V. Create an outline.

Form your main points.

Your essay will be made up of the information you gathered while beginning your research, and now it’s your job to organize all that info into coherent points that will support your thesis in answering your assignment. Be sure that each point you’re making is directly connected to your thesis statement and contributes to answering the prompt.

The general structure of your entire essay will be something like this:

 

[Central Idea/Thesis – the one thing your reader should know after reading your essay]

  • Main supporting point
    • Details that establish this point
  • Another main supporting point
    • Details that establish this point
  • [As many supporting points as you need]
    • [Details that establish the points]

 

Organize your ideas into paragraphs.  

The organization appropriate for your essay will depend on what type of essay you’re writing, but generally, essays follow a pretty standard organization:

They begin with an introduction, contain body paragraphs each making one main point, and end with a conclusion.

As you outline what information you want to put in each of these paragraphs, it is important to keep in mind what your reader will usually expect to find in each. We’ll go into much more detail about what goes in each paragraph in the next section, but for now let’s see a quick overview:

  1. Introduction.
    • Background information and context—whatever your reader needs to know to make sense of the rest of your essay
    • The thesis statement
  2. Body paragraphs.
    • Go into detail on the main points that make up your argument, or the core of the information you’re writing about, if there is no argument.
    • Make sure each main idea constitutes one body paragraph—don’t try to cover too many concepts in a single paragraph. And be sure that each main point you make directly supports your thesis.
    • Start to compile evidence and details that’ll support the point of each paragraph.
  3. Conclusion.
    • Recap your main points and end on a thoughtful note

There are a lot of resources for you to take advantage of while writing. You can make an appointment with the Writing Center to have a tutor help you sort out your ideas, or just to bounce ideas off of while you’re trying to straighten out your own thoughts. The library can help you find sources and explore new avenues as you’re digging into your topic.

But your first source of help should always be your instructor. At any point in the writing process, if you’re unsure about anything—or even if you just want to check in and make sure you’re on the right track—talk to your instructor. It’s always useful to make sure you’re meeting their specific requirements.

Your instructor will always be glad to see that you’re putting the time and effort into the assignment. Being on the same page with your instructor throughout your essay writing process can only be beneficial to the final product. Send them an email, go to office hours, or chat with them right after class—but don’t be afraid! Your instructor wants to help you.

 

It’s time for me to start outlining.

Me personally, my writing process involves a lot of outlining. I’ll go through several iterations of an outline over the course of writing an essay, defining and redefining my main points as I get a clearer sense of how my thoughts are actually taking shape on the page. So since I know I’ll be redoing the outline later anyway, I’m never very formal with them. Let’s just dive right in.

 

I. Introduction:

  • Brief description of the image: the man, the colors, the tape over his mouth.
  • The context of the image:
    • The audience—all college students, NOT limited to Christian students
    • The purpose—getting non-Christian students into the show
  • Thesis statement: This image attempts to persuade non-Christian college students to attend this Christian event using the methods [such] and [such].

II. Body:

[I’ll start by listing my argument points, and then I’ll cluster them into paragraphs]

  • The man’s expression is confident, making us trust that he’ll give a good show
  • He’s young and attractive, drawing us in
  • The image’s coloration is dramatic, black and white with stark blue eyes
  • The tape over his mouth, indicating danger, the contrast with his confidence tells us the show will be dramatic, interesting
  • The phrase, “Magic Redefined,” also creates drama and intrigue

These fall under two main categories: the man and the atmosphere

  1. The man
    • Confident expression, making us trust that he’ll give a good show
    • Young and attractive, drawing us in
    • Ethos!!!
  2. The atmosphere
    • Dramatic coloration, black and white with his stark blue eyes
    • The tape over the man’s mouth, indicating danger, the contrast with his confidence tells us the show will be dramatic, interesting
    • The phrase, “Magic Redefined,” also creates drama and intrigue
    • Pathos!!!

III. Conclusion:

  • Recap main points
  • Comment on the significance of the rhetorical situation

 

I’m pretty happy with this outline for now, but before I start actually drafting my essay, I would usually want to confirm with my instructor that I’m headed in the right direction.

This is a step that I take either now or even before I start outlining in earnest—but I never write an essay without conferencing with my instructor first. This might be extremely casual, just a two minute conversation where I briefly lay out the direction I’m going and get the quick ok to keep going; or if I’m having trouble coming up with a topic and outline, I might have a longer conference and ask for help straightening out my thoughts.

Of course, in this case, since the essay is not for an actual course and I don’t have an instructor, I’ll have to skip the feedback. But generally speaking, this is a great time to check in and see how you’re doing!