Organizing the Research Paper & Outlining

You have probably asked yourself this question: Why an outline? Well, here is my answer. You need a Strategic Plan. In fact, if you want, you don't even need the term "outline"...but replace it with "strategic plan". Strategic planning will take time and effort but the research paper will be made easier with good planning and patience. The time and effort put into developing an effective strategic plan will save you time and effort in the coming weeks.

The process of identifying what the paper's purpose it and then how to achieve this purpose is known asstrategic planning. And it's important for any organized paper. Without a clear picture of where you paper is headed the path will be rocky. There will be indecisiveness, second guessing and heading off into directions that you don't want to pursue.

To help you get started in this process, watch the following video on YouTube and then complete the Collaboration Forum for the Unit 4 Introduction.

The following YouTube video may help you envision how to set-up your outline as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deQzQcOVja8

The Fourth Lecture: Organizing An Essay by Outlining. Often student writers are taught short-term solutions to the problem of organizing an essay. The most common short-term essay is the "five-paragraph essay" format. The five-paragraph essay uses the following organization:

1. Introduction--Background and thesis
2. First Body Paragraph--The first reason why the thesis is true
3. Second Body Paragraph--The second reason why the thesis is true
4. Third Body Paragraph--The third reason why the thesis is true
5. Conclusion--Recap of essay

It is easy to see how you could arrange an outline around the five-paragraph essay. However, most student writers find that college professors often demand far more expansive essays. Indeed, student writers should know that an essay's organization can be pre-planned. What follows are some common ways to organize a research paper.