Essay Outline

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Published by Grace Graffin at August 17th, 2021 , Revised On August 25, 2025

An essay outline is a structured plan that organises the main ideas and supporting details of your essay. It is like a blueprint that helps to structure your thoughts, arrange arguments logically, and maintain a clear direction through your essay writing process. An essay outline usually includes:

View or download this template to understand the outline of a five-paragraph essay:

Table of Contents

Steps to Writing an Essay Outline

Why write an essay outline?
An essay outline provides instructions on how to organise and contour your ideas. It briefly summarises the planned content of your essay and arranges it in a reasonable and well-organised manner.
Knowing how to write an outline is a vital skill. It prevents your essay from becoming messy or repetitive. It also ensures a logical flow of ideas and helps identify gaps in logic or weak evidence.

Here are the essential steps that you must follow to write an essay outline:

Step 1: Understand your essay topic

The first and most important aspect of writing an essay outline is knowing your topic and having preliminary information about it. You must think about all the ideas that come to mind, like quotes, arguments, data, facts, or figures. Read your essay prompt and understand what it is asking you to do.

Conduct extensive research about your topic and gather all relevant sources, as it will help you shape ideas into a structured argument. Writing an essay outline significantly helps classify and organise your evidence in accordance with your requirements.

Step 2: Organise the found material

Once you have researched the relevant information, decide on a central point you want the essay to revolve around. Look over the statistics, information, and ideas you have gathered. Categorise your material based on the different aspects of your essay.

For example, if you’re writing a history essay, you may categorise the information based on several turning points and key trends from the historical period you are discussing.

Step 3: Establish a clear thesis statement

Once you have organised your material, the next step is to develop a strong thesis statement. It should be debatable, specific, and clear.

Critically analyse the material you have collected, how you have classified it, and your essay’s theme. Make sure you do not include anything superfluous or irrelevant in your thesis statement. Each theme you discuss should be distinctly related to the thesis statement.

Step 4: Structure your essay outline

After you have established a thesis statement, it’s time to structure your essay outline. An essay always begins with an introduction, continues with main body paragraphs, and ends with a conclusion. Placing the material between the main body is your choice. Here’s how you can do that:

Begin the body paragraphs with a topic sentence.
Add the main idea that you’re going to discuss in your paragraph.
Provide the evidence, example, or fact to support your idea.
Explain how the given evidence supports the main theme.
Refer to a subject that provides an easy transition into another.

Step 5: Review your essay outline

Once you have completed your essay outline, the next step is to review it. Check if all the points that you want to discuss are added. Also, make sure the topics that you want to check also have authentic sources, for citations and referencing.

An essay outline should be accurate and completely meet all your assignment requirements. If it’s weak anywhere, all relevance can be lost during writing.

Do I have to discuss a single idea per paragraph?
Yes, you must discuss a single idea in each paragraph using various affirmative points and analyses. Make sure whatever you discuss is relevant to the topic within each paragraph.
You can usually divide the essential points of discussion into short phrases or full sentences. Broader issues can be further split into sub-points.

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What are the steps to write an essay outline?

Understand your essay topic
Organise the found material
Establish a clear thesis statement
Structure your essay outline
Review your essay outline

Essay Outline Examples

Here are a few outline examples of different essay types:

A. Argumentative Essay Outline

Here is an example of an argumentative essay outline:

“Should College Education Be Free?”
Introduction Rising student loan debts are crippling graduates. Increasing tuition costs worldwide. College education should be free because it promotes quality, reduces student debt, and benefits the economy.
Body Paragraphs Equality of opportunity Countries with free education have higher literacy rates. Ensures low-income students aren’t excluded. Reduce student debt crises US student loan debt surpasses $1.7 trillion. Free tuition relieves financial tension. Boosts the economy More graduates → higher employment → stronger economy. Government expenses will rise. Long-term economic benefits outweigh short-term costs.
Conclusion Restate the thesis statement. Call for policymakers to prioritise free education.

“Should College Education Be Free?”

Introduction

Rising student loan debts are crippling graduates.
Increasing tuition costs worldwide.
College education should be free because it promotes quality, reduces student debt, and benefits the economy.

Body Paragraphs

Equality of opportunity
Countries with free education have higher literacy rates.
Ensures low-income students aren’t excluded.
Reduce student debt crises
US student loan debt surpasses $1.7 trillion.
Free tuition relieves financial tension.
Boosts the economy
More graduates → higher employment → stronger economy.
Government expenses will rise.
Long-term economic benefits outweigh short-term costs.

Conclusion

Restate the thesis statement.
Call for policymakers to prioritise free education.

B. Expository Essay Outline

An example of an expository essay outline is given below:

“The Purpose of Recycling Plastic”
Introduction Every year, millions of tons of plastic pollute the oceans. Recycling can reduce plastic waste. Recycling plastic involves collection, sorting, processing, and reuse.
Body Paragraphs Collection: Plastic is gathered from households, businesses, and industries. Sorting: Divided into PET, HDPE, and other categories. Processing: Plastics are cleaned, shredded, and melted. Reuse: Transformed into new products like bottles or clothing.
Conclusion Restate thesis. Encourage individuals to recycle more actively.

“The Purpose of Recycling Plastic”

Introduction

Every year, millions of tons of plastic pollute the oceans.
Recycling can reduce plastic waste.
Recycling plastic involves collection, sorting, processing, and reuse.

Body Paragraphs

Collection: Plastic is gathered from households, businesses, and industries.
Sorting: Divided into PET, HDPE, and other categories.
Processing: Plastics are cleaned, shredded, and melted.
Reuse: Transformed into new products like bottles or clothing.

Conclusion

Restate thesis.
Encourage individuals to recycle more actively.

C. Narrative Essay Outline

Here is an example of a narrative essay outline:

Section	Details
Title	“My First Day at University”
Introduction	“The campus gates looked enormous, as if they were guarding a whole new world.” Describe feelings of excitement and nervousness. My first day at university taught me about independence, friendship, and confidence.
Body Paragraphs	A. Independence: Finding my way to classes without parents. B. Friendship: Meeting my roommate and bonding instantly. C. Confidence: Speaking up in class for the first time.
Conclusion	That day shaped how I viewed my academic journey. First days may be scary, but they are the foundation of growth.

D. Persuasive Essay Outline

Following is an example of a persuasive essay outline:

Section	Details
Title	“Why Everyone Should Exercise Regularly”
Introduction	“Imagine a pill that boosts energy, sharpens focus, and extends your life.” Exercise offers all these benefits naturally. Regular exercise is essential for physical health, mental well-being, and long-term productivity.
Body Paragraphs	Physical health: Reduces risk of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Mental well-being: Improves mood and reduces anxiety. Productivity: Studies show active individuals perform better at work.
Conclusion	Restate thesis. Urge readers to include daily exercise in their lifestyle.

Essay Outline Checklist

I have already collected some of my essay material.
I know the main point of my essay and my outline is organised around it.
I have categorised my material relevant to the type of essay.
I have structured my essay, and I know how many paragraphs it will contain.
The introduction will clearly state the purpose of my essay.
I have arranged my material; I know in what order it will appear in the essay.
Each paragraph takes a logical step forward and is related to the main theme.
Each paragraph has a main point that is very clear.

Frequently Asked Questions

Not always, but it is highly recommended, as it saves time and prevents disorganised writing. Sometimes, teachers ask students to submit their essay outlines before their actual assignment.

The length of an essay outline depends on the essay’s length. For instance, a 500-word essay may need a one-page outline, while a 3000-word essay needs multiple pages.

A topic outline is quick and gives a general overview of the structure. It uses short phrases or single words for each point. However, a sentence outline is more detailed and requires more time but results in an almost complete first draft. It uses complete sentences for every point.

Yes, you can. An outline is a working document. Adjust it if your essay takes a new direction.

If your essay requires in-depth research, then it is included. It is significantly helpful to note sources in the outline for easy citation later.