Directions:

Step 1:

Review the following information about outlining, and why it is important from USC LIbraries!

Writing papers in college requires you to come up with sophisticated, complex, and sometimes very creative ways of structuring your ideas.

The key to any successful paper is outlining the topics you wish to discuss before you actually begin writing. Outlining will help construct and organize ideas in a sequential manner and thoughtful flow. Doing so allows you to pick relevant information or quotes from sources early on, giving writers steady foundation and groundwork when beginning the writing process.

A good outline is important because:

• You will be much less likely to get writer’s block. An outline will show where you’re going and how to get there. Use the outline to set goals for completing each section of your paper.
• It will help you stay organized and focused throughout the writing process and help ensure proper coherence [flow of ideas] in your final paper. However, the outline should be viewed as a guide, not a straitjacket. As you review the literature or gather data, the organization of your paper may change; adjust your outline accordingly.
• A clear, detailed outline ensures that you always have something to help re-calibrate your writing should you feel yourself drifting into subject areas unrelated to the research problem. Use your outline to set boundaries around what you will investigate.
• The outline can be key to staying motivated. You can put together an outline when you’re excited about the project and everything is clicking; making an outline is never as overwhelming as sitting down and beginning to write a twenty page paper without any sense of where it is going.

Step 2:

In order to help you outline your essay and keep you organized, please fill out the outlining worksheet below:

Essay 2 Comparative Analysis Outline

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