How to Format an Outline
- 1). Write a thesis statement. Label this sentence with the Roman numeral "I." Your thesis should summarize the argument you wish to make in your essay in one to three sentences.
- 2). Choose the major ideas to cover in your essay. Depending on length, there may be just two or many ideas. Label these with Roman numerals after your thesis.
- 3). Determine whether a topic outline or a sentence outline best fits your needs. A topic outline uses short sentence fragments to record the gist of each idea. A sentence outline requires full sentences for each section, which can later be incorporated easily into your essay.
- 4). Under each Roman numeral, indent the line and divide the major idea into smaller parts using capital letters. Write sentences or sentence fragments for these subsections.
- 5). Continue dividing subsections into more specific ideas with increased indentation until you have exhausted each topic. After capital letters, use Arabic numerals, lowercase letters and lower-case Roman numerals to identify each level.
- 6). Review and make organizational changes. Now that your outline is written, you may realize that moving sections around makes your essay flow better.
- 7). Add a final Roman numeral for the conclusion. Use this space to reword the argument from your thesis, now that you have thought more deeply about the subject.
