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How to Write an Essay Outline + Essay Outline Examples

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Writing an essay can seem like a daunting task, but one of the best ways to tackle this challenge is to organize your ideas into a well-structured essay outline. This guide will walk you through the process of creating an essay outline, complete with essay outline examples, to ensure your next essay is a masterpiece.

We’ve compiled a variety of essay outline examples to help you understand how to structure your own essay. We'll cover persuasive essays, narrative essays, descriptive essays, expository essays, and even provide a sample research paper outline. Each example will provide you with an idea of how to lay out the structure and details for each type of essay.

Looking for a printable list of essay outline examples? Our printable PDF features essay outline examples and templates that your students can use as examples when writing research papers, or as a supplement for an essay-writing unit

Why write an essay outline? 

An outline serves as the skeleton of your essay, giving you a clear and organized path to articulate your thoughts. Not only does it make writing an essay significantly easier, but it also allows you to present your arguments coherently and effectively.

An essay outline will help you organize your main ideas and determine the order in which you are going to write about them.

Types of essay outlines

Several types of essay outlines can be used when writing an essay. The two most common types are the alphanumeric outline and the decimal outline.

An alphanumeric outline typically uses Roman numerals, capital letters, Arabic numerals, and lowercase letters, in that order. Each level provides a different level of specificity. This structure is a very effective way to think through how you will organize and present the information in your essay. It also helps you develop a strong argumentative essay.

Alternatively, a decimal outline uses only numbers, and each subsection is a decimal subdivision of the main section. This type of outline is often used in scientific papers.

Persuasive essay outline example 

In the following section, we'll explore a persuasive essay outline example on competitive swimming. The purpose of a persuasive essay is to convince the reader of a particular point of view or idea, using compelling arguments and evidence.

In this case, the argument is that competitive swimming is an ideal sport for kids. The essay will present a series of arguments to support this view, demonstrating the various benefits of competitive swimming for children.

Competitive Swimming, an Ideal Sport for Kids

Introduction

Start your argumentative essay outline by stating your point of view and/or presenting your persuasive argument.

Thesis: Competitive swimming is a great alternative to other youth sports.

Body Paragraph 1

Introduce your primary persuasive argument and provide supporting details in your argumentative essay outline.

Topic Sentence:   Competitive swimming provides the same benefits as other sports.

• Detail Sentence 1:   It is good exercise and builds muscular strength.
• Detail Sentence 2:   It promotes cooperation among team members, especially in relays.

Body Paragraph 2

Introduce a secondary argument and provide supporting details.

Topic Sentence:   Competitive swimming provides some unique additional benefits.

• Detail Sentence 1:   Swimming is an important skill that can be used forever.
• Detail Sentence 2:  Swimming poses a reduced risk of injury.
• Detail Sentence 3:   Each swimmer can easily chart his or her own progress.

Conclude your essay writing with a summary of the thesis and persuasive arguments. Brainstorming details that support your point-of-view is a great way to start before creating your outline and first draft.

Concluding Sentence:   There are many reasons why competitive swimming is a great alternative to other youth sports, including...

Narrative essay outline example

In the following section, we will examine a narrative essay outline example titled "How Losing a Swim Meet Made Me a Better Swimmer." Narrative essays aim to tell a story, often about a personal experience, to engage the reader and convey a particular point or lesson.

In this case, the narrative revolves around the author's personal journey of improvement and self-discovery through swimming. The essay will illustrate how an initial setback served as a catalyst for significant improvement and personal growth.

How Losing a Swim Meet Made Me a Better Swimmer

Introduce the subject of your narrative essay using a thesis statement and a plan of development (POD).

Thesis: The first time I participated in a competitive swim meet, I finished in last place. With more focused training and coaching, I was able to finish 2nd in the State Championship meet.

Plan of development:   I was very disappointed in my results from the first meet, so I improved my training and fitness. This helped me swim better and faster, which helped me to greatly improve my results.

Set the scene and provide supporting details. Again, start by brainstorming different ways to begin; then go ahead and craft an outline and a first draft.

Topic Sentence:   I was embarrassed at finishing last in my first competitive swim meet, so I began working on ways to improve my performance.

• Detail Sentence 1:   I spent extra time with my coach and the team captains learning how to improve my technique.
• Detail Sentence 2:   I started running and lifting weights to increase my overall fitness level.

Provide additional supporting details, descriptions, and experiences to develop your general idea in your essay writing.

Topic Sentence:   Over time, my results began to improve and I was able to qualify for the state championship meet.

• Detail Sentence 1:   My technique and fitness level made me faster and able to swim longer distances.
• Detail Sentence 2:  I steadily got better, and I began winning or placing in the top 3 at most of my meets.
• Detail Sentence 3:  My results improved to the point that I was able to qualify for the state championship meet.

Body Paragraph 3

The next step in the writing process is to provide additional supporting details, descriptions, and experiences. You can then divide them up under different headings.

Topic Sentence:   With my new confidence, techniques, and fitness level, I was able to finish 2nd at the state championship meet.

• Detail Sentence 1:   I was able to swim well against a higher level of competition due to my training and technique.
• Detail Sentence 2:  I was no longer embarrassed about my last-place finish, and was able to use it as motivation!

Conclude the narrative essay with a recap of the events described or a reflection on the lesson learned in the story. Briefly summarize the details you included under each heading.

Concluding Sentence:   I used my last-place finish in my first competitive swim meet as motivation to improve my performance.

Descriptive essay outline example

We will now delve into a descriptive essay outline example. Descriptive essays aim to create a vivid and detailed description of a person, place, object, or event to paint a picture for the reader. The intention is to immerse the reader in the subject matter fully.

In this case, the essay provides an in-depth description of a visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The essay will use sensory and descriptive details to create a vivid and memorable experience for the reader.

Visiting the Hockey Hall of Fame

Introduce the subject of your descriptive essay with a thesis statement covering the person, place, object, etc. you are writing about.

Thesis: The Hockey Hall of Fame is full of sights, sounds, and experiences that will delight hockey fans of all ages.

Set the scene and provide factual details.

Topic Sentence:   The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Canada and features exhibits from amateur and professional hockey.

• Detail Sentence 1:   The Hall is located in downtown Toronto and is visited by 1 million people every year.
• Detail Sentence 2:   You can see exhibits ranging from the early beginnings of the sport to the modern NHL and Olympics.

Provide additional sensory details, descriptions, and experiences.

Topic Sentence:   There are many types of exhibits and shows, including activities you can participate in.

• Detail Sentence 1:  Player statues, plaques, and jerseys decorate the walls in every room of the Hall.
• Detail Sentence 2:  Many of the exhibits have movies and multimedia activities that make you feel like you're part of the game.
• Detail Sentence 3:  You can even practice shooting pucks on virtual versions of some of the game's greatest goalies!

Conclude the essay with a paragraph that restates the thesis and recaps the descriptive and sensory details.

Concluding Sentence:   The Hockey Hall of Fame is an experience that combines the best sights, sounds and history of the game in Toronto.

Expository essay outline example

In the following section, we will explore an example of an expository essay. An expository essay aims to explain or describe a topic using logic. It presents a balanced analysis of a topic based on facts—with no references to the writer’s opinions or emotions.

For this example, the topic is "Why The School Year Should be Shorter". This essay will use logic and reason to demonstrate that a shorter school year could provide various benefits for students, teachers, and school districts.

Why The School Year Should be Shorter

Introduce the primary argument or main point of an expository essay, or other types of academic writing, using a thesis statement and context.

Thesis: The school year is too long, and should be shortened to benefit students and teachers, save districts money, and improve test scores and academic results. Other countries have shorter school years, and achieve better results.

Describe the primary argument and provide supporting details and evidence.

Topic Sentence:   A shorter school year would benefit students and teachers by giving them more time off.

• Detail Sentence 1:   Students and teachers would be able to spend more time with their families.
• Detail Sentence 2:  Teachers would be refreshed and rejuvenated and able to teach more effectively.

Provide additional supporting details and evidence, as in this essay outline example.

Topic Sentence:  A shorter school year would save school districts millions of dollars per year.

• Detail Sentence 1:   Districts could save money on energy costs by keeping schools closed longer.
• Detail Sentence 2:  A shorter school year means much lower supply and transportation costs.
• Detail Sentence 3:  Well-rested and happy students would help improve test scores.

Provide additional or supplemental supporting details, evidence, and analysis, as in the essay outline example.

Topic Sentence:   Shortening the school year would also provide many benefits for parents and caregivers.

• Detail Sentence 1:   A shorter school year would mean less stress and running around for parents.
• Detail Sentence 2:  Caregivers would have more balance in their lives with fewer days in the school year.

Conclude the essay with an overview of the main argument, and highlight the importance of your evidence and conclusion.

Concluding Sentence:   Shortening the school year would be a great way to improve the quality of life for students, teachers, and parents while saving money for districts and improving academic results.

Sample research paper outline

Now let’s dive into a research paper outline. Unlike a typical essay, a research paper presents a thorough and detailed study on a specific topic. However, it shares the same foundation with an essay in terms of structuring the ideas logically and coherently. The outline for a research paper includes an introduction, a series of topic points that cover various aspects of the main topic, and a conclusion.

This research paper will explore the background of Mt. Everest, the major explorers who attempted its summit, and the impact of these expeditions on Mt. Everest and the local community.

The Conquest of Mt. Everest

• Location of Mt. Everest
• Geography of the Surrounding Area
• Height of the mountain
• Jomolungma (Tibetan name)
• Sagarmatha (Nepalese name)
• The number of people who have climbed Everest to date
• First to reach the summit (1953)
• Led a team of experienced mountain climbers who worked together
• Norgay was an experienced climber and guide who accompanied Hillary
• Sherpas still used to guide expeditions
• Leader of the failed 1996 expedition
• Led group of (mainly) tourists with little mountain climbing experience
• Loss of trees due to high demand for wood for cooking and heating for tourists.
• Piles of trash left by climbing expeditions
• Expedition fees provide income for the country
• Expeditions provide work for the Sherpas, contributing to the local economy.
• Introduction of motor vehicles
• Introduction of electricity

The Everest essay outline template is based on a research paper submitted by Alexandra Ferber, 9th grade.

Happy writing!

Writing an essay outline is a crucial step in crafting a well-structured and coherent essay. Regardless of the type of essay - be it persuasive, narrative, descriptive, expository, or a research paper - an outline serves as a roadmap that organizes your thoughts and guides your writing process. The various essay outline examples provided above serve as a guide to help you structure your own essay. Remember, the key to a great essay lies not just in the content but in its organization and flow. Happy writing!

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Writing a DBQ Essay

Dbq essay generator.

If you’re a History major or enrolled in a History class, you may be appalled to know that your instructor has assigned your class to write a DBQ essay. You probably haven’t got the faintest idea what’s that supposed to mean. You don’t even know what DBQ stands for. If you’re stuck in a situation like this, you need to familiarize yourself with DBQ before your exams will take place. If your instructor has not taught you what DBQ is all about (and they probably have not since you are here!), here are some ways on how to prepare and write a DBQ essay. You may also see Descriptive Essay Examples .

• Academic Essay Examples
• Parts of an Essay

DBQ is known as document-based-question is an unusual type of a formatted timed essay on most AP History Exams; whatever your major is; AP US History, AP European History, and AP World History. This kind of essay is given during exams where students are required to analyze a certain and important event or issues that happened in history with the help of the provided sources or documents as evidence. You may also see Formal Essay Example .

Preparing for the DBQ essay

1. Familiarize yourself what to do when writing a DBQ essay.

During the exam, students are given 15 minutes to read the given prompt, analyze the documents and make some draft to write your reference essay . When the time is up, you are to start writing your essay. The actual writing process only takes around 15 minutes. The 15-minute mark may depend whether it covers only one prompt or more.

2. Take note of the prompt.

You need to determine what kind of evidence you will need to find in the documents or data that you have, based on the prompt question. Always circle or underline the specific society, organizations, or any groups of people being asked about, the time period, and the key concepts (such as the social, economic, or cultural issues that were prevalent at that time period) that are mentioned in the prompt. Here are some prompt DBQ essays samples that are likely to be asked for you to do the following: You may also see  Evaluation Essay Examples .

The sample prompts are discussions related to the Progressive Era in the United States of America. You are asked to do the following:

• Prompt 1: Analyze the extent to which a historical stereotype is true for a given period or concept. Example: Analyze the extent to which the Suffragettes were depicted as manly, uncivilized women during the 1890s to the 1920s.
• Prompt 2: Analyze multiple reasons that cause a particular movement to develop.

Example: Analyze the reasons that the Progressive Movement gained momentum during the 1890s to the 1920s in the United States.

• Prompt 3: Compare and contrast differing attitudes toward a concept or policy.

Example: Compare and contrast the differing attitudes towards women’s rights in America from 1890 to 1920.

• Prompt 4: Analyze the degree of truth in particular statement examples . Take a stance on the statement.

Example: Analyze the degree of truth in the statement: Women’s rights were a major part of the Progressive Era in America from the 1890s to the 1920s.

• Prompt 5: Analyze the impact of an event or concept on some part of American society.

Example: Analyze the impact of the Progressive era on American society in the 1890s to the 1920s.

• Prompt 6: Analyze the relative importance of a specific factor or factors on an event or concept.

Example: Analyze the importance of women’s roles in WWI to the passing of the 19th Amendment in 1920.

(All sample prompts are from www.wikihow.com)

3. Think up for more information about the societies, time period, or theme related to the given prompt.

This kind of information is what you may have learned in class or read about in your textbook. The additional information that you have will support your answers in your essay writing . You may use the documents provided to support your additional information. Additional information may be events in history, themes you studied about the time period you are writing about, revolutions, prominent people, and more. Take note of this information as they will be relevant to your essay later.

Here is an example from www.wikihow.com:

Think about the major career goals of the Progressive era, such as increased health and safety codes in factories, limiting child labor, more innovations in technology, the rise of the number of immigrants, the WWI, the rise of unions, and the monopoly of major men such as Rockefeller, Carnegie, etc.

The best thing to remember this for you to study in advance or take notes of this information when your professor discusses them during class.

4. Formulate your own opinion in the given subject. 

Determine what you can say about the given topic. What perspective do you have in mind during the issues in this era? What do you think is the importance of this issue? Is it worth studying it? What lessons did you obtain from these issues? These answers must be based from your own point of view, not others. You may also see  Comparative Essay Samples .

An example from www.wikihow.com:

What stands out about the Progressive era? What do you think about woman’s fight for suffrage?

5. Formulate your own assumption before you look at the documents. 

Of course, the prominent issues in a certain era happened because of a reason. While there is a given theory as an explanation why things happened, you could create your own theory based what are the other possible reasons why these events happened, what may be the hushed controversies during that time period, etc. When you’ve formulated these assumptions, you will be able to determine quickly how the given documents are effective in your essay. You may also see  Argumentative Essay Examples .

Here are some examples of assumptions from www.wikihow.com you could come up with based on the given prompt listed above.

• Prompt 1: Suffragettes were seen as unpatriotic, unfeminine women by the people who opposed the idea of women having the right to vote during the 1890s-1920s in the United States.
• Prompt 2: The Progressive movement gained power in the 1890s to 1920s since lots of American citizens were shocked by the poor living conditions and the economic climate in which trusts dominated the major sources of income in America.
• Prompt 3: In the United States; during the 1890s to the 1920s, some women joined the suffragettes to fight for the right to vote. However other women, particularly the elite class, snubbed at the suffragettes because they believed that women were meant to be housewives.
• Prompt 4: The Women’s Rights movement was a big part of the Progressive era from the years 1890 to 1920 in the United States.
• Prompt 5: The Progressive era majorly impacted American society drastically in terms of economics, politics, and culture during the 1890s to the 1920s.
• Prompt 6: Women were able to gain the right to vote, due to the fact that they made up most of the workforce during WWI.

6. Analyze the given documents

The documents that have been provided can include historical writings or publications like quotations, journal entries, letters, book excerpts, newspaper clippings, charts, maps, tables, photographs, illustrations, artifacts, cartoons, archived videos or as from the time period. Ask the question to yourself: You may also see  Persuasive Essay with Examples .

• What is the main idea of each document?
• How does a document relate to the prompt?
• How does the document will help your assumptions?

Jot down the notes you need from the given documents. This will help you formulate your essay easier instead of repeatedly scanning the documents during the writing examples . Pay some attention to the chronology of the documents. Look for any changes over time. Pay attention also to the contrasting information that was provided in the documents.

Example (from www. wikihow.com):

A letter about the methods used to obtain the right to vote sent from one suffragette to another is in contrast with an article in a newspaper depicting suffragettes as unpatriotic women who hoped to sabotage WWI for the United States.

You may also add additional information such as laws being passed, treaties between nations, letter from past rulers of every country, etc. to support your assumptions and proving your point. You may also see Last Minute Essay Example .

• The Bill of Rights. The Women’s Rights movement resulted in the establishment of the 19th Amendment.
•  A list made by suffragettes at a meeting about their strategies for getting the right to vote.

DBQ Sample Essay

Size: 13 MB

DBQ Essay Outline

Writing the essay

Your introduction should start about writing a sentence or two of the historical context about the time period you are writing about. You may also see Outline Essay Example .

The Progressive Era, which took place roughly from 1890-1920, was a time of  political, economic, and cultural reform in the United States. The Women’s Rights Movement was one of the movements that gained momentum during this time.

6. Write your assumption statements.

Follow these statements with a brief sentence that focuses on the topic or themes that will be covered in each following paragraph. You may also see Informative Essay Example .

During the 1890s to the 1920s in the United States, some women joined the suffragettes in their fight for the right to vote, while other women, particularly those of the elite class, looked down at the suffragettes because they believed that women were meant to stay in the home. In the following paragraphs, these two different reactions to suffragettes will be compared and contrasted.

7. Write your content paragraphs.

Your content paragraphs should be placed in a logical order. When referring to documents, use the title of the documents that you used. Each paragraph must have a topic sentence. This explains what your paragraphs are going to be about. Put as many paragraphs as this will help make sense for your prompt. You may also see Essay Examples in DOC .

List and analyze the documents you presented in the DBQ essay. Quotations that directly came from your documents must be done in a meaningful way. Remember to use quotes sparingly.

8. Add citations

If you ever mention a document that was the sources from your given documents; add parentheses and the number of the document at the end of the sentence.

• Women who were not suffragettes but still supported the movement wrote letters discussing their desire to help (doc 2).

9. Provide your conclusion 

Write your conclusions after you put the important points that support your analysis in your essay. Your conclusion will restate your assumptions and summarizes what you have proved in your essay. This is a crucial part of your essay as this will provide higher points in your analysis essay if your conclusion is adequate states what you have written in your essay.

10.Review your essay

Don’t forget to double check the dates and places you put in your essay by looking at the documents and make sure what you have written down match the information with the documents. The last thing you need is for your essay to be invalid since you put down wrong information just because you misspelled a name or forgot to put down the name of the place where the event took place. You may also see Free Essay Examples .

Now that you are familiar with writing a DBQ essay, it would not be too hard in your part to write a good and strong essay to land yourself a good grade. Not only you get to have a good grade, in the grueling process, you also learned some new knowledge. You may also see Reflective Essay Examples .

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Write a DBQ Essay analyzing the causes of the American Revolution.

Discuss the impacts of industrialization on society in a DBQ Essay.