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Gleed, Paul. "Writing an Outline." Writer's Reference Center. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 17 Apr. 2025. <http://fofweb.infobase.com/wrc/Detail.aspx?iPin=HTWAWSa011>.
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Writing an Outline


Essay writing, like most tasks in life, is made easier by some advance planning. A good outline helps you see and develop the relationships between the points in your argument and assures that your paper flows logically and coherently. Outlining also helps you order your points properly, subordinate supporting points, weed out irrelevancies, and identify holes in your argument.

Many students avoid making plans because they feel it wastes time or inhibits creative thinking. While there certainly is something to be said for spontaneity, making a plan will not prevent you from having "eureka" moments as you write. Nor will writing an outline mean that you spend an extra hour or so in the company of an essay you would so dearly love to finish. In fact, it is almost certain that making an outline will allow you and your essay to bid each other good night sooner than you otherwise would have. Think of it this way. If somebody asked you to get in a car and drive from Binghamton, New York, to Washington, D.C., you would want a map and detailed directions (let's assume the car lacks a GPS device). You would certainly get to Washington quicker—and with far less stress—than if all you knew was that you wanted to get to the capital. Think of all the wrong turns you would make without your map and directions. Writing an essay is exactly the same. Making an outline means not only that you will get to your desired destination sooner but also that you are more likely to steer clear of the single-lane, standstill traffic jam known as writer's block.

However, not all outlines are created equal. While some planning is better than none, better planning is best. Here is a method many students find useful. Imagine that you have been assigned to write an essay on Caliban in Shakespeare's The Tempest. All you have right now is a general topic. You should first take a sheet of paper and brainstorm on Caliban, not editing or ordering your thoughts in any way. This might take a while, and ideally you should do it with The Tempest in hand, thumbing through the pages and looking at your margin notes and underlining. Write down everything that might go into an essay on Caliban. The result should be a page of brief notes—lots of points, details, and thoughts. Study the list carefully, thinking about possible arguments that could be developed from your material. After some reflection, you might decide on the following thesis: Shakespeare's The Tempest encourages us to view Caliban as a tragic figure, a victim of Prospero's colonial project. Here is what your brainstormed notes may look like:

Caliban tried to rape Miranda
Prospero's famous line about Caliban: "This thing of darkness I / Acknowledge mine." But what does this line mean?
Caliban's mother ruled the island before Prospero's arrival
At first Caliban and Prospero got along
Prospero and Miranda need Caliban
Caliban is repeatedly referred to as "slave"
Prospero keeps Caliban in line by hurting and punishing him
Caliban knows the island and seems to be in tune with it
Caliban is actually very eloquent and makes several strong arguments against Prospero's Rule—act 1, scene 2 and act 4, scene 1 especially.
Prospero seems really shocked and angry (are these the right words?) by Caliban's attempt to kill him, even though Prospero is so much more powerful and not really in any danger. I wonder why this is?
Count up the number of points you have and then take a clean piece of paper. Write down numbers for each of your points, plus two more. For example, there are 10 points above, so you would write 12 numbers on my second piece of paper. If you had 30 points, you would write 32 numbers, and so on. For the example above, your paper would look like this.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
The next step is the really important—and most difficult—one. Alongside number one, write something like "Introduction / clear statement of thesis"; next to the final number, write "conclusion." In this case, your argument is The Tempest encourages us to view Caliban as a tragic figure, a victim of Prospero's colonial project. You need to pick a strong first point now to follow this thesis statement. What is your most compelling piece of evidence that Caliban is anything but the monstrous savage that the Europeans take him for? This will be subjective; different writers might pick different starting points. The important thing is to believe that the chosen point is your strongest piece of evidence and to be confident in it. Let us say that you picked the point about Caliban's eloquence and the powerful speeches he makes against his mistreatment. You would scratch this out from your notes and write it alongside number two on your second sheet. After this you are no longer concerned about the strength of the points but rather about how they tie in or connect with my point about Caliban's eloquence. Drop any point that does not fit. What you are aiming for is to produce a list of points that moves from idea to idea logically and seamlessly. Think of it as a bit of a puzzle. Here is one solution that works:

  1. Introduction and thesis: The Tempest encourages us to view Caliban as a tragic figure, a victim of Prospero's colonial project
  2. Caliban's eloquent appeals against his treatment (1.2 and 4.1, in particular)
  3. Caliban is repeatedly referred to as "slave"
  4. Prospero keeps Caliban in line by hurting and punishing him
  5. Caliban's mother ruled the island before Prospero's arrival
  6. Caliban knows the island and seems to be in tune with it
  7. At first Caliban and Prospero got along
  8. Caliban tried to rape Miranda
  9. Prospero and Miranda need Caliban
  10. Prospero's shock and anger at Caliban's betrayal
  11. "This thing of darkness … "
  12. Conclusion
You now know exactly where you are going in this essay, and exactly how you are going to get there. Each point moves logically to the next. Here, for example, points two, three, and four all address Prospero's abuses of Caliban and his intelligent response to them. It is easy to make a transition from here into points five through nine, all of which describe the emergence of the colonial relationship, charting the move from encounter to conflict. These points, then, suggest the foundation of the relationship between Prospero and Caliban, while points 10 and 11 build on this to show how complex and tragic, how harmful to all parties, the relationship between these two antagonists has become. This essay will certainly provide ample support and exploration of the thesis claim about the tragic quality of Caliban. Keep in mind that each point does not necessarily represent a paragraph or any other fixed amount of page space. For example, you could spend several pages on point two, assessing Caliban's intellectual resistance through a close reading of some of his speeches, while only dedicating a few lines to point number six.

Some students may wish to develop an outline even more, attaching to it more detail and specificity. For example, many writers like to plan which quotes they will be using and when, so here you might include in the outline a list of act, scene, and line numbers to refer to. A more elaborate version of an outline for the same essay could look something like this:

  1. Introduction and thesis
    • Prospero often seen as the central tragic figure in The Tempest
    • The tragedy of the play is also traditionally viewed as being one of "time"
    • However, Caliban is in fact a figure of the same tragic power as Prospero, because they are both victims of the colonial system
  2. Caliban's sophistication
    • Introduce the idea of a sympathetic Caliban
    • Is modern interest in Caliban simply a result of a contemporary distrust of colonialism?
    • On the contrary, Shakespeare seems to have worked hard to make Caliban a sympathetic and complex figure
    • Caliban claims that his right to the island is superior to Prospero's (1.2.334)
    • Caliban is able to recognize that he has not benefited from the supposed "civilizing" process of colonialism (1.2.364–65)
  3. The mistreatment of Caliban
    • Introduce the idea that sympathy for Caliban comes not only from his intelligence but from his mistreatment
    • Instances of Caliban being treated as a "slave"
    • Prospero's justification for the ill treatment of Caliban does not hold up to scrutiny (4.1.188–89)
  4. A reconsideration of the relationship between Prospero and Caliban
    • Caliban seems essentially "good" (1.2.335)
    • If Caliban's "nature" is not flawed, it must be the "nurture" provided by Prospero
    • Eventually, Prospero recognizes that he and Caliban are victims of the same political power system
    • This thing of darkness … (5.1.277). A close reading of this line and its implications. For example, is Prospero claiming "responsibility" for the moral failures of Caliban?
    • A better reading might be that Prospero recognizes not responsibility but rather equality; they are both victims
  5. Conclusion
    • Recap the concept of a "shared" tragedy for both Prospero and Caliban
    • Their tragedy is rooted in the political/social bonds of colonialism that enslave both to the mutually destructive logic of that system
Other writers like to develop even more elaborate outlines, with more subsections and even subsections of subsections. Some samples are included in the following section. The most important thing for now is to know that any good outline will save you time and produce a better essay, one that flows better and builds its argument more logically and carefully.

Sample Outlines

Thesis 1: While it might appear that the young heroine of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Babylon Revisited," Honoria, would be better off remaining with her aunt Marion's family, the young girl would actually have a greater chance to prosper with her father, whose losses and hardships have made him a more open, positive, and compassionate character than Marion.
  1. Introduction and thesis
  2. It looks at first that Honoria should stay with her aunt Marion and her family
    1. They seem to be a loving family with a father and mother
    2. They have provided Honoria with a stable home
    3. Honoria's own father has not been good for her in the past
      1. He is an alcoholic
      2. He lost a great deal of money in the stock market crash
      3. He locked her mother out of the house, which ultimately caused her death
  3. The negative side of Marion and her family
    1. Marion is angry and bitter at Charlie for wasting money and for hurting her sister
    2. Marion seems mired in the past
    3. Marion is negative and pessimistic
  4. The positive aspects of Charlie
    1. Losing his wife and his money has made him more appreciative of things
    2. He has reformed and has his alcoholism under control
    3. He has a more open, hopeful, loving manner than Marion does
  5. Conclusion
    1. Honoria would learn more about love and forgiveness with her father than with her aunt
    2. Fitzgerald chooses to have Marion refuse to grant Charlie custody
      1. Charlie determines to keep trying
      2. This reinforces the message that although past mistakes can help shape us into better people, others may still want to define us by them

Thesis 2: Hawthorne uses color in "Young Goodman Brown" to reflect his belief that humans are neither evil nor pure but a mixture of both.
  1. Introduction and thesis
  2. Hawthorne's theology (humanity as fallen, neither wholly good nor evil)
    1. The devil: "Evil is the nature of mankind"
    2. The narrator's treatment of characters
      1. Faith's allegorical name
      2. The minister as a "venerable saint"
      3. Goody Cloyse as "an excellent old Christian"
  3. The colors of the forest (the devil's space)
    1. Darkness/gloom/ "deep dusk"—
      1. Particular uses in the story
        1. "He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind."
        2. "The road grew wilder and drearier and more faintly traced, and vanished at length, leaving him in the heart of the dark wilderness, still rushing onward, with the instinct that guides mortal man to evil."
      2. Metaphorical and literal meanings
    2. Black
      1. Particular uses in the story
        1. "his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake"
        2. "black pines"
      2. Associations with death
      3. Associations with the devil
    3. Red
      1. Particular uses in the story
        1. "red light" (of the fire)
        2. "lurid blaze"
      2. Associations with fire and hell
      3. Connections with the devil
  4. The colors of humanity
    1. Brown (Young Goodman Brown)
      1. Common name—marks him as a sort of everyman
      2. Brown as a mixture of all three primary colors; neither white (purity) nor black (evil, demonic)
      3. Color marks Brown as earthy/of earth
    2. Pink (Faith)
      1. Allegorical significance—humanity's faith, Brown's faith
      2. Pink as a blending of white (purity) and red (sensuality)
  5. Conclusion
    1. How this comments on Young Goodman Brown's attitudes at the end of the story
    2. Connections to other Hawthorne characters
      1. Giovanni from "Rappaccini's Daughter"
      2. Aylmer from "The Birth-Mark"

Thesis 3: "The Chrysanthemums" is a story that explores the effects of isolation and frustration on one woman, Elisa Allen, who mistakes the interest of a passing tinker for a true connection. The descriptions of her work, her life, and even her clothing show the impact of her feelings of isolation, frustration, and ultimate disappointment.
  1. Introduction and thesis
  2. Elisa's feelings of frustration and isolation
    1. In her work
      1. Hands are "over-eager" and "over-powerful"
      2. Chrysanthemum stems are "too small and easy" for her energy
    2. In her life
      1. Cannot communicate with her husband, whose voice she "starts" at
      2. Longs for the tinker's free lifestyle and the open road
    3. In her clothing
      1. Individuality hidden by boots, huge apron
      2. Identity hidden by hat; pulled "low over face"
  3. Elisa's hope for change and human connection
    1. Tinker's visit kindles in her a hope for change in her life and work
      1. His visit inspires her desire to preserve some of change she sensed when they were talking
        1. She suggests that they will meet again in a professional capacity: "You might be surprised to have a rival sometime. I can sharpen scissors, too."
        2. Her desire to follow him communicated as she watches the direction in which he's headed: "There's a glowing there."
      2. Sexual energy derived from visit with tinker
    2. Tinker's visit inspires a symbolically rich toilette and dressing
      1. Bath as a marker of transition, purification, baptism
        1. "tore off soiled clothes"
        2. scrubs body with pumice
        3. appraises figure in mirror
      2. Associations with sexual energy
      3. Sexual awakening also seen in the slow, careful selection of her clothes (including the dress which, the narrator says, is a "symbol of her prettiness")
  4. Elisa's hope for change disappointed
    1. No connection with husband
      1. Their communication remains strained (seen in disastrous jokes)
      2. Anti-erotic diction ("started," "blundered")
    2. No connection with tinker
      1. He throws her gift of chrysanthemums on side of the road
      2. She cannot bring herself to look his way
    3. Clothing symbolizes her isolation
      1. She cries, hidden in the collar of her coat
      2. She had dressed as a vital woman, but is now weeping "like an old woman"
  5. Conclusion
    1. How this story comments on the basic human need for connection, work, understanding
    2. Connections to other Steinbeck characters
      1. Mary Teller from "The White Quail"
      2. Curley's wife from Of Mice and Men

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