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• How to write an essay outline | Guidelines & examples

How to Write an Essay Outline | Guidelines & Examples

Published on August 14, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An essay outline is a way of planning the structure of your essay before you start writing. It involves writing quick summary sentences or phrases for every point you will cover in each paragraph , giving you a picture of how your argument will unfold.

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Table of contents

Organizing your material, presentation of the outline, examples of essay outlines, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about essay outlines.

At the stage where you’re writing an essay outline, your ideas are probably still not fully formed. You should know your topic  and have already done some preliminary research to find relevant sources , but now you need to shape your ideas into a structured argument.

Creating categories

Look over any information, quotes and ideas you’ve noted down from your research and consider the central point you want to make in the essay—this will be the basis of your thesis statement . Once you have an idea of your overall argument, you can begin to organize your material in a way that serves that argument.

Try to arrange your material into categories related to different aspects of your argument. If you’re writing about a literary text, you might group your ideas into themes; in a history essay, it might be several key trends or turning points from the period you’re discussing.

Three main themes or subjects is a common structure for essays. Depending on the length of the essay, you could split the themes into three body paragraphs, or three longer sections with several paragraphs covering each theme.

As you create the outline, look critically at your categories and points: Are any of them irrelevant or redundant? Make sure every topic you cover is clearly related to your thesis statement.

Order of information

When you have your material organized into several categories, consider what order they should appear in.

Your essay will always begin and end with an introduction and conclusion , but the organization of the body is up to you.

Consider these questions to order your material:

• Is there an obvious starting point for your argument?
• Is there one subject that provides an easy transition into another?
• Do some points need to be set up by discussing other points first?

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Within each paragraph, you’ll discuss a single idea related to your overall topic or argument, using several points of evidence or analysis to do so.

In your outline, you present these points as a few short numbered sentences or phrases.They can be split into sub-points when more detail is needed.

The template below shows how you might structure an outline for a five-paragraph essay.

• Thesis statement
• First piece of evidence
• Second piece of evidence
• Summary/synthesis
• Importance of topic
• Strong closing statement

You can choose whether to write your outline in full sentences or short phrases. Be consistent in your choice; don’t randomly write some points as full sentences and others as short phrases.

Examples of outlines for different types of essays are presented below: an argumentative, expository, and literary analysis essay.

Argumentative essay outline

This outline is for a short argumentative essay evaluating the internet’s impact on education. It uses short phrases to summarize each point.

Its body is split into three paragraphs, each presenting arguments about a different aspect of the internet’s effects on education.

• Importance of the internet
• Concerns about internet use
• Thesis statement: Internet use a net positive
• Data exploring this effect
• Analysis indicating it is overstated
• Students’ reading levels over time
• Why this data is questionable
• Video media
• Interactive media
• Speed and simplicity of online research
• Questions about reliability (transitioning into next topic)
• Evidence indicating its ubiquity
• Claims that it discourages engagement with academic writing
• Evidence that Wikipedia warns students not to cite it
• Argument that it introduces students to citation
• Summary of key points
• Value of digital education for students
• Need for optimism to embrace advantages of the internet

Expository essay outline

This is the outline for an expository essay describing how the invention of the printing press affected life and politics in Europe.

The paragraphs are still summarized in short phrases here, but individual points are described with full sentences.

• Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages.
• Provide background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press.
• Present the thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.
• Discuss the very high levels of illiteracy in medieval Europe.
• Describe how literacy and thus knowledge and education were mainly the domain of religious and political elites.
• Indicate how this discouraged political and religious change.
• Describe the invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg.
• Show the implications of the new technology for book production.
• Describe the rapid spread of the technology and the printing of the Gutenberg Bible.
• Link to the Reformation.
• Discuss the trend for translating the Bible into vernacular languages during the years following the printing press’s invention.
• Describe Luther’s own translation of the Bible during the Reformation.
• Sketch out the large-scale effects the Reformation would have on religion and politics.
• Summarize the history described.
• Stress the significance of the printing press to the events of this period.

Literary analysis essay outline

The literary analysis essay outlined below discusses the role of theater in Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park .

The body of the essay is divided into three different themes, each of which is explored through examples from the book.

• Describe the theatricality of Austen’s works
• Outline the role theater plays in Mansfield Park
• Introduce the research question : How does Austen use theater to express the characters’ morality in Mansfield Park ?
• Discuss Austen’s depiction of the performance at the end of the first volume
• Discuss how Sir Bertram reacts to the acting scheme
• Introduce Austen’s use of stage direction–like details during dialogue
• Explore how these are deployed to show the characters’ self-absorption
• Discuss Austen’s description of Maria and Julia’s relationship as polite but affectionless
• Compare Mrs. Norris’s self-conceit as charitable despite her idleness
• Summarize the three themes: The acting scheme, stage directions, and the performance of morals
• Answer the research question
• Indicate areas for further study

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You will sometimes be asked to hand in an essay outline before you start writing your essay . Your supervisor wants to see that you have a clear idea of your structure so that writing will go smoothly.

Even when you do not have to hand it in, writing an essay outline is an important part of the writing process . It’s a good idea to write one (as informally as you like) to clarify your structure for yourself whenever you are working on an essay.

If you have to hand in your essay outline , you may be given specific guidelines stating whether you have to use full sentences. If you’re not sure, ask your supervisor.

When writing an essay outline for yourself, the choice is yours. Some students find it helpful to write out their ideas in full sentences, while others prefer to summarize them in short phrases.

You should try to follow your outline as you write your essay . However, if your ideas change or it becomes clear that your structure could be better, it’s okay to depart from your essay outline . Just make sure you know why you’re doing so.

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The Writing Process

Making expository writing less stressful, more efficient, and more enlightening, search form, you are here.

• Step 2: Plan and organize

Sample Detailed Outline

"Organize. Organize. Organize." —U.S. Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Al Gore

Below is an example of a detailed outline. (It is for a research paper, but the principles and structure apply to any paper.) Notice the hierarchical use of the roman numeral system . Such a hierarchy is key to organizing your thinking and your argument and keeping track of the relationships between your ideas.

Introduction

quote from movie like Independence Day to get readers’ attention SOURCE: IMDB.com

world preparing to welcome with festivities and open arms the aliens coming to Earth from Andromeda galaxy

Thesis (complete sentence!): Although the aliens seem friendly and say they come in peace, Earth’s number one priority should be to build a defense shield before they arrive.

On March 15, 2016, we discovered not alone in universe: irregular but repeating signal discovered from nearby Andromeda. SOURCE: NYTimes , 3/16/16

Different scientists have decoded the message differently

Commonly accepted interpretation friendly:

“Greetings, people of Earth. We have detected and watched your reports (e.g., The Big Bang Theory ) documenting typical life on Earth. We are currently on our way to Earth to begin our friendship and will arrive in Earth year 2020. Prepare yourselves for a glorious future [unclear signals].” (SOURCE: Michaels, “Aliens Are Our Friends,” People )

still parts of the message undecoded (SOURCE?

all scientists agree: Aliens arriving in 2020 (Source: Fredericks, Wall Street Journal )

Argument: there are signs that message is a warning and that aliens are planning to attack

Prof. Alan Guthman, Harvard Center for Astrophysics, makes case (SOURCE: Guthman, “We Do Not Come in Peace”)

With only one message to work with, we have little clue of tone of message

If we interpret three different patterns in signal differently, tone much different: “Attention, Earthlings. We have observed your unusual lives. We are coming to Earth to…[unclear]. Prepare yourselves for life under our control.”

With all the videos we broadcast into space, an alien race would assume that we are hostile and act accordingly

Logic: Even if these aliens are friendly, it is better to be safe than sorry and protect ourselves

FIND: Estimates of the number of intelligent races in the nearby universe and the probability that at least one of them is hostile and technologically advanced

Argument: Estimates show that workable shield surrounding Earth can be constructed by 2020

If nations of Earth collaborate, we can build shield that will block incoming ships and weapons fire (SOURCE. Teller, “Shielding the Earth,” Physics Rev. Letters )

Will cost huge amounts of $$, but:

if spread out among many countries, affordable FIND. Estimates of costs

We can’t afford NOT to build it

Argument: Building shield will both stimulate global economy and result in very useful new technologies

FIND! Evidence on how previous projects—moon landing, the International Space Station, emergency stimulus packages—created

jobs –find stats!

new products & companies

FIND! I don’t have concrete evidence for this, but I remember hearing how the moon landing and international space station resulted in the creation of new, useful technologies

Counterargument: If we build shield and they detect it, it could signal that we are hostile and provoke the aliens to attack

Missile defense shields on Earth have often provoked international tensions. SOURCE: M. Pritchard, “If You Build It, They Will Attack.” ( Boston Globe )

FIND source that shows that

such tensions do not necessarily lead to attack and

any intelligent race will understand need for others to be prepared to defend themselves.

Counterargument: We are probably not able to build shield that would work against such a technologically advanced race

non-sequitor. fact that it may not work does not mean that it won’t and that we should not try to protect ourselves.

Conclusion.

We have no way of knowing the intensions of a group we have never met on the basis of one message.

The only sensible approach is to try to defend ourselves, especially when there will be benefits for trying such as jobs and new technologies.

• As I learned in Las Vegas, “Never risk what you cannot afford to lose.” Can we afford to risk our children’s lives?

Click here to create a detailed outline from your freewrite/brainstorm using GoogleDocs.

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How To Outline an Article: 12 Best Practices

Writing an article can be compared to building a house. Both writers and builders often start with a big-picture vision of the completed project. But if they don’t have a plan, that big picture can feel overwhelming.

That’s why builders learn how to read blueprints and writers learn how to create outlines.

A basic outline can do more than just help avoid writer’s block. Any outline of an article is a tried-and-true method for ensuring that the piece flows well and eliminates unnecessary elements that can take away from the power of the content.

While not every article requires an outline, knowing how to write an outline can help writers of all levels of experience hone their craft, improve their work, and write a good article every time.

What Is an Article Outline?

What is an outline? An outline is a tool that writers use to organize themes, ideas, and important concepts in a logical and easy-flowing structure. Outlines include a title for the work, a clearly defined focus or thesis, and the body of the content. It is a detailed list of the information to be addressed in the article.

Outlines use a format that employs Roman numbers like I, II, III, IV, and V as well as letters and regular counting numbers like 1, 2, and 3. This is known as an alphanumeric outline.

The largest themes are condensed into short phrases and labeled with Roman numbers. Within each theme, use letters to divide it into different subsections you’d like to discuss in the article. Those points can be divided even further into additional ideas, which you can label using lowercase letters and, as another subdivision, with counting numbers.

This outline structure is less about writing full sentences and using proper grammar and more about ensuring you’ve got all your ideas ready for expansion in one place. Thus, depending on the proposed length of the finished product, a short outline of one page may suffice.

Once you’ve completed this work, you’ll be ready to begin the writing process.

Importance of Outlining an Article

The best work always starts with a proper outline format. There are many reasons to complete this seemingly extra step in the writing process. Outlines allow writers to:

• Organize their thoughts ahead of time.
• Write faster.
• Have a plan to consult to ensure nothing is forgotten.
• Understand the relationship of ideas within the article.
• Improve their clarity.
• Create content at scale.
• Ensure they reach your desired length.

The last point is worth elaborating for writers who craft marketing copy, in particular. Often, an article requires a certain word count. When you start your content writing with an outline, you know if you’ve written the appropriate length to balance topics needing to be addressed.

12 Best Practices for Outlining an Article

You’ll become more proficient with the process of creating an outline and writing faster as you become more seasoned in the industry. Still, even award-winning writers follow the best practices for excelling in this essential step.

1. Identify Your Target Audience and State the Purpose of Your Article Clearly

Like all marketing initiatives, the first step in understanding how to outline an article is to think about who you want to read it. Writing directly for a target audience will help you determine what topics to cover, what tone to use, and what level of vocabulary to employ. After all, the relevant content in articles geared toward high school students will be very different from an article for CEOs.

Once you’ve successfully narrowed your target audience, consider the message you'd like the reader to take away from your article. This is also known as a thesis statement, which is a sentence that sums up the central message of your article. If you are using a target keyword, you will want to include it in this purpose statement.

2. Choose a Clear and Compelling Title

At the top of the outline, add the title of your article. Titles are not typically full sentences. Instead, they are concise, clear, and engaging descriptions of the central theme of the article. The best titles make your target audience want to read more. Always include keywords in your title if they are part of the article.

3. Determine the Main Ideas You Want To Convey in Your Article

Now it’s time to outline the body of the article, so start by identifying the largest themes. Your content outline should have at least three main ideas, and you can use Roman numbers to structure your content outlines.

Depending on the length, you may have more than three main ideas. Each of these should have subtopics you’ll want to explore. Try to have a somewhat equal number of points to explore under each idea.

4. Divide Your Main Ideas into Subtopics or Sections

A subtopic is a division of a larger topic, and these smaller sections are the content ideas of your article. List these subtopics underneath each of the main ideas using letters. If you have thoughts you’d like to expound on within a subtopic, you can further list these in your outline using counting numbers. You can use lowercase letters to break up these ideas even further.

Think of this work a little like writing a listicle . Breaking up the ideas makes it easy to understand for the reader — and easier for you to write in clear and engaging paragraphs.

5. Arrange Your Subtopics in a Logical Sequence

Once all your ideas are in your sample outline, see if they flow logically regarding your content strategy. A benefit of writing a short outline first is that you can move entire sections around without cutting up your finished product. Editing like this improves your content creation.

6. Use a Hierarchical Structure with Headings and Subheadings

Next, check that you are using the alphanumerical structure appropriately. Ensure that the main topics are listed next to Roman numbers and that the subtopics are of generally equal importance for each main topic.

7. Include Transitions Between Paragraphs

An outline of an article isn’t just adjusting the main ideas and subtopics into full sentences. Even before you begin the writing process, create transitions between paragraphs to improve your content quality. The best writers are voracious readers, so think back to different articles and books you've read to see how other writers employ transitions. From there, craft transitions that create a smooth and logical flow from one topic or idea to the next.

8. Include Supporting Points and Evidence

Research is critical for the best outlines and writing, whether you’re crafting a blog article or a master’s thesis. Supporting evidence will help the reader better understand your main topics and add weight to your writing. You can list these supporting points by using counting numbers under each subtopic.

9. Keep Your Headings and Subheadings Consistent

Now that you’ve gotten all your ideas on paper and organized, look back at the main topics and subtopics. You can translate these ideas into headings — the main headline and subheadings. Subheadings are a way many writers break up their articles to improve readability. It’s how this article is organized!

Lastly, be sure to include at least one body paragraph under each subheading that adds details to your ideas.

10. Use Keywords in Headings and Subheadings To Improve Search Engine Visibility

When writing blog content, your client or editor will likely provide keywords in the assignment for you to include throughout the article. The primary keywords — which are short or long phrases used in a search query to find relevant articles — should also be included in your headings and subheadings.

11. Proofread Your Outline Carefully

Before you begin writing, take a final look to proofread your outline. Many writers prefer to take a short break before revisiting their work to have a fresh perspective. You may discover you are missing key elements or have typos in your outline.  

12. Be Open to Adjusting and Refining Your Outline as You Write

Finally, recognize that the outline of an article is not chiseled in stone. You can adjust or add to it however you need. Writing is a creative journey, so be open and enjoy the process.

Join Our Growing Community of Writers at Compose.ly

Once you feel confident in creating an outline and are ready to start crafting articles, you may want to work professionally in the industry. You can learn how to become a writer by connecting with the team at Compose.ly — a content creation agency that connects writers with businesses to develop and execute effective marketing strategies.

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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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How to Write an Outline in APA Format

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Amanda Tust is a fact-checker, researcher, and writer with a Master of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

• Before Starting Your Outline
• How to Create an Outline

Writing a psychology paper can feel like an overwhelming task. From picking a topic to finding sources to cite, each step in the process comes with its own challenges. Luckily, there are strategies to make writing your paper easier—one of which is creating an outline using APA format .

Here we share what APA format entails and the basics of this writing style. Then we get into how to create a research paper outline using APA guidelines, giving you a strong foundation to start crafting your content.

At a Glance

APA format is the standard writing style used for psychology research papers. Creating an outline using APA format can help you develop and organize your paper's structure, also keeping you on task as you sit down to write the content.

APA Format Basics

Formatting dictates how papers are styled, which includes their organizational structure, page layout, and how information is presented. APA format is the official style of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Learning the basics of APA format is necessary for writing effective psychology papers, whether for your school courses or if you're working in the field and want your research published in a professional journal. Here are some general APA rules to keep in mind when creating both your outline and the paper itself.

Font and Spacing

According to APA style, research papers are to be written in a legible and widely available font. Traditionally, Times New Roman is used with a 12-point font size. However, other serif and sans serif fonts like Arial or Georgia in 11-point font sizes are also acceptable.

APA format also dictates that the research paper be double-spaced. Each page has 1-inch margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right), and the page number is to be placed in the upper right corner of each page.

Both your psychology research paper and outline should include three key sections:

• Introduction : Highlights the main points and presents your hypothesis
• Body : Details the ideas and research that support your hypothesis
• Conclusion : Briefly reiterates your main points and clarifies support for your position

Headings and Subheadings

APA format provides specific guidelines for using headings and subheadings. They are:

• Main headings : Use Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV)
• Subheadings: Use capital letters (A, B, C, D)

If you need further subheadings within the initial subheadings, start with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3), then lowercase letters (a, b, c), then Arabic numerals inside parentheses [(1), (2), (3)]

Before Starting Your APA Format Outline

While APA format does not provide specific rules for creating an outline, you can still develop a strong roadmap for your paper using general APA style guidance. Prior to drafting your psychology research paper outline using APA writing style, taking a few important steps can help set you up for greater success.

Review Your Instructor's Requirements

Look over the instructions for your research paper. Your instructor may have provided some type of guidance or stated what they want. They may have even provided specific requirements for what to include in your outline or how it needs to be structured and formatted.

Some instructors require research paper outlines to use decimal format. This structure uses Arabic decimals instead of Roman numerals or letters. In this case, the main headings in an outline would be 1.0, 1.2, and 1.3, while the subheadings would be 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, and so on.

Consider Your Preferences

After reviewing your instructor's requirements, consider your own preferences for organizing your outline. Think about what makes the most sense for you, as well as what type of outline would be most helpful when you begin writing your research paper.

For example, you could choose to format your headings and subheadings as full sentences, or you might decide that you prefer shorter headings that summarize the content. You can also use different approaches to organizing the lettering and numbering in your outline's subheadings.

Whether you are creating your outline according to your instructor's guidelines or following your own organizational preferences, the most important thing is that you are consistent.

Formatting Tips

When getting ready to start your research paper outline using APA format, it's also helpful to consider how you will format it. Here are a few tips to help:

• Your outline should begin on a new page.
• Before you start writing the outline, check that your word processor does not automatically insert unwanted text or notations (such as letters, numbers, or bullet points) as you type. If it does, turn off auto-formatting.
• If your instructor requires you to specify your hypothesis in your outline, review your assignment instructions to find out where this should be placed. They may want it presented at the top of your outline, for example, or included as a subheading.

How to Create a Research Paper Outline Using APA

Understanding APA format basics can make writing psychology research papers much easier. While APA format does not provide specific rules for creating an outline, you can still develop a strong roadmap for your paper using general APA style guidance, your instructor's requirements, and your own personal organizational preferences.

Typically you won't need to turn your outline in with your final paper. But that doesn't mean you should skip creating one. A strong paper starts with a solid outline. Developing this outline can help you organize your writing and ensure that you effectively communicate your paper's main points and arguments. Here's how to create a research outline using APA format.

Start Your Research

While it may seem like you should create an outline before starting your research, the opposite is actually true. The information you find when researching your psychology research topic will start to reveal the information you'll want to include in your paper—and in your outline.

As you research, consider the main arguments you intend to make in your paper. Look for facts that support your hypothesis, keeping track of where you find these facts so you can cite them when writing your paper. The more organized you are when creating your outline, the easier it becomes to draft the paper itself.

If you are required to turn in your outline before you begin working on your paper, keep in mind that you may need to include a list of references that you plan to use.

Draft Your Outline Using APA Format

Once you have your initial research complete, you have enough information to create an outline. Start with the main headings (which are noted using Roman numerals I, II, III, etc.). Here's an example of the main headings you may use if you were writing an APA format outline for a research paper in support of using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety :

• Introduction
• What CBT Is
• How CBT Helps Ease Anxiety
• Research Supporting CBT for Anxiety
• Potential Drawbacks of CBT for Anxiety and How to Overcome Them

Under each main heading, list your main points or key ideas using subheadings (as noted with A, B, C, etc.). Sticking with the same example, subheadings under "What CBT Is" may include:

• Basic CBT Principles
• How CBT Works
• Conditions CBT Has Been Found to Help Treat

You may also decide to include additional subheadings under your initial subheadings to add more information or clarify important points relevant to your hypothesis. Examples of additional subheadings (which are noted with 1, 2, 3, etc.) that could be included under "Basic CBT Principles" include:

• Is Goal-Oriented
• Focuses on Problem-Solving
• Includes Self-Monitoring

Begin Writing Your Research Paper

The reason this step is included when drafting your research paper outline using APA format is that you'll often find that your outline changes as you begin to dive deeper into your proposed topic. New ideas may emerge or you may decide to narrow your topic further, even sometimes changing your hypothesis altogether.

All of these factors can impact what you write about, ultimately changing your outline. When writing your paper, there are a few important points to keep in mind:

• Follow the structure that your instructor specifies.
• Present your strongest points first.
• Support your arguments with research and examples.
• Organize your ideas logically and in order of strength.
• Keep track of your sources.
• Present and debate possible counterarguments, and provide evidence that counters opposing arguments.

Update Your Final Outline

The final version of your outline should reflect your completed draft. Not only does updating your outline at this point help ensure that you've covered the topics you want in your paper, but it also gives you another opportunity to verify that your paper follows a logical sequence.

When reading through your APA-formatted outline, consider whether it flows naturally from one topic to the next. You wouldn't talk about how CBT works before discussing what CBT is, for example. Taking this final step can give you a more solid outline, and a more solid research paper.

American Psychological Association. About APA Style .

Purdue University Online Writing Lab. Types of outlines and samples .

Mississippi College. Writing Center: Outlines .

American Psychological Association. APA style: Style and Grammar Guidelines .

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

OASIS: Writing Center

Writing a paper: outlining, outlining strategies.

Outlining your first draft by listing each paragraph's topic sentence can be an easy way to ensure that each of your paragraphs is serving a specific purpose in your paper.  You may find opportunities to combine or eliminate potential paragraphs when outlining—first drafts often contain repetitive ideas or sections that stall, rather than advance, the paper's central argument .

Additionally, if you are having trouble revising a paper, making an outline of each paragraph and its topic sentence after you have written your paper can be an effective way of identifying a paper's strengths and weaknesses.

Example Outline

The following outline is for a 5-7 page paper discussing the link between educational attainment and health. Review the other sections of this page for more detailed information about each component of this outline!

I. Introduction

A. Current Problem: Educational attainment rates are decreasing in the United States while healthcare costs are increasing. B. Population/Area of Focus: Unskilled or low-skilled adult workers C. Key Terms:   healthy, well-educated   Thesis Statement: Because of their income deficit (cite sources) and general susceptibility to depression (cite sources), students who drop out of high school before graduation maintain a higher risk for physical and mental health problems later in life.

II. Background

A. Historical Employment Overview: Unskilled laborers in the past were frequently unionized and adequately compensated for their work (cite sources). B. Historical Healthcare Overview: Unskilled laborers in the past were often provided adequate healthcare and benefits (cite sources). C. Current Link between Education and Employment Type: Increasingly, uneducated workers work in unskilled or low-skilled jobs (cite sources). D. Gaps in the Research: Little information exists exploring the health implications of the current conditions in low-skilled jobs.

III. Major Point 1:  Conditions of employment affect workers' physical health. 

A. Minor Point 1: Unskilled work environments are correlated highly with worker injury (cite sources). B. Minor Point 2: Unskilled work environments rarely provide healthcare or adequate injury recovery time (cite sources).

IV. Major Point 2: Conditions of employment affect workers' mental health

A. Minor Point 1: Employment in a low-skilled position is highly correlated with dangerous levels of stress (cite sources). B. Minor Point 2: Stress is highly correlated with mental health issues (cite sources).

V. Major Point 3: Physical  health and mental health correlate directly with one another.

A. Minor Point 1: Mental health problems and physical health problems are highly correlated (cite sources). B. Minor Point 2: Stress manifests itself in physical form (cite sources)

VI. Major Point 4: People with more financial worries have more stress and worse physical health.

A. Minor Point 1: Many high-school dropouts face financial problems (cite sources). B. Minor Point 2: Financial problems are often correlated with unhealthy lifestyle choices such unhealthy food choices, overconsumption/abuse of alcohol, chain smoking, abusive relationships, etc. (cite sources).

VII. Conclusion

A. Restatement of Thesis:  Students who drop out of high school are at a higher risk for both mental and physical health problems throughout their lives. B. Next Steps:  Society needs educational advocates; educators need to be aware of this situation and strive for student retention in order to promote healthy lifestyles and warn students of the risks associated with dropping out of school.

Introduction/Context

Your introduction provides context to your readers to prepare them for your paper's argument or purpose.  An introduction should begin with discussion of your specific topic (not a broad background overview) and provide just enough context (definitions of key terms, for example) to prepare your readers for your thesis or purpose statement.

Sample Introduction/Context: If the topic of your paper is the link between educational attainment and health, your introduction might do the following: (a) establish the population you are discussing, (b) define key terms such as healthy and well-educated , or (c) justify the discussion of this topic by pointing out a connection to a current problem that your paper will help address.

Thesis/Purpose Statement

A thesis or purpose statement should come at the end of your introduction and state clearly and concisely what the purpose or central argument of your paper is. The introduction prepares your reader for this statement, and the rest of the paper follows in support of it.

Sample Thesis Statement: Because of their income deficit (Smith, 2010) and general susceptibility to depression (Jones, 2011), students who drop out of high school before graduation maintain a higher risk for physical and mental health problems later in life.

After the initial introduction, background on your topic often follows. This paragraph or section might include a literature review surveying the current state of knowledge on your topic or simply a historical overview of relevant information. The purpose of this section is to justify your own project or paper by pointing out a gap in the current research which your work will address.

Sample Background: A background section on a paper on education and health might include an overview of recent research in this area, such as research on depression or on decreasing high school graduation rates.

Major & Minor Points

Major points are the building blocks of your paper. Major points build on each other, moving the paper forward and toward its conclusion. Each major point should be a clear claim that relates to the central argument of your paper.

Sample Major Point: Employment and physical health may be a good first major point for this sample paper.  Here, a student might discuss how dropping out of high school often leads to fewer employment opportunities, and those employment opportunities that are available tend to be correlated with poor work environments and low pay.

Minor points are subtopics within your major points. Minor points develop the nuances of your major points but may not be significant enough to warrant extended attention on their own. These may come in the form of statistics, examples from your sources, or supporting ideas.

Sample Minor Point: A sample minor point of the previous major point (employment and physical health) might address worker injury or the frequent lack of health insurance benefits offered by low-paying employers.

The rest of the body of your paper will be made up of more major and minor points. Each major point should advance the paper's central argument, often building on the previous points, until you have provided enough evidence and analysis to justify your paper's conclusion.

More Major and Minor Points: In this paper, more major points might include mental health of high school dropouts, healthcare access for dropouts, and correlation between mental and physical health. Minor topics could include specific work environments, job satisfaction in various fields, and correlation between depression and chronic illness.

Your conclusion both restates your paper's major claim and ties that claim into a larger discussion. Rather than simply reiterating each major and minor point, quickly revisit your thesis statement and focus on ending the paper by tying your thesis into current research in your field, next steps for other researchers, your broader studies, or other future implications.

Sample Conclusion: For this paper, a conclusion might restate the central argument (the link between lack of education and health issues) and go on to connect that discussion to a larger discussion of the U.S. healthcare or education systems.

Outlining Video

Note that this video was created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.

• Prewriting Demonstrations: Outlining (video transcript)

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Writing and Research: Creating an Outline

• Getting Started
• Choosing a Topic
• Creating an Outline
• Conducting Research
• Drafting an Essay
• Revising an Essay
• Creating Citations

Header Image

How To Create an Outline

How to Write an Outline for an Essay    This article discusses strategies for creating essay outlines and includes an example.

Why and How to Use Outlines   The Purdue OWL offers insights for why an outline can help you with your research.

Create an Outline    This chapter from an open access textbook breaks down the anatomy of an outline and offers tips for creating one.

Outline Examples

Example Outline   Walden University's Writing Center provides a sample outline for a 5-7 page paper.

Sample Outline with Worksheet   This is a sample outline and worksheet from the website of the University of Mary Washington.

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• Next: Conducting Research >>
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How to Write an Outline

Last Updated: March 27, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Emily Listmann, MA and by wikiHow staff writer, Danielle Blinka, MA, MPA . Emily Listmann is a private tutor in San Carlos, California. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 3,949,625 times.

An outline is a great way to organize ideas and information for a speech, an essay, a novel, or a study guide based on your class notes. At first, writing an outline might seem complicated, but learning how to do it will give you an essential organizational skill! Start by planning your outline and choosing a structure for it. Then, you can organize your ideas into an easy to understand outline.

Quick Outline Slideshow

Sample outlines.

Planning Your Outline

• Some people process their ideas better when they write them down. Additionally, you can easily draw diagrams or examples, which might help you conceptualize the subject. However, it might take longer to write out your outline, and it won't be as neat.
• Typing your outline might be easier if your notes are already typed on the computer, as you can just copy and paste them into your outline. Copying and pasting also allows you to easily rearrange your sections, if necessary. Also, it will be easier to copy and paste information from your outline into your paper if you type your outline. On the other hand, it's harder to jot down notes in the margins or draw out organizational diagrams.

• If you’re working on a creative project, such as a novel, identify your concept, genre, or premise. Then, allow the outlining process to help you structure your work.
• It’s okay if your topic is somewhat broad when you first start, but you should have a direction. For example, your history paper topic could be French life during the German occupation of France in World War II. As you write your outline, you might narrow this down to the resistance fighters called maquisards .

• For a school assignment, review the assignment sheet or talk to your instructor. If the outline is for work, use an existing outline as a model for yours.
• If you are the only person who will see the outline, you can choose formatting that works for you. For example, you might write your outline in shorthand.

• Paraphrased ideas
• Historical facts

• Freewrite as ideas come to you.
• Create a mind map .
• Write your thoughts on index cards.

• For example, you may be writing a paper about policy change. Your thesis might read, “Policy makers should take an incremental approach when making policy changes to reduce conflict, allow adjustments, and foster compromise.” Each of the 3 reasons listed in your thesis will become its own main point in your outline.

Structuring Your Outline

• Roman Numerals - I, II, III, IV, V
• Capitalized Letters - A, B, C
• Arabic Numerals - 1, 2, 3
• Lowercase Letters - a, b, c
• Arabic Numerals in Parentheses - (1), (2), (3)

• 1.1.1 - Each side presents a case before the vote
• 1.1.2 - Citizens voice their opinion
• 1.2 - Neither side gets everything they want

• You might use short phrases to quickly organize your ideas, to outline a speech, or to create an outline that’s just for you.
• You might use full sentences to make it easier to write a final paper, to make a good study guide, or to fulfill the requirements of an assignment.

Organizing Your Ideas

• If you jotted down your ideas or made a mind map, use different colored highlighters to identify ideas that belong in the same group.
• Sort your index cards, if you used them to brainstorm. Put cards with related ideas together. For example, you can put them in stacks, or you can line your cards out in rows to make them easier to read.

• For example, your main point might be that Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein champions emotion over reason. Your subpoints might be that Victor Frankenstein is restored by nature and that his scientific efforts create a monster. As supporting details, you might include quotes from the book.
• If you're writing a story or presenting a historical argument, a chronological order makes sense. For an essay or speech, pick the subtopic with the most supporting materials, and lead with this argument. From there, order your major subtopics so each one naturally flows into the next.
• Your broad ideas should connect back to your thesis or controlling idea. If they don’t, rewrite your thesis to reflect the main ideas you’re putting into your outline.

• Hook to grab the audience
• 1-2 general statements about your topic

• Phrase outline: II. Frankenstein champions emotion over reason
• Full sentence outline: II. In Frankenstein , Mary Shelley champions the use of emotion over reason.

• Depending on the purpose of your outline, you might have more subpoints. For example, a novel may have many subpoints. Similarly, a study guide will likely have several subpoints, as well.

• In an essay, this is often where you “prove” your argument.
• For a creative work, you might include essential details you must include in that scene, such as an internal conflict in your main character.
• Similar to subpoints, you may have more supporting details, depending on your purpose. A novel or study guide will likely have more supporting details.

• Roman Numeral
• Capital Letter
• Arabic Numeral
• Lowercase Letter
• Arabic Numeral in Parentheses

• Restate your thesis.
• 1-2 summarizing sentences.
• Write a concluding statement.

Finalizing Your Outline

• This also gives you a chance to look for missing parts or ideas that aren’t fully fleshed. If you see areas that leave questions unanswered, it’s best to fill in those gaps in information.

• If you are making an outline for yourself, you might not worry about this.

• It’s a good idea to have someone else check it for errors, as it’s often hard to recognize errors in your own work.
• While you edit your outline, refer back to your assignment sheet or rubric to make sure you've completely fulfilled the assignment. If not, go back and correct the areas that are lacking.

• You can use more layers if you want to include more information.
• You might also include additional layers for a long creative work or a detailed study guide.

Expert Q&A

• Be concise and straightforward in your outline. This doesn't have to be perfectly polished writing; it just has to get your point across. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Don't be afraid to eliminate irrelevant information as you conduct more research about your topic and narrow your focus. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• You can use outlines as a memorization tool . Choose concise words to trigger a concept. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Generally, you should avoid only having one point or sub-point on any outline level. If there is an A, either come up with a B or fold A's idea into the next level up. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 2
• Your outline should not be your essay in a different form. Only write down the major assertions, not every single detail. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 1

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.iup.edu/writingcenter/writing-resources/organization-and-structure/creating-an-outline.html
• ↑ https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/outlining
• ↑ https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~cinichol/271/OutlinesHowTo.htm
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/02/
• ↑ https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/7-steps-to-creating-a-flexible-outline-for-any-story
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/03/
• ↑ https://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/outline.html

About This Article

The easiest way to write an outline is to gather all of your supporting materials, like quotes, statistics, or ideas, before getting started. Next, go over your materials and take notes, grouping similar ideas together. Then, organize your ideas into subtopics and use your materials to provide at least two supporting points per subtopic. Be sure to keep your outline concise and clear, since you’ll have to refer to it later! For more help on how to plan and organize your outline, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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The Definitive Guide to Writing a Content Outline

When you sit down to write an article, where do you start? There are many different ways to write an article, but if you have a content outline handy, it makes the process much easier. 

I often hear that creating a blog or article outline is difficult. Some people even say it’s intimidating as they feel like they’re constricting their creativity.

But is it really so?

True, there are a lot of steps to creating a content outline.

True, it can be tedious and time-consuming.

And yes… it’s true, it takes time.

And you know what?

From my experience, it’s worth the effort though.

Whenever I want to write an article , I outline it first. Why? It helps me to figure out what my topics will be before I start writing.

This way I can ensure that it brings the desired results every time, not just randomly generate the relevant traffic.

I use a structured content outline (a very detailed one). I tested it. It brings results. I will provide you with my content outline example at the end of the article.

So what are we going to talk about?

In this practical how-to guide, we’ll walk through the process of creating a content outline from start to finish including:

• how to do research,
• what information is important in your outline, and
• ways you can make your content stand out with formatting tips.

So, sit back, and relax!

Let’s get to the bottom of how to write an article outline!

• A content outline is a roadmap for an article, and it is a tool used for organizing any kind of content.
• Creating an outline helps organize your thoughts and ideas, ensuring that your final product is well-developed and cohesive.
• Proper research before writing ensures that the article covers all topics of interest to your audience, adding value to the reader.
• Outlining makes it easier for readers to follow, quickly finding the topic they are looking for without skimming.
• Outlining reduces the chances of writer’s block, offering inspiration to the writer.
• A clear outline enables scaling content creation and writing processes, publishing multiple blog posts or articles each day.
• An outline can save money by reducing content creation costs.
• A detailed content outline may seem tedious and time-consuming, but it is worth the effort.
• A content outline provides a structured approach to writing, making the final product much more effective.
• Using content outline tools can significantly increase the efficiency of the content creation process. For example, one such tool is SEOwind , a sample content outline generator.

What Is Content Outline?

A content outline is a list of the topics that you will cover in your article or blog post. It can be as simple as a few bullet points, or it can be more detailed with sub-points and specific information about each topic.

A content outline of an article   is a roadmap for your content. It’s an overview of what content it will include. You can treat the content outline as a skeleton of an article or blog post. It’s like a blueprint. It helps you make your final draft. You should make it part of your content strategy.

A content outline is a tool used for organizing any kind of content you’re making. It’s especially useful for writing comprehensive blog posts or articles with different sections. It is also valuable for websites.

Why should you create an outline?

One of the key things people always ask is how important or why you need an outline for an article. Some might consider it time-consuming or process that’s unnecessary. But you’re mistaken. An article outline is crucial for the final output – a well-structured article with the right keywords and all the important details. So, check out these few reasons why you should have an outline for an article and what kind of benefits using the content outline for an article, blog post, or website have. 

1. Structure keeps your thoughts well organized

The key benefit of creating a blog outline or outline of an article is that it helps you to organize your thoughts and ideas before you start writing. This ensures that your final product is well-developed and cohesive, including all the information useful from the reader’s perspective, rather than a collection of random thoughts that are difficult to follow.

It helps you to stay focused on major points and structure your information.

You can easily rearrange the order of your topics, or omit them altogether if needed.

If you directly start  writing an article , you might miss out on crucial elements or sometimes mess up the flow. Your content might be all over the place without any proper structure. This might hamper your quality as it might be difficult for the reader to follow. So, when you have a content outline, you can plan your  structure and write the content accordingly . 

2. Deliver more value to your reader

Proper research before you start writing will ensure that you’re covering all the topics that are of interest to your audience. This will help you to uncover their interests, needs, questions they ask, and problems they are trying to resolve. You will stop guessing and bring more relevant content to your audience.

3. It’s easy to follow for your reader

Another benefit of outlining your content is that it makes it easier for readers to follow. By providing a clear structure, they can quickly find the topic that they are looking for without having to skim through a lengthy article.

4. No More Writer’s Block

Outlines are a lifesaver. They help you to avoid writer’s block. If you find yourself stuck on what to write about next, simply look at your outline for inspiration.

You don’t need to interrupt your creative flow by researching: what you need to write next. Everything is stated there. Right and clear.

5. Scale Content Creation and its Quality

Content outlines also allow you to scale the content creation and writing process. Instead of having one or two articles per week, you can instead focus on quality and publish multiple blog posts or articles each day.

Why is it possible?

With a clear outline, it is much easier to outsource writing content to external or internal copywriters. The writer, even if not from your industry, will know exactly what they need to write about.

6. Reduced Content Creation Costs

An outline will also save you money.

Just imagine: you are asking an external copywriter to write an article. You just give them a topic, without an outline, without any directions.

If you do so, you can be almost sure that they will provide you with content that is easy for them to write, not necessarily the one you were looking for.

Try once, and you will never do it again.

And if you want your content to rank and take into account also SEO technicalities, then you can be 100% sure that without directions it will not happen.

What does it mean for you?

You will need to spend time fixing the weak draft. And money is time. An outline can help you reduce these costs.

A good outline means increased collaboration, clear expectations, higher content quality, quicker delivery, and lower costs.

Just imagine how beautiful and effortless your content creation and reviews could be.

7. Produce content that drives traffic

Last but not least. Outlines help you produce content that drives traffic because it matches what your audience is searching for. You are no longer creating random content, but relevant content that people will be interested in reading.

If you strengthen your content outline with some SEO aspects.

This is where the magic will happen.

You will soon see how it positively influences traffic and conversions.

8. Ensure SEO optimization

Having a perfect article outline gives you the training to have the right keywords ready. So, when you write the article later, you will already know the proper keywords to include in the article.  

Now that you understand the basics of content outlining, it’s time to put those skills into practice.

How to Outline an Article: A Step-By-Step Walkthrough

The purpose of a content outline is to help you organize your thoughts and plan out your content.

It can be as simple as writing down the main points of your article as you develop the idea in your head. You could likely do it from the top of your head.

Wait. Don’t do it that way.

Do the proper research.

So how to outline an article? How to outline a blog post? What information should you gather before writing an outline? These are probably the questions that are going through your mind right now.

Let’s get started on how to create and use a content outline: 

Step #1: Define your topic

There are certain steps you need to do to start writing an outline.

The first step is to do your research. Find out what the topic is about, what people are searching for, and what you can offer that is unique and valuable.

Keyword research

Find the right target keyword. Find the one that is relevant to your audience and your website. You can use tools like:

• Google’s Keyword Planner

There are plenty of them that can support you in this process.

I usually start my content brief by listing keywords at the top of my outline. This will become handy when you’re gathering information and drafting.

By keeping all of the relevant keywords in your outline, you won’t have to switch back and forth between platforms while you’re working on your outline and, later, writing.

After you’ve figured out what people are searching for, you may examine the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) for that topic.

Analyze the search intent behind the keyword

Before you start writing, think about who your article is aimed at. This will help you better target your content and make sure that it is useful and interesting for your audience.

Look into user search intent .

What do I mean by search intent?

Simply said, it’s the “why” behind a search query. What is someone hoping to achieve by making this search?

The simplest way to understand search intent? Google your target keyword and look at the SERPs. Let’s take the content outline as an example. 

For “content outline” I see that the search intent is informational. People want to learn more about the content outline, what it is and how to make one. This explains why almost all search results are articles.

Decision: I’ll need to write a blog article to raise my chances of ranking for this term.

Analyzing and understanding search intent will help you choose the right angle. The appropriate angle can help you edge out of the competition.

Analyze top-ranking articles

When you analyze the top-ranked articles on your topic, you will be able to understand what template reaches the audience, what kind of content resonates with the target audience, and other key details. It will also help you develop a unique angle that has yet to be explored. 

Add takeaways into large sections

Let your ideas flow naturally, and write down the key takeaways of your blog. What are the takeaways? This is basically what you want your readers to know through this blog. Write different key takeaways that help you get multiple ideas and unique content. Suppose you write about an outline. You can always think of ideas like whether you can include visuals, what is a basic  template  for the content outline, how to write a content outline for a post, etc. You can use these takeaways to add headings to your content. 

Step #2: Define the value 

Ask yourself those questions:

• What sets your content apart?
• What is the unique perspective that you’re bringing to this topic?
• What kind of value will your content bring?

After you know your target keyword and understand the search intent, it’s time to identify your angle.

Your angle is what will make your content stand out from the rest of the articles on the topic.

Determine your working title

Choose the working title. It doesn’t have to be the final one, but it should show direction.

A great article title should be:

• Attention-grabbing – This one is obvious. Your title has to attract your audience’s attention so that they click on it. Google also pays attention to this factor when ranking your content. A good rule of thumb is to use numbers in titles and some powerful words.
• Specific – The more specific your title is, the better. It will help you rank for long-tail keywords and people will know what to expect when they click on your content and read it.
• Actionable – Your title should also be actionable. It should tell the reader what they will learn from your article, and how it will contribute value.

Let’s get back to the SERPs. Here are the results for “content outline”:

You can easily notice that Google is prioritizing guides and how-to articles . Seems right, as the content should be educational and informational.

Would be nice to be in the first position, right? In most situations, it is doable!

So dig deeper.

To obtain the top spot, you’ll need to produce original and in-depth material . Also known as skyscraper content.

By researching the SERPs in detail you can get more insights into:

• recommended word count,
• keywords the article is ranking for,
• headings and subheadings .

Step#3: Create headings and subheadings for your article

We arrived at the step where you can build the outline of how you know it.

You already have H1 from your previous step. In my case, it is “….”

So now you can jump into H2s, H3s, and H4s if needed.

Write the sections you need and SEO requirements. A basic section outline would look like 

• Introduction

Let me give you some hints on how you can approach it:

• Look through the SERPs and identify the headings you would like to include in your outline,
• Structure them in the correct order,
• Add additional value. What questions do your customers ask? What challenges do they face regarding this topic? Add your experience to the outline to make it more valuable.
• Try to name the headings in a meaningful way so that they convey a message and it is easy to understand what kind of information can be found in certain sections.
• Each header should correspond to a major search item associated with the main key term. 

How many headings should my outline have?

If you’re wondering how many headings your outline should have, we’ve got it covered. Just check out our video!

The foundation of your outline is your headings. It’s time to arrange your data once you’ve created them.

Step #4: Give context under headings

You can always go a step further!

Include in the content outline not only headings but also context.

You can think of it as adding some muscles to your skeleton. Or even dressing it up a bit.

Why is it worth the effort?

Your content writer will know specifically what they need to write about. Clear and concise. Taking guessing off the table.

• Bullet points are fine.
• Consider what you want the reader to take away from each section. What will they learn from this article step by step?
• Add statistics and internal links –
• If you know of any up-to-date stats add them to the outline. Adding relevant data makes your article more recognizable.
• Do you have internal content that pairs well with what you write? Add the links as well.

Step #5: Add questions to your Outline

Look at the questions your target audience is asking related to the topic.

There are a couple of places that come in handy here:

• Google’s ‘People Also Ask’ (PAA)

The ‘ People Also Ask ‘ box appears in the SERP and provides questions that searchers are asking (relating to your keyword). This helps you know what the readers are looking for on the internet.

Suppose you type a perfect content outline. You might find questions like how to outline a blog, why a content outline is necessary, etc. This will help you understand what other details you can include in your content. 

If you want to access it, just type your keyword and see if any questions come up:

• Ahrefs questions

If you’re using Ahrefs, go to Keywords Explorer. Enter your target keyword. In the questions section, you can see some more examples of what is interesting to people:

Additional tips:

• For further inspiration, you can investigate Quora or Reddit.
• If you use these questions as headings (or subheadings) in your article or blog post it might appear as a featured snippet.

Step #6: Additional information helpful in the content outline

Introduction and conclusion in the content outline.

Treat it as a bonus task when creating an outline.

From my experience, it’s a good idea to have the introduction and conclusion in full. It provides a clear goal of the article and states what the audience will learn from it.

A couple of things more.

• Don’t make your introduction or conclusion longer than 150 words on average. A few extra or fewer words won’t hurt you. They’re the article’s entrance and exit doors, so they don’t have to be excessively long.
• Introduction – think of this section as a hook for the reader and a way to pull them down the page.
• Conclusion – In conclusion, you need to summarize everything that your reader has learned up to this point and put an end to the arguments that you have been making. Put final punctuation here. If there is a call to action, label it in your outline.

Well, we’ve arrived at the end. I hope it makes sense to create your content outline as an additional step before creating the actual article.

Include links, examples, or data

You can include the examples you want to write or add data you have collected. This means you have identified some good arguments to support your point. So, adding links or data to your section will keep you organized, and you can support your claims. This process will also save a lot of time when you write your blog. 

Sample content outline

For starters, here is a sample outline for an article. The content outline should include:

• Topic – working title
• Headings and Subheadings (content structure)
• Critical points under the subheadings, if needed
• Relevant Questions
• Target keywords – categorized into most important to least important

It would help if you always started your content outline with the article’s topic. Then, after you identify the topic, search for the right keywords. Of course, the keywords are crucial in different ways. But the first thing you can try is to include an essential keyword in the title of the article. After that, you can plan your headings and subheadings after doing a little research about the topic. 

You can use the keywords within the article. Sometimes you can use them as subheadings as well. After you get the keywords right, decide on the article’s tone. Besides identifying the title and subheadings, you should also clearly know what the goal of your content is because the goal is also what determines the tone and structure of the article. You should also make sure you know who you are writing it for. As in, who is your target audience? Finally, it would help if you also learned about the USP of your content to highlight it in the article and get better reach. 

There is no single way to do your outline, but including these elements in the outline will make your article much easier to write. 

Optional ideas for a content outline

Here are the optional ideas to add:

• Create introduction and conclusion – It is easier to write when you already have an introduction ready while drafting the outline. For most of us, writing content and starting to write takes a longer time. Starring at a blank page is something we all dread. So, you can come up with an intro when you sit down to write the outline. Clearing writer’s block or starting trouble away from your path, you can quickly start writing the article. Write a conclusion also, so it makes the writing process simple. 
• Add data or visuals – You can add additional data, links, or visuals to your outline that will later help you build an article. When you have stats or links, you can add them to your article outline. So, you will know what other details you can include in the content. 
• Add details you think of – You can always have random thoughts and ideas when you think of the topic. Sometimes when you sit down to write, you might forget the details you had thought of. But you don’t want to forget those details while writing later. So, write these details in the outline and ensure you don’t miss the information or details. 

Create a content outline with SEOwind

When you try to draft a perfect content outline, it is vital to focus on keywords and data-driven topics and create more content that brings more profit. Then, you can add content on autopilot mode and drive quality traffic. But to do all these, you need more than just human resources. An AI-powered tool like SEOwind will help you make SEO-supported content outlines more quickly and easily.

Streamlining your content creation process is essential and will aid in faster target reach. In addition, you can create a more reliable space that will generate profit. SEOwind offers a detailed content brief along with keywords which helps your content writers and copywriters not only draft a perfect content outline but also produce quality content that will help your website rank higher. 

Tools like SEOwind will act as an SEO keyword generator and an AI content writer. This combination helps curate SEO-optimised content. SEO data is often difficult to filter and use. But with SEOwind, you can get filtered, analyzed and ready-to-use hints that can help your brand explore different topics and establish a better relationship with the customers. 

Just have a look at what creating a content outline looks like.

So, what are you waiting for? Check out the SEOwind tool and take your content marketing game to a whole new level. 

How to create a content outline with SEOwind – Step-by-step guide (with Example)

Let’s dive into how to use SEOwind for creating content outlines.

Start with keyword

This journey starts with defining the focus keyword. Once you make this decision, log in to the SEOwind application, click the “Create brief” button, and choose the location you are aiming to target.

Let’s choose the following primary keyword: “types of coffee beans”.

Now relax while the system analyzes dozens of SERP data.

Look through SEOwind data

All starts with thorough research. Let’s see what data SEOwind gets at your disposal:

Competitive Analysis

Check the competitive landscape for your content. Content that beats the average has a higher chance of ranking in the top SERP.

We provide you with top SERPs including their title, description, URL, organic keywords, and number of words.

We analyze top SERPs and provide you with data on the organic keywords they rank for. Often pages that get to the top positions in Google, rank for dozens of keywords. Why is that important? It can provide you with additional ideas on what kind of topics you should include.

Here you can see a sample of keywords the article Types of Coffee Beans and What Sets Them Apart ranks for.

Competitor Outlines

Analyze how top SERPs are building their outlines. It can be a great source of inspiration and ideas to structure your own outline.

Questions To Answer

Looking at commonly searched questions can help you understand what kind of topics they would like to explore, what interests them, and what answers your audience is looking for. Find natural ways to answer these questions in your content.

Secondary Keywords

Crafting quality content means making sure you cover topics your audience is interested in reading about. Use these secondary keywords to help you create a comprehensive piece that is relevant to your audience. You can also look through the content and see in what context certain keywords were used.

Once you understand what content ranks for the chosen keyword, you can make a conscious decision about what your content should be about.

Write the title and description

Come up with the title for your content. You can either do it on your own or use our AI recommendations. You just choose 3 or more competitor titles that match your targeted search intent and we will provide you with a couple of title ideas.

The same goes for the description. We have AI recommendations at your disposal.

Use General article recommendations

Wondering how long the blog post should be , and how many headings and images the post should have?

We are making the recommendations based on top SERPs analysis so you can be sure that you’re not bringing a 500 words article to 2500 words fight.

Create a blog post outline

You have all the data to create your own outline. You can use SEOwind editor to create your content outline. Take inspiration from top SERPs and add your own value on top. Go through the Questions To Answer section to enrich your content.

Bonus: If you use any of the headings from competitors once you copy the brief to the doc or google doc file you will also get sources they were taken from.

Choose secondary keywords to expand your reach

Choose the keywords by going through:

• Competitive Analysis section where you can find secondary keywords for top SERPs
• Secondary Keywords section where you can find how often certain keywords were present in SERPs along with the context they were used.

Share the content brief with your content writer

Once you have your content brief ready you can share it with your content writer. Just share the link or copy it to google docs.

Content outline formats

So you’re wondering what the outline might look like, right?

I’ve seen various article outlines. Some are simple, and some are more structured.

Let me share my secret

I’m a fan of a more structured approach. No, not true. It doesn’t have to kill creativity. It brings value.

Approach #1: Mind mapping, no structure

Mind mapping is a great technique that brings some order to your way of thinking. It might be valuable when you’re creating content yourself as well as when you work with advanced writers who have strong research capabilities, along with SEO and creating writing skills. Still, it requires more effort on the content writer’s side which usually means additional remuneration.

Many people use other tools for outlining their content such as mind maps or mind-mapping software, but this blog post will be focusing on outlines in Microsoft Word (or Google Docs if it’s not available).

• it makes your content more organized than no structure at all
• gives flexibility
• includes links with valuable content
• it usually only contains content ideas, so it’s very general
• there is no place for context and additional content outline information
• no SEO guidelines meaning the content will likely perform poorly in terms of its visibility and traffic

Research/Articles:

Main points:

• Point #1: Headline
• Point #2: Headline
• Point #3: Headline

Approach #2: Structured content outline

This type of outline provides a well-detailed structure that helps to guide the writer through the content creation process. It focuses on content that is valuable and interesting from your audience’s perspective.

Outlines like these are ideal for producing valuable content. The valuable content and context have been identified. Now, all the writer has to do is to fill in the text with supporting material.

• it has a pretty detailed structure so your content is well organized
• provides more insights into requirements like word count, along with article purpose
• Suggested article length [in words]:

Writing style:

Article purpose:

Article Outline:

• Key takeaways

Approach #3: Structured SEO content outline

This is the one you want. Here’s a great way to get structured SEO content. This is the king of all kings, and it’ll help you get on top of your game quickly.

It combines what’s best in content as well as SEO, meaning that the content will be appreciated by people (priority) and also search engines.

• provides more insights into the requirements
• includes SEO guidelines to optimize content
• Some people might argue that it limits creativity.

Still, creativity is not worth it if the article is not found by people, read, and shared. SEO is the key.

Sample SEO content outline format

Article guidelines:

• Focus keyword: {keyword} (search volume: X)
• Secondary keywords: {keyword 1} (search volume: X), {keyword 2} (search volume: X), {keyword 3} (search volume: X)
• A suggested number of headings:
• A suggested number of images/media:
• SEO description

Content Outline Examples and Templates

Here you can find a sample content outline created with SEOwind for the primary keyword “how to brew coffee at home”.

This is how the outline looks in the system:

Once you have your outline ready you can either share it via a link or copy it to your doc file. You can access this content outline here [Content Brief] The Best Ways to Brew Coffee at home, According to Baristas

It will look as follows:

Frequently Asked Questions regarding content outline

What is the order of an outline.

An outline is a great way to organize your thoughts and information before you start writing. A content outline is a great tool for any type of writer. Whether it’s an essay, web article, or even a novel, having a good structure to follow will help you better lay out your ideas and ensure that the flow of your writing will be smooth and effective.

It can also help you to stay on track while you are writing, and make sure that you cover all of the points that you want to make.

Generally, an outline has three parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.

The introduction should introduce your topic and explain why it is important. The body should discuss each point that you want to make about the topic, in detail. The conclusion should summarize what you have said in the body, and offer your opinion on the topic.

When should you create an outline?

It is worth creating an outline for any type of content. You can use it for:

• a blog post,
• article, or
• any type of page on your website.

It structures the thoughts and makes it easier to walk your reader through the main points.

Should you add visuals to a content outline?

There are two types of visuals you could add to an outline, which will be of great use. First, you can either add the infographics and images you have collected for the article. This type of visual will help you draft better content. The second type of visual or visual reference makes the content more memorable for you. 

What does a content structure include in general?

The standard content structure should include an introduction, body, and conclusion. 

Is it important to determine the number of words of subheadings in an article outline?

Yes, it is vital to include the number of words for the total article and split it into an introduction, subheadings, and conclusion. Having a word limit for each heading will help you prioritize the critical content and eliminate unnecessary ones. 

How content outline is prepared

A good content outline needs to be developed carefully and thoughtfully.

The simplistic format for a content outline you’ve been taught at school is as follows:

(1) Introduction, (2) Body Paragraphs, and (3) Conclusion.

This means the first point you need to understand is what your topic will be about, and then develop certain sections around particular topics.

Creating a content outline for articles or blog posts that are SEO optimized and bring traffic, is a much more demanding process.

Worth the effort though! Especially when you start experiencing tremendous results.

What is a content outline for a website?

A website outline is a document that outlines the key components of your website. It provides a summary of each element, along with guidelines for how each element will look and behave.

You can treat it as the raw version of a website page.

A website’s content outline should reflect the structure and overall flow of that website page. It is not meant to be an actual page, but it does have a purpose. The wireframes and designed version are what is seen on the website pages. Content outlines are what hold everything together and give it shape.

A website’s content outline can also be used as a checklist for all of the components on your website page. If something was not done, can use certain types of outlines to describe something you want to accomplish or achieve.

You have to start by defining what kind of website you want to create; this specific detail determines what information is conveyed in your layout, as well as how it should be structured.

Each content outline should have the page name, where the page exists within the site architecture, and the SEO metadata, along with the copy and content description for each section of the page.

For each content component or module, state the sort of text it contains (body, header, subhead, etc.), word and character count limitations, a description of any images that should be included if applicable, and link destinations where relevant. If the writers or editors are unfamiliar with wireframes, you may offer them a screenshot so they can see how it will look.

How to build an outline for a website?

A website content outline is a draft of your website’s appearance and what it includes. When you build an outline for a website, you should include the name of the website, SEO metadata, content description for each page, contact information to include on the page, and the slogans and captions you write to capture the audience. 

Tools like SEOwind can help you with an outline for your website.

Conclusions

The content outline is like the skeleton of your content piece. So, it is crucial to draft a good content outline. It can help you write better content and boost your marketing efforts. It has several advantages, including structuring your article, saving time, helping you get away from writer’s block, and skipping unnecessary content. 

But to write better content, you should be able to know your target audience, brainstorm the content, and research well. Only proper research will help you write a better outline and finally aid you in drafting the perfect article. Content outline is like the foundation of your building your article and other pieces of content. So, follow the above-mentioned steps and draft a perfect content outline that will boost your article quality and drive more traffic.

If you follow this outline, you will have a great chance of success. These outlines can help write content according to SEO guidelines with less effort and time for research. So, the writer gets more time for creativity which means happier clients!

I hope this article has inspired you to create more structured outlines for your content. Feel free to share any other thoughts, questions, or feedback.

Happy outlining, everyone!

Kate Kandefer

Entrepreneur passionate about scaling SaaS companies on a global B2B stage. My expertise in AI, SEO, and Content Marketing is my toolkit for driving tangible results. I'm a hands-on executor guided by results, deeply passionate about marketing, and skilled at aligning business objectives with people's needs and motivations. With a pragmatic mindset. My approach is all about clarity, efficiency, and open dialogue.

Table of Contents

• 2 What Is Content Outline?
• 3 Why should you create an outline?
• 4 How to Outline an Article: A Step-By-Step Walkthrough
• 5 Sample content outline
• 6 Create a content outline with SEOwind
• 7 How to create a content outline with SEOwind – Step-by-step guide (with Example)
• 8 Content outline formats
• 9 Content Outline Examples and Templates
• 10 Frequently Asked Questions regarding content outline
• 11 Conclusions

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Types of Outlines and Samples

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

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This resource is enhanced by a PowerPoint file. If you have a Microsoft Account, you can view this file with   PowerPoint Online .

Alphanumeric Outlines

This is the most common type of outline and usually instantly recognizable to most people. The formatting follows these characters, in this order:

• Roman Numerals
• Capitalized Letters
• Arabic Numerals
• Lowercase Letters

If the outline needs to subdivide beyond these divisions, use Arabic numerals inside parentheses and then lowercase letters inside parentheses. Select the "Sample Outlines" PDF in the Media Box above to download the sample of this outline.

The sample PDF in the Media Box above is an example of an outline that a student might create before writing an essay. In order to organize her thoughts and make sure that she has not forgotten any key points that she wants to address, she creates the outline as a framework for her essay.

What is the assignment?

Your instructor asks the class to write an expository (explanatory) essay on the typical steps a high school student would follow in order to apply to college.

What is the purpose of this essay?

To explain the process for applying to college

Who is the intended audience for this essay?

High school students intending to apply to college and their parents

What is the essay's thesis statement?

When applying to college, a student follows a certain process which includes choosing the right schools and preparing the application materials.

Full Sentence Outlines

The full sentence outline format is essentially the same as the Alphanumeric outline. The main difference (as the title suggests) is that full sentences are required at each level of the outline. This outline is most often used when preparing a traditional essay. Select the "Sample Outlines" PDF in the Media Box above to download the sample of this outline.

Decimal Outlines

The decimal outline is similar in format to the alphanumeric outline. The added benefit is a system of decimal notation that clearly shows how every level of the outline relates to the larger whole. Select the "Sample Outlines" PDF in the Media Box above to download the sample of this outline.

OpenAI debuts voice cloning tool, but deems it too risky for public release

ChatGPT creator says Voice Engine can replicate a person’s voice based on a 15-second audio sample.

OpenAI has unveiled a tool for cloning people’s voices but is holding back on its public release due to concerns about possible misuse in a key election year.

Voice Engine can replicate a person’s voice based on a 15-second audio sample, according to an OpenAI blog post demonstrating the tool.

Keep reading

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But the ChatGPT creator is “taking a cautious and informed approach” to the technology and hopes to start a dialogue on “the responsible deployment of synthetic voices”, the company said in the blog post published on Friday.

“We recognize that generating speech that resembles people’s voices has serious risks, which are especially top of mind in an election year,” the San Francisco-based start-up said.

“We are engaging with U.S. and international partners from across government, media, entertainment, education, civil society and beyond to ensure we are incorporating their feedback as we build.”

We're sharing our learnings from a small-scale preview of Voice Engine, a model which uses text input and a single 15-second audio sample to generate natural-sounding speech that closely resembles the original speaker. https://t.co/yLsfGaVtrZ — OpenAI (@OpenAI) March 29, 2024

OpenAI said it would make “a more informed decision” about deploying the technology at scale based on testing and public debate.

The company added that it believes the technology should only be rolled out with measures that ensure the “original speaker is knowingly adding their voice to the service” and prevent the “creation of voices that are too similar to prominent figures.”

The misuse of AI has emerged as a major concern ahead of elections this year in countries representing about half the world’s population.

Voters in more than 80 countries, including Mexico, South Africa and the United States are going to the polls in 2024 , which has been dubbed the biggest election year in history.

The influence of AI on voters has already come under scrutiny in several elections.

Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan used AI-generated speeches to appeal to supporters in the run-up to the country’s parliamentary elections in February.

In January, a political operative for the long-shot US presidential candidate Dean Phillips put out a robocall impersonating US President Joe Biden that urged voters not to cast their ballots in New Hampshire’s Democratic Party primary.

OpenAI said it had implemented several safety measures for its partners testing Voice Engine, “including watermarking to trace the origin of any audio generated by Voice Engine, as well as proactive monitoring of how it’s being used”.