPS for your entire essay. The thesis statement tells what your essay will be about. It defines your stance and lets your reader know what your major points are.

Without a strong thesis statement, even an outline can’t help you write a cohesive essay. Everything in your essay must support your thesis statement.

For more information about how to craft a strong thesis statement, check out this article on introductions .

Some people like to plan their introduction first. But I think it’s easier to plan the meat of my essay before the introduction. Usually, this will give me some good ideas to make my introduction compelling.

In general, your essay will have three major points. This isn’t a hard and fast rule. If you only have two very strong points to support your thesis, you might not need a third one. Sometimes, you might have four or five major points, and that’s okay, too.

Decide your major points that support your thesis. You can craft your topic sentences and place those in your outline. This will save you some writing later. Otherwise, just list the topic in your outline.

Each major point will have sub-points. This is the evidence to support each point. It might be research, quotes, or anecdotes. How many sub-points you have will vary depending on your topic, the essay length, and the individual major point. Keep in mind that the major points do not have to have the exact same number of sub-points. Some major points will be stronger than others.

How do you decide which order your major points will go? There are different schools of thought on this.

Some writers or teachers will tell you to write your strongest, most compelling argument as the first point, followed by the second strongest and least strong. Other people will say it’s better to get more compelling as you write, so start with your least strong argument.

I am in the camp that uses the sandwich method. Use your second-most compelling argument first and your strongest last. Put your weakest or shortest point in the middle. This way you start strong and end with a bang!

However, I do recommend that if your essay is timed writing, like on the AP test, start with your strongest point in case you run out of time.

Once you have the meat of your essay planned out, you can plan your introduction. The first thing to plan is how you will open your essay. Will you use a quote or a shocking fact? Perhaps you’ll use a rhetorical question. Decide how you will hook your readers.

Then plan your background information or context. This provides a little more information about your topic before your thesis. For example, in an essay about the lasting effects of the New Deal, your context will tell readers what the New Deal is and how it was put in place. In a persuasive essay about why the minimum wage should be raised, your context will state what the minimum wage is and how long it’s been at that rate.

Finally, you can plan your conclusion . A good conclusion restates the thesis and ties all of your points together. And it ends with something that will make the reader think and feel satisfied that the question was answered. It might provide a call-to-action, ask an evocative question, or offer a prediction about the future.

The most important thing to remember for the conclusion is not to introduce any new information. Conclusions don’t have to be long, either. Three to four sentences is a good rule of thumb.

Here’s an outline format that you can use to plan your essay. Remember, start with your thesis statement! For each major point, you might have more than two pieces of evidence. That’s fine! Just add more sub-points on your outline.

• Compelling hook
• Context or background information
• Topic sentence
• First piece of evidence: Fact, data, example, or anecdote; Commentary (how this supports your point, what it means)
• Second piece of evidence: Fact, data, example, or anecdote; Commentary
• First piece of evidence: Fact, data, example, or anecdote; Commentary
• Restate thesis
• Summarize points
• Compelling final thought

This outline is meant to be a starting place. You can add as much or as little detail as you like – whatever works for you! You can also work in any order you like. I always plan and write my introductions last, but you can plan it first.

Have you used an essay outline before? Let us know in the comments.

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Krystal N. Craiker is the Writing Pirate, an indie romance author and blog manager at ProWritingAid. She sails the seven internet seas, breaking tropes and bending genres. She has a background in anthropology and education, which brings fresh perspectives to her romance novels. When she’s not daydreaming about her next book or article, you can find her cooking gourmet gluten-free cuisine, laughing at memes, and playing board games. Krystal lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, child, and basset hound.

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12 Ways to Quickly Improve Your Academic Essay Writing Skills

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Written by  Scribendi

Anyone can learn to produce an academic essay if they begin with a few basic essay-writing rules. 

An academic essay must be based upon a solid but debatable thesis, supported by relevant and credible evidence, and closed with a succinct and thorough conclusion.

By adhering to the best way to write an essay, you can create valuable, persuasive papers even when you're under a time crunch!

What Makes a Good Essay?

As previously noted, the foundation of any good academic essay is its thesis statement. 

Do not confuse your thesis with your opening sentence. There are many good ways to start an essay , but few essays immediately present their main ideas.

After you draft your thesis, you can begin to develop your essay around it. This development will include the main supporting points of your essay, which will scaffold its main body. 

Essays also typically include a relevant and compelling introduction and conclusion.

Learn How to Write a Great Thesis Statement .

Understanding How to Write a Good Essay

When writing an academic essay, you must take a number of qualities and characteristics into careful consideration. Focus, development, unity, coherence, and correctness all play critical roles when it comes to distinguishing an exceptional essay from one that is less than perfect.

The following essay-writing tips can help writers organize, format, and support their essays in ways that fit their intended purpose and optimize their overall persuasiveness. Here are 12 essay tips for developing and writing your next academic paper.

1. Know What You Are Going to Write About Before You Start Writing

While untrained writers might just sit down and start typing, educated and experienced writers know that there are many steps to writing an essay.

In short, you should know what you want to say before you type a single word. The easiest way to narrow down a thesis and create a proper argument is to make a basic outline before you begin composing your essay.

Your outline should consist of rough notes that sketch out your introduction (including your thesis), the body of your essay (which should include separate paragraphs that present your main supporting points with plenty of evidence and examples), and your conclusion (which ties everything together and connects the argument back to your thesis).

2. Acquire a Solid Understanding of Basic Grammar, Punctuation, and Style

Before getting into more refined essay-writing techniques, you must have a solid grasp of grammar, punctuation, and style. Without these writing fundamentals, it will be difficult to communicate your ideas effectively and ensure that they are taken seriously.

Grammar basics include subject and verb agreement, correct article and pronoun use, and well-formed sentence structures. Make sure you know the proper uses for the most common forms of punctuation. Be mindful of your comma usage and know when a period is needed.

Finally, voice is tremendously important in academic essay writing. Employ language that is as concise as possible. Avoid transition words that don't add anything to the sentence and unnecessary wordiness that detracts from your argument.

Furthermore, use the active voice instead of the passive whenever possible (e.g., "this study found" instead of "it was found by this study"). This will make your essay's tone clear and direct.

3. Use the Right Vocabulary and Know What the Words You Are Using Actually Mean

How you use language is important, especially in academic essay writing. When writing an academic essay, remember that you are persuading others that you are an expert who argues intelligently about your topic.

Using big words just to sound smart often results in the opposite effect—it is easy to detect when someone is overcompensating in their writing.

If you aren't sure of the exact meaning of a word, you risk using it incorrectly. There's no shame in checking, and it might save you from an embarrassing word misuse later!

Using obscure language can also detract from the clarity of your argument—you should consider this before pulling out a thesaurus to change a perfectly appropriate word to something completely different.

4. Understand the Argument and Critically Analyze the Evidence

While writing a good essay, your main argument should always be at the front of your mind. While it's tempting to go off on a tangent about an interesting side note, doing so makes your writing less concise.

Always question the evidence you include in your essay; ask yourself, "Does this directly support my thesis?" If the answer is "no," then that evidence should probably be excluded. 

When you are evaluating evidence, be critical and thorough. You want to use the strongest research to back up your thesis. It is not enough to simply present evidence in support of an argument. A good writer must also explain why the evidence is relevant and supportive.

Everything you include should clearly connect to your topic and argument.   

5. Know How to Write a Conclusion That Supports Your Research

One of the most overlooked steps to writing an essay is the conclusion. Your conclusion ties all your research together and proves your thesis. It should not be a restatement of your introduction or a copy-and-paste of your thesis.

A strong conclusion briefly outlines the key evidence discussed in the body of an essay and directly ties it to the thesis to show how the evidence proves or disproves the main argument of your research.

Countless great essays have been written only to be derailed by vague, weakly worded conclusions. Don't let your next essay become one of those.     

6. Build a Solid Thesis to Support Your Arguments

A thesis is the main pillar of an essay. By selecting a specific thesis, you'll be able to develop arguments to support your central opinion. Consider writing about a unique experience or your own particular view of a topic .

Your thesis should be clear and logical, but it should also be debatable. Otherwise, it might be difficult to support it with compelling arguments.

7. Develop an Interesting Opening Paragraph to Hook In Readers from the Get-Go

No matter how you begin your essay, you must strive to capture the reader's interest immediately. If your opening paragraph doesn't catch the eye and engage the brain, any attempt at persuasion may end before the essay even starts. 

The beginning of your essay is crucial for setting the stage for your thesis.

8. Always Remember to Edit and Proofread Your Essay

Any decent writer will tell you that writing is really rewriting. A good academic essay will inevitably go through multiple drafts as it slowly takes shape. When you arrive at a final draft, you must make sure that it is as close to perfect as possible.

This means subjecting your essay to close and comprehensive editing and proofreading processes. In other words, you must read your paper as many times as necessary to eliminate all grammar/punctuation mistakes and typos.

It is helpful to have a third party review your work. Consider consulting a peer or professional editing service. Keep in mind that professional editors are able to help you identify underdeveloped arguments and unnecessarily wordy language, and provide other feedback.

Get Critical Feedback on Your Writing

Hire an expert academic editor , or get a free sample, 9. when developing your essay's main body, build strong and relevant arguments.

Every sentence in the main body of your paper should explain and support your thesis. When deciding how much evidence to include in an academic essay, a good guideline is to include at least three main supporting arguments.

Those main supporting arguments, in turn, require support in the form of relevant facts, figures, examples, analogies, and observations. 

You will need to engage in appropriate research to accomplish this. To organize your research efforts, you may want to develop a list of good research questions . 

10. Choose the Format of Your Essay before Writing It

The final shape that your essay takes depends a great deal on what kind of format you use. Popular college essay format types include the Modern Language Association of America ( MLA ), American Psychological Association ( APA ), and Chicago Manual of Style ( Chicago style).

These formats govern everything from capitalization rules to source citation. Often, professors dictate a specific format for your essay. If they do not, you should choose the format that best suits your field.

11. Create Clear Transitions between Your Ideas

Although unnecessary transition words are the enemy of clarity and concision, they can be invaluable tools when it comes to separating and connecting the different sections of your essay. 

Not only do they help you express your ideas but they also bring a cohesive structure to your sentences and a pleasant flow to your writing. Just be sure that you are using the right transition words for the right purpose and to the proper effect.

12. Always Include an Organized Reference Page at the End of Your Essay

As a key component of MLA, APA, and Chicago Style formatting, the reference or Works Cited page is an essential part of any academic essay.

Regardless of the format used, the reference page must be well organized and easy to read so that your audience can see exactly where your outside information came from. 

To produce a properly formatted reference page, you may have to familiarize yourself with specialized phrases and abbreviations, such as " et al ." 

How to Write a Good Hook for an Essay

The key to a good hook is to introduce an unexplored or absorbing line of inquiry in your introduction that addresses the main point of your thesis. 

By carefully choosing your language and slowly revealing details, you can build reader anticipation for what follows. 

Much like an actual worm-baited fishing hook, a successful hook will lure and capture readers, allowing the writer to "reel them in."

How to Get Better at Writing Essays

You can get better at writing essays the same way that you improve at anything else: practice, practice, practice! However, there are a few ways that you can improve your writing quickly so you can turn in a quality academic essay on time.

In addition to following the 12 essay tips and guidelines above, you can familiarize yourself with a few common practices and structures for essay development. 

Great writing techniques for essays include brainstorming and tree diagrams, especially when coming up with a topic for your thesis statement. Becoming familiar with different structures for organizing your essay (order of importance, chronological, etc.) is also extremely helpful.

How to Write a Good Introduction for an Essay

To learn how to write a good essay, you must also learn how to write a good introduction. 

Most effective essay introductions begin with relatively broad and general subject matter and then gradually narrow in focus and scope until they arrive at something extremely specific: the thesis. This is why writers tend to place their thesis statements at the very end of their introductory paragraph(s).

Because they are generally broad and often relate only tangentially to an essay's main point, there is virtually no limit on what the beginning of a good introduction can look like. However, writers still tend to rely on somewhat cliché opening sentences, such as quotations and rhetorical questions.

How to Write a Good Conclusion for an Essay

Briefly put, a good conclusion does two things. It wraps up any loose ends and drives home the main point of your essay. 

To learn how to write a good conclusion, you will want to ensure that no unanswered questions remain in the reader's mind. A good conclusion will restate the thesis and reinforce the essay's main supporting points.

Take Your Essay from Good to Great

About the author.

Scribendi's in-house editors work with writers from all over the globe to perfect their writing. They know that no piece of writing is complete without a professional edit, and they love to see a good piece of writing turn into a great one after the editing process. Scribendi's in-house editors are unrivaled in both experience and education, having collectively edited millions of words and obtained nearly 20 degrees collectively. They love consuming caffeinated beverages, reading books of various genres, and relaxing in quiet, dimly lit spaces.

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"The Complete Beginner's Guide to Academic Writing"

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How to Write an Essay Outline

Have you ever tried writing an essay without an outline? If you have, chances are your ideas went all over the place even though you started out with a specific goal in mind. So when your professor reads the paper, they won’t know what points you’re trying to make or how those points support your thesis statement. If they can’t understand what they’re reading, there’s no way they’ll grade it an A+.

That’s why you should have an essay outline to organize your research or opinions in a way that makes sense for readers. An essay outline helps you structure your writing in a logical flow to get your ideas across more effectively, which also improves your overall writing quality . As such, it also ensures that you don’t accidentally leave out the most critical points you want to convey.

If you’re reading this, you probably don’t know how to write an outline for an essay (yet) or you want to get better at it. That’s exactly what this guide will help you with. You’ll discover what goes into an essay outline and how you can write one for your next paper. Let’s get started.

What is an outline?

An outline is an organization tool that helps authors plan their writing before they start. In other words, it’s a roadmap or a blueprint of your paper. It acts as the foundation of your piece, listing out the main ideas in a logical structure that flows well. Having a topical outline in place also makes it easier to remember all the points you need to form a strong argument or support your opinions.

Although an essay outline isn’t mandatory, it helps you get the job done faster and more easily. When you start writing without a proper plan in mind, however, there could be a lot of restructuring and rewriting. This not only takes time but can be mentally taxing, and you can’t afford that especially when you have other classes to catch up with.

Writing an essay outline involves a few steps – preparation, structuring, and organization. Since this can be a lot of work, it’s best to learn from a writing tutor who will guide you through the entire process and give you hands-on training. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to learn it on your own, and this guide will give you all the basic ideas you need to cover when creating an outline.

Key elements of an essay outline

Regardless of what type of essay you’re writing, a formal essay outline typically has three essential elements – the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. Let’s take a closer look at each of these components:

The introduction

This is the section where you’ll introduce readers to your topic and describe why you’re writing about it. It needs to be relevant and attention-grabbing. When writing a college research paper outline, be sure to mention the topic and the thesis statement in your introduction.

Starting your outline with a thesis statement will give you a better sense of how to support the ideas and arguments you present in the body.

This is the section that will contain the most information and it’s where you’ll present ideas and arguments to support your thesis. It should have a minimum of three paragraphs and your outline should touch on each of them.

For each paragraph, note the topic or idea you’ll be discussing. Don’t forget to include the supporting evidence such as data, examples, expert opinions, and facts you plan to use for each paragraph.

The conclusion

This is the section where you wrap up the essay and remind readers about the points you were trying to make. Start by paraphrasing your thesis statement and summarize the purpose of your paper.

Outline formatting

In general, most formal essay outlines use a linear formatting style. This involves ranking your points or arguments in order of importance. So for example, you’ll start by discussing the most important point at the top of your essay body and then gradually move downward.

Considering all these elements, your essay outline will typically look like this:

3 Questions to ask before creating an outline

Before you’re ready to create your essay outline, ask yourself the following questions so you can start with a strong direction. Having all this information in place will make it easier to put together your outline:

1: What’s your goal?

What’s the purpose of writing this paper? Perhaps you want to inform your readers about a specific topic or maybe you want to persuade them to accept your argument. Identifying your goal will help you form a strong thesis statement as well.

2: Who will read it?

For whom are you writing your essay? Yes, you’ll consider writing for a professor when preparing a college research paper outline, but they aren’t your only target audience. Perhaps you’re writing for your classmates and peers, or you’re writing for experts in your field.

If you’re writing a college application essay, for instance, your target audience will be the members of the admissions committee. This means you should be writing for students, staff, and professors alike.

Identifying your target audience will help you understand how to form convincing arguments while considering their knowledge and points of view.

3: What’s your thesis statement?

Now based on the goal of your essay, come up with a strong thesis statement that details your argument and draws in the readers.

Structuring your outline

Once you have a goal and a thesis statement ready, it’s time to structure your essay outline. You can either use an alphanumeric outline structure like we’ve done in the above example, or you can also go for a decimal structure depending on what’s clearer to you.

Alphanumeric format:

Decimal format:

Remember, this isn’t your full essay yet so feel free to briefly outline your ideas in fragmented sentences. However, a college research paper outline will most likely need complete sentences if your professor is going to review it. This will help them understand the ideas and arguments you plan on presenting in your essay.

Putting this all together

Now let’s get to the main event – organizing your essay outline. Follow the topical outline structure of your choice and begin by outlining the introduction. In a sentence, describe the topic you’re writing about. Then follow up with your thesis statement.

You might also want to include an essay hook to make your paper even more enticing for readers. An essay hook is the opening sentence of your introduction, which instantly draws in readers and makes them want to read the entire piece. It could be anything from a relevant quote or a common misconception to an anecdote or a personal story.

Next, outline the body of your essay by noting down the topic or argument for each paragraph. Include the supporting evidence you plan on using such as stats , facts, examples, and expert opinions. Don’t forget to mention how the evidence ties in with the topic and thesis statement.

It will help to include a transition sentence in each paragraph so you can quickly structure your arguments in a logical flow. When you add more details to your essay outline, you’ll find it much easier to organize all the info as you write.

Finally, end it with an outline of your essay conclusion. Make sure you restate your thesis statement to remind your readers of your argument. Then follow up with a concluding statement to validate your thesis and propose any solution or plan to address the issue discussed in your essay.

Outline examples for different types of essays

While it’s helpful to read articles that tell you what to do and how to do it, working with a personal English tutor can give you a much more practical experience in writing essay outlines. Another excellent solution is to learn from example . So we’ve put together outline examples for the most popular types of essays:

Argumentative essay outline example

An argumentative essay, also known as a persuasive essay, involves using logical arguments to support your opinion and persuade readers. This type of persuasive writing will require solid evidence to back up your theory or argument such as facts, research, and examples.

Narrative essay outline example

A narrative essay is a form of descriptive writing where you narrate a story based on your personal experience or point of view. This is the easiest type of essay because it doesn’t require any research or supporting evidence. However, the most challenging part is providing specific and sensory details that would help readers understand your point of view.

Research essay outline example

A research essay is a form of academic writing which involves analyzing the works of other people on a certain topic and build on them using your own opinions or ideas. This is the most common type of essay you’ll have to write as a grad or post-grad student. It can be challenging as it requires plenty of research, coupled with original ideas and critical thinking.

Get ready to write sensational essays

All the tips and examples we’ve provided above will help you understand how and where to begin your essay writing process . It all starts with a good essay outline to organize your thoughts and structure your writing flow. Otherwise, you’ll end up losing your train of thought while you’re in the middle of writing. So make the most of our guide to develop your essay and outline writing skills.

Jacqueline Zote is a copywriter with a passion for all things relating to the English language. Her interests range from pop culture and mythology to social activism. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies published by HarperCollins Publishers and Zubaan Books.

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19 Outlining Sample

Once you have your concepts and know how you are going to connect them, you can start to shape your essay by working on an outline. An outline can help structure your writing. Imagine that your outline is your travel plan for what you want to do on your vacation – you know which sights you want to see, which pictures you want to take, and where you want to go. Once you know this, you can then decide how you’re going to do these things: what do you want to visit first? How will you travel between destinations? How long will you stay in each place?

For your writing journey, an outline can help you answer similar questions: which concept do you want to discuss first? How will you travel between different concepts? How much will you write about each concept?

Your outline helps you plan and structure what you want to say and in what order you will say it. As your ideas develop, you may adjust your outline so that it better fits with the concepts you want to connect and the evidence you will use to support your ideas.

All academic writing adheres to three basic structural elements:

• an introduction (including backgrounding of the topic, a thesis or hypothesis statement, and an outline of how the information will be organised in the text)
• Note that the overall topic of the body paragraphs remains the same – Transit Services for Kwantlen University students . It is the controlling idea that changes with each paragraph e.g., time, distance, translink.
• and the conclusion (no new information should be introduced at this point; you provide a summary of your key ideas and arguments, drawing to a logical conclusion; usually includes a recommendation or prediction).

Using our example writing assignment, I can get started on my outline.

I’ll  group ideas and concepts into paragraphs:

Right now, I haven’t written my thesis statement, but that will be my next step.

If you are an intermediate or an experienced academic writer, you might want to try creative graphic approaches to outlining.

Below you can see an example of using text and d rawing to organize key ideas and assess options when putting together a project.

• "My work space" by oxana v on Unsplash ↵
• "2013-10-14 Mapping what you know" by Sacha Chua CC BY 2.0 ↵

controls, restricts, or limits what will be discussed in relation to the topic

Academic Writing Skills Copyright © 2021 by Patricia Williamson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing

• Mark Rennella

It’s called the “one-idea rule” — and any level of writer can use it.

The “one idea” rule is a simple concept that can help you sharpen your writing, persuade others by presenting your argument in a clear, concise, and engaging way. What exactly does the rule say?

• Every component of a successful piece of writing should express only one idea.
• In persuasive writing, your “one idea” is often the argument or belief you are presenting to the reader. Once you identify what that argument is, the “one-idea rule” can help you develop, revise, and connect the various components of your writing.
• For instance, let’s say you’re writing an essay. There are three components you will be working with throughout your piece: the title, the paragraphs, and the sentences.
• Each of these parts should be dedicated to just one idea. The ideas are not identical, of course, but they’re all related. If done correctly, the smaller ideas (in sentences) all build (in paragraphs) to support the main point (suggested in the title).

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

Most advice about writing looks like a long laundry list of “do’s and don’ts.” These lists can be helpful from time to time, but they’re hard to remember … and, therefore, hard to depend on when you’re having trouble putting your thoughts to paper. During my time in academia, teaching composition at the undergraduate and graduate levels, I saw many people struggle with this.

• MR Mark Rennella is Associate Editor at HBP and has published two books, Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders and The Boston Cosmopolitans .  

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Part Two Paragraph Writing Skills and Essay Introduction

Unit 6 Essay Introduction

Learning Objectives

• To learn what an essay is
• To understand the similarities and differences between a paragraph and an essay
• To learn through writing samples how to transition from writing a paragraph to writing an essay
• To understand how the components of an essay relate to each other: hook, thesis statement, introductory paragraph, supporting paragraphs, and concluding paragraph
• To practice writing a five-paragraph essay

Read the following paragraph and essay. Discuss the questions that follow.

Places in Making American Friends

          There are three places to make friends in the United States. The first place is in the neighborhood. When I visited the U.S. as a child ten years ago, I met an American girl whose house was near mine. We were shy in the beginning but soon started riding our bikes in the neighborhood. We chased [1] each other and had a good time. A few months later, her family moved to another state. I have fond [2] memories of her and think that we will be able to reconnect and renew our friendship if we meet again. Secondly, going to an American school provides an opportunity to make friends. I attended an American elementary school for about six months. I was very nervous about being the only one who looked different. However, some classmates and teachers were kind enough to approach me. They were very understanding even though I did not always understand them. Some of them even helped me with school work and in the gym class. As a young girl in a foreign country, I was very grateful for their friendship. Now I am in America again. I need and value friendship as much as when I was a child. I go to a church once a week and attend a Bible study class where I meet many young adults. There, I have made some friends with whom I talk about not only God but also different cultures. For example, some of them are interested in Japanese music and Anime, so I share some of my favorite music and Anime with them. Sometimes I teach Japanese to them, and they teach English to me. Exchanging information with each other is a good way of establishing and strengthening [3] the relationship. I have learned from my experiences in the neighborhood, school, and church in America over the years that with an open and sincere heart, I am able to find good friends.

By M. Ohbayashi (student), ESL Writing III, Harper College. U sed with permission.

        When I was a child, I had an opportunity to come to the United States a few times to visit my grandmother, uncle, and aunt, who were living in the U.S. Many years later, in January 2020, my mother and I were able to immigrate here. Since I was not an outgoing type of person, I had just a few friends in Japan. However, I have met a lot of Americans and have been able to make friends with some of them. The three places to make friends in the U.S. for me are my neighborhood, school, and church.

        The first place is in the neighborhood. When I visited the U.S. as a child ten years ago, I met an American girl whose house was near mine. We were shy in the beginning but soon started riding our bikes in the neighborhood. We chased each other and had a good time. I also went to the pool with my grandmother and her family in summer. Although the pool was deep and I was scared, she and her family helped me enjoy swimming without fear. Besides riding bikes and swimming, we both loved dogs. We each had one. Even the dogs became friends as we played with them with balls. A few months later, her family moved to another state. I have fond memories of her and think that we will be able to reconnect and renew our friendship if we meet again.

        Secondly, going to an American school provides an opportunity to make friends. I attended an American elementary school for about six months. I was very nervous about being the only one who looked different. I also did not know how to behave differently in an American school. However, some classmates and teachers were kind enough to approach me. They spoke slowly and patiently with simple English words. They were very understanding even though I did not always understand them. Some of them even helped me with school work and in the gym class. As a young girl in a foreign country, I was very grateful for their friendship. Thanks to them, school became wonderful to me.

       Now I am in America again. I need and value friendship as much as when I was a child. I go to a church once a week. One day I met a girl who was studying Japanese. We began to talk with each other. She invited me to a Bible study class, and there I met many young adults. In the beginning, I felt nervous and shy just like the time when I attended the American elementary school for the first time many years before. However, as time went by, I started to like the Bible study class and made some friends with whom I talk about not only God but also different cultures. For example, some of them are interested in Japanese music and Anime, so I share some of my favorite music and Anime with them. Sometimes I teach Japanese to them, and they teach English to me. Exchanging information with each other is a good way of establishing and strengthening the relationship.

        Fortunately, I have met many kind Americans who have become my good friends. Though my shyness sometimes stands in the way, I have been trying hard to overcome it by initiating conversations with as many people as possible. I have learned that with an open and sincere heart, I am able to find good friends.

By M. Ohbayashi (student), Writing III, Harper College. U sed with permission.

Discussion Questions:

• How do you make American friends? Do you share some of the experiences the writer has described?
• What is the main idea in the paragraph? What is the main idea in the essay?
• How many paragraphs does the essay have?
• What are the three places of making American friends in the paragraph? Are the same three places explained in the essay?
• What does the essay have that the paragraph does not? Do the extra details make the essay better supported and more interesting?
• From the above two pieces of writing, what have you discovered about the similarities and differences between a paragraph and an essay?
• If you could ask the writer one question, what would you ask?

You have learned and practiced how to write well-organized, well-developed paragraphs. Now it is time to expand your writing expertise [4] to essays!

II. Similarities and Differences Between a Paragraph and an Essay

In Unit 3 Parts and Characteristics of a Good Paragraph, you learned that a paragraph is a group of sentences about one main idea . ( Open Unit 3 here . )

In this unit, you will learn that an essay is a group of paragraphs about one main idea . An essay can be as short as three paragraphs but as long as many paragraphs that span [5] multiple pages.

Here is a summary of similarities and differences between a paragraph and an essay:

III. Essay Organization

Essay assignments are very common in college courses. In this course, you are going to learn only the basic concepts and organization of essays that contain five paragraphs. There are other ways of writing built on this basic model, and you will learn them in future semesters.

As you already have much experience writing paragraphs, a good start with essays is to expand [6] an existing paragraph, as you have seen in the beginning of this unit. Below is a structural comparison between a paragraph and an essay.

Read the following paragraph and then the essay. Compare the two by answering the questions that follow.

My Joy in Baking

        Baking is my favorite hobby.  When I was a child, I like d sweets a lot, especially pastry.  Since my mom could not bake, I always went to my friend Natalia’s house to learn baking because her mom was excellent in it. Though t he learning process was not that easy , I enjoyed it . I tried and ruined [7] a lot of ingredients, but I did not lose hope. Then I started to get better and better. I tried cupcakes and cookies. It gave me confidence and excitement to think that I could bake for myself.  Now I am an adult with a family of my own, and this hobby has not changed. It relaxes me to bak e. When I have a n exhausting day or feel stressed out, the idea of crea ting something sweet and fresh makes me feel relaxed . I also like to share the fruit [8] of my hobby with my family and friends.  Baking for them gives me joy.  To have a happy moment together on any occasion [9] with sweet treats makes my relationship with them stronger. These are all the reasons why baking is my favorite hobby. I would recommend it to anyone who loves sweets and is looking for ways to bring happiness to other people.

By N . Mamurova (student),  ESL Writing III, Harper College. Used with permission.

        A hobby is a regular activity performed for enjoyment during spare time. People can choose any hobbies that are right for them: music, sports, cooking, sewing, gardenin g , and so on.  As a child, I like d sweets a lot, especially pastry.  This is why  baking became and has always been my favorite hobby.

        Though the learning process was not easy, I enjoyed it . Since my mom could not bake, I always went to my friend Natalia’s house to learn baking because her mom was excellent in it. I tried and ruined a lot of ingredients, but I did not lose hope. After a few months, I started to get better and better.  On Natalia’ s 10 th  birthday, I made pretty cupcakes, even with yellow and pink icings on them.  Her mom was very impressed.  It gave me confidence and excitement to think that I could bake by myself and bring more happiness to an already joyful event.  

        Now I am an adult with a family of my own, and this hobby has not changed. It relaxes me to bake. When I have an exhausting day or I am stressed out, the idea of creating something sweet and fresh makes me feel relaxed. Being a mom and a student, my schedule is full.  However, nothing else relieves my stress more than baking after a difficult examination at the college: the aroma of butter and sugar, the slowly forming cookies in the oven, and the pleasant and crunching sound as I bite into my creations – all eases the tension of my whole being.

        Most importantly, sharing my baking has strengthened my relationship with my family and friends. Enjoying a happy moment together on any occasion with sweet treats gives me joy. Once a friend of mine was sick, but she immediately got much better when I brought her a home-baked, mouth-watering apple pie. I have learned that helping others does not have to be a huge endeavor [10] . Small acts of kindness are just as valuable and meaningful.

        A hobby takes time to perfect but brings joy in the process. I am so glad that I have found my pleasure in baking, and I intend to enjoy it for many more years to come. I would recommend it to anyone who loves sweets and is looking for ways to bring happiness to other people.

By N . Mamurova (student), ESL Writing III, Harper College. Used with permission.

IV. Hook, Thesis Statement, Introductory Paragraph

The word “hook” may remind you of a piece of plastic or metal on the wall on which you can hang your coat. The hook holds the coat and prevents it from falling to the floor. In the same way, a hook in the beginning of an essay aims to hold the readers’ attention so that they keep reading. The main purpose of a hook is to introduce the topic and to get the readers interested.

There are different ways to write a hook. The most common ones are introducing the background or discussing some general information related to the topic.

Discuss the hook in the essays “Places in Making American Friends” and “My Joy in Baking”.  Does it introduce the topic and get you interested in reading the essay?

Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is a sentence that contains the main idea of the entire essay.

• A topic sentence shows the main idea of a paragraph. It is usually put in the beginning of a paragraph.
• A thesis statement shows the main idea of an essay. It is usually placed as the last sentence in the introductory paragraph.

The rules for the topic sentence also apply to the thesis statement.

Exercise 1. Use the expressions below to develop thesis statements.

surprises / U.S.

Thesis statement: I encountered some surprises in my first few weeks of living in the U.S.

1. children / parents’ influence

2. marriage / fights

3. dream job / hard work

4. self-discipline / success

5. bilingual / benefits

6. money / problems

7. government / assisting college students

8. personality / happiness

Exercise 2. Study the introductory paragraph in “Places in Making American Friends” and “My Joy in Baking”. Then choose two of the thesis statements from Exercise 1 to write two introductory paragraphs.

V. Transitions, Supporting paragraphs, and Concluding Paragraph

The principles for the transitions, supporting ideas, and conclusion in a paragraph also apply to an essay. In an essay, there are more supporting details than in a paragraph.

Study and discuss the following outline developed from the example thesis statement in Exercise 1.

Exercise 3. Use the above outline as an example. From the two topics you worked on in Exercise 1 and Exercise 2,  write an essay outline for each.

VI. More Essay examples

Read the two essays below. The first one is developed from an earlier outline. As you read, discuss the questions:

• What is the hook? Is it interesting?
• What is the thesis statement? Where is it located?
• In each body paragraph, what is the topic sentence? What are the details?
• What transition does the writer use in the beginning of each body paragraph?
• Is the paragraph mainly enumerative or narrative in organization? How do you know? In what order are the supporting paragraphs organized (order of importance or chronological order)?
• Does all the information in the body paragraphs support the thesis statement?
• What types of information does the writer use in the conclusion?
• What do you like about this essay?
• How would you improve the essay?

VII. Unit Review Practice: An Essay Writing Assignment

Now you are ready to write your own essay! As you have learned in Unit 2 The Writing Process ( Open Unit 2 here ), the best way to plan a paragraph is to follow the proper steps.

An Essay Writing Assignment

Purpose : To show your understanding of planning and writing an essay. Use the writing process to help you.

Topic :   You have three choices from below.

Brainstorm and Outline : Brainstorm for ideas. Then organize the ideas by using the outline template below to make an outline. Your outline is due on _________. Bring it to class.

Essay : Your essay should have a title, an introductory paragraph with a hook and a thesis statement, 3 supporting paragraphs each starting with a topic sentence followed by lots of details, and a concluding  paragraph. Use appropriate transitions to connect the supporting paragraphs.  There should be a total of 5 paragraphs in the essay.

Format : Type your essay, double spaced, font size 12, with 1-inch margins on four sides of the page. Type your name, class, and date on the upper right-hand corner of the page. The first line of each paragraph should be indented. Save your essay in a Word file.

Self Checklist : When you finish writing, use the Self Checklist below. Put a checkmark beside each item if you think you did a good job in that area.  Otherwise, improve your essay until you can check off the item. Save your work again.

Submission : Submit your essay on the Blackboard.  Go to your Blackboard course site and follow the instructions there.  Due by __________.

You have three choices for your topic.

Choice 1:  

Choose one of the paragraphs you have written in this course and expand it into an essay.

Choose one of the thesis statements, introductory paragraphs, and outlines in Exercise 1, 2, and 3 in this unit. Then write an essay based on your outline.

Choose one of the following new topics.  If you plan to have a different one, please talk with your professor first.

• What are the three things that you want to change about Harper College?
• What are the three things (or events, or people) you wish to forget?
• What are the three most important ways people in your country express love?
• What has been the most memorable day in your life?
• How did you overcome a challenge in your life?

Essay Outline Template

Essay Self Checklist

Note:  #6 – #8  may include more specific aspects of grammar depending on how many editing units you have already studied.

  NSNT Practice

Go to The NSNT Free Writing Approach and Additional Weekly Prompts for Writing in Appendix A. ( Open Appendix A here. ) Choose two topics that you have not written about. You may start with the NSNT approach. Then revise and edit at least one of them into an essay. You are encouraged to share your writing with your partner and help each other improve. 

Vocabulary Review

The words here have appeared in this unit.  The best way to learn them is to guess the meaning of each word from the context.  Then hover your computer mouse over the number beside each word to check its meaning and part of speech. These words are also listed in the footnote area at the end of each unit.

Here, you can use the flashcards below to review these words.

• An essay is a group of paragraphs about one main idea. It consists of a title, an introductory paragraph with a hook and a thesis statement, a few supporting paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph.
• A hook consists of a few sentences to introduce the topic and to get readers interested in the essay.
• A thesis statement is a sentence containing the main idea of the entire essay. It is usually placed at the end of the introductory paragraph.
• Transitions are used to provide connections between supporting paragraphs.
• Paragraphs and essays share some common features. They both focus on one central idea which is explained and developed through supporting ideas and details.

Media Attributions

• people pressing hands together © Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash
• comparing paragraph and essay structures © Lin Cui is licensed under a CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) license
• 5 cupcakes with sprinkles © Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
• a pen writing in a notebook © Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
• a page in a dictionary © Pixabay
• chase: verb, run in order to catch someone ↵
• fond: adjective, good, loving ↵
• strengthen: verb, make or become strong ↵
• expertise: noun, expert knowledge and skills ↵
• span: verb, cover, extend to ↵
• expand: verb, make bigger or longer ↵
• ruin: verb, destroy, waste ↵
• fruit: noun, products, results ↵
• occasion: noun, situation ↵
• endeavor: noun, many efforts, hard work ↵

Building Academic Writing Skills Copyright © 2022 by Cui, Lin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.