Research Paper Outline Template and Tips

It is a good idea to create research paper outline before you start school, scholarship, contest essays. This will make it much easier. Research paper outlines can help you organize your thoughts, regardless of how complex or long they are. This skill can be an asset throughout your education and career. This article will explain how to create a high-quality outline for a research paper to structure winning essays.

What is a research paper outline

Outlines can be visual aids to help writers organize essays. An outline will contain the main points of each paragraph, as well as the topic sentences, thesis and supporting sentences. To visualize the parts of an essay, and to see how they connect together, writers use outline. Although most high school and college research papers have five paragraphs, there are many variations of this format for longer papers. Therefore, it is important to be familiar with the five-paragraph essay format in order to transition to longer papers.

How to outline a research paper

Once you have chosen a topic, decide what type of research paper to write. There are two types of common formats: comparative essays and argumentative essays. The structures of all three formats are similar, however. Here are some steps to help you create an outline.

• Decide what type of essay you will be writing. Research essays for high schools and early college are usually five paragraphs long. They can be either argumentative or descriptive.
• Decide your topic. Instructors often provide topics for students. Topics that are interesting to the reader and can be argued are the best.
• Take notes, reference materials, and resources.
• All research and investigations must be completed.
• You can organize your outline using either full sentence or alphabetic. Alpha-numeric outlines are less detailed than full sentence outlines. Both are shown below.
• Consider using parallel structure. Every section should start with the same type word, nouns and verbs. Use the same tense if you are using verbs.
• Even if you have a longer paper, think in terms of the five paragraph essay. The introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion are essential sections.
• Your introductory sentence should be written. This sentence is second only to your thesis and one of the most important sentences in your paper. This sentence should spark interest and introduce your topic.
• For at least three supporting sentences or quotations, add the ideas or complete sentences.
• Make an argumentable thesis. This sentence is usually the last one in the introduction. It contains three points. Rosemary’s Baby, for example, is a masterpiece due to its use of atmosphere horror, visual symbols and its surprise ending.
• Each point of the thesis should be supported by a paragraph. Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that addresses the points of the thesis. The thesis may be used as the title for the first paragraph of an essay.
• In the final paragraph, reiterate the thesis. You could use Rosemary’s Baby as an example.
• For at least two sentences, combine the ideas and complete sentences to summarize your essay.
• The conclusion can be concluded with a declarative statement, or with suggestions for future research.
• Consider compare/contrast essays. A compare and contrast essay has a slightly different structure. These papers typically consist of an introduction and a paragraph on similarities. A paragraph to discuss the differences is then followed by a conclusion.
• Advanced organizers are useful for longer essays. These cases may require that each thesis point be presented in multiple paragraphs. In these instances, advanced organizers and headings can be used to introduce the points.

Example outline for a research paper

Most cases you won’t be able to turn your outline. You can modify your outline as many times as you need. A well-written outline with parallel structure is nice. However, it’s most important purpose is to help you write. It is not important to maintain a consistent style or format. Instead, use the elements that are most useful to you.

This example provides a template for writing five paragraph research papers:

1. Introduction
   • Introductory sentence
   • Refer to the supporting sentence, citation, or quote
   • Refer to the supporting sentence, citation or quote
   • Thesis
2. Body Paragraph I
   • Topic sentence related first point of thesis
   • Refer to sentence 1 for support or quote with explanation
   • Refer to sentence 2 for support or quote with explanation
   • Refer to sentence 3 as a support or quote with explanation
3. Body Paragraph II
   • Topic sentence related second point of thesis
   • Refer to sentence 1 for support or quote with explanation
   • Refer to sentence 2 for support or quote with explanation
   • Refer to sentence 3 as a support or quote with explanation
4. Paragraph III
   • Topic sentence related third point of thesis
   • Refer to sentence 1 for support or quote with explanation
   • Refer to sentence 2 for support or quote with explanation
   • Refer to sentence 3 as a support or quote with explanation
5. Conclusion
   • Restate thesis in an innovative way
   • First Supporting sentence
   • Second support sentence
   • Final thoughts, with ideas for future research and additional questions