Creating A Proper Outline For A College Term Paper

As a student, you are required to compose a research-based academic paper at the end of a given term or semester. This is one of the unique methods institutions use in analyzing their students’ ability to efficiently demonstrate their understanding of the topics covered within a given academic session. The two most important factors that help your teacher in deciding your scores for the academic paper are the content and structure of the work. If your content is not coherent enough or properly structured, then your grades would surely take a hit. If you don’t want to miss the wonderful smile on the faces of your loved ones as you show off your grades for the session ended, it is time you learn how to compose excellent term papers. This is where creating outlines come in. Here are steps that would help you create an outline for your academic paper prior to writing same. They are:

• Your Introduction: At this stage, it would only be a draft since you can only compose compelling introductions after the main body of your academic paper has been written. Don’t spend much time here, only put down a few points concerning your argument and move to the next step.
• Main Body: The outline for the main body of your paper includes the topic sentences, supporting sentences, and lastly, the concluding sentences. Without an outline for this part of your term paper, it would be difficult to maintain a given direction for your work. To make the most impact, make sure that your topic sentences are not just informative but also directional and compelling. The first level of the outline being the topic sentence is indicated with Roman numerals in capital. The second level is indicated with letters in capital while the third level is indicated with numbers.
• Make Sure The Ideas Are Related: With the main ideas created, make sure that the second level of sentences, being the supporting sentences, are related to the topic sentences. The third level of sentences should be able to provide the much needed evidence and further elaboration as it relates to the supporting sentences.
• Concluding Outline: Just like the introduction, the outline for your conclusion has to be scanty as you can only fully conclude after the main body of the work and the introduction has been written. At this stage, you have a clearer idea of how you should conclude your term paper.