A research paper outline is a useful tool to aid in the writing process, providing a structure to follow with all information to be included in the paper clearly organized. Show
A quality outline can make writing your research paper more efficient by helping to:
A research paper outline can also give your teacher an early idea of the final product. Table of contents
Research paper outline exampleResearch paper outlines can consist only of notes or be extremely detailed. Your teacher might provide guidance as to the kind of outline they wish to see; if not, choose what works best for you.
How to write a research paper outlineFollow these steps to start your research paper outline:
Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.Try for freeFormatting your research paper outlineThere are three different kinds of research paper outline: alphanumeric, full-sentence and decimal outlines. The differences relate to formatting and style of writing.
An alphanumeric outline is most commonly used. It uses Roman numerals, capitalized letters, arabic numerals, lowercase letters to organize the flow of information. Text is written with short notes rather than full sentences. Example:
Essentially the same as the alphanumeric outline, but with the text written in full sentences rather than short points. Example:
A decimal outline is similar in format to the alphanumeric outline, but with a different numbering system: 1, 1.1, 1.2, etc. Text is written as short notes rather than full sentences. Example:
Language in research paper outlinesTo write an effective research paper outline, it is important to pay attention to language. This is especially important if it is one you will show to your teacher or be assessed on. There are four main considerations: parallelism, coordination, subordination and division. Parallelism: Be consistent with grammatical formParallel structure or parallelism is the repetition of a particular grammatical form within a sentence, or in this case, between points and sub-points. This simply means that if the first point is a verb, the sub-point should also be a verb. Example of parallelism:
Coordination: Be aware of each point’s weightYour chosen subheadings should hold the same significance as each other, as should all first sub-points, secondary sub-points, and so on. Example of coordination:
Subordination: Work from general to specificSubordination refers to the separation of general points from specific. Your main headings should be quite general, and each level of sub-point should become more specific. Example of subordination:
Division: Break information into sub-pointsYour headings should be divided into two or more subsections. There is no limit to how many subsections you can include under each heading, but keep in mind that the information will be structured into a paragraph during the writing stage, so you should not go overboard with the number of sub-points. Ready to start writing or looking for guidance on a different step in the process? Read our step-by-step guide on how to write a research paper. Cite this Scribbr articleIf you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
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