Are you staring at a blank screen, unsure how to start your paper? Outlining is here to help! The key to efficiently writing a first draft is preparation beforehand. For me, it is much easier to figure out how I will say my ideas once I have figured out what those ideas will be. Here is my outlining routine for essay success with habits to build into your writing process.

1. Free Write: Set a timer for 10 minutes and go! Use this time to write everything that comes to mind with the prompt or topic you’ve chosen—no need for fully-formed sentences or ideas here. Just focus on getting out as much information as possible. I find free writing most helpful when I already have a few ideas about my paper but am unsure how to connect them. After free writing, I like to look for connection points between the ideas, which will be helpful while setting my thesis later.
2. Develop a thesis question: What is the prompt asking you to do? What question do you want to answer by the end of this paper? Creating a thesis question is often more helpful than a thesis statement at the early stages of planning your paper because your argument isn’t fully formed yet. For example, suppose your prompt is to write a philosophy paper about one idea in Plato’s Republic. In that case, a good thesis question might be, “How did family structures influence citizens in the Republic? ” or “What did Plato suggest for family life?” These questions are helpful because they narrow down your overall topic but are broad for early writing and research before you have a firm claim to make.
3. Set paragraph lengths: Especially for longer papers, I like to break down roughly how many paragraphs I will need so I can visualize the scope of my argument within the length I have to write. By doing this, I can set realistic expectations for how many ideas I can cover. For example, for a 1,000-word paper with around 150 words a paragraph, I would need about seven paragraphs which I make note of in my outline.
4. Set topics: Knowing how many paragraphs I need, I set tentative topics for each paragraph. Topics are subpoints of the more significant idea of the paper. For example, in a philosophy paper about citizenship in Plato’s Republic, I might use topics such as the role of gold citizens, another on silver, bronze citizens, and family structures in the Republic. These ideas should ideally come from the ideas you generated during free writing, or while researching your thesis question.
5. Flesh out key ideas: Again, these won’t necessarily be complete sentences, but I add 2–3 subtopics for each paragraph idea. Based on the topic for your paragraph idea, what information do you need to explain that idea? If you were describing family structures in the Republic, you might discuss relationships with parents and what marriage would look like to Plato.
6. Add quotes or citations: This is a great time to plug in the outside sources you plan to use. I like to draw specific quotations from my secondary sources and primary texts to have on hand as I write. Doing this helps me integrate those ideas naturally rather than scrambling to find an article that supports my thoughts later. Also, adding sources earlier saves time searching for the sources again later. Just remember to write down exactly where each quotation came from so that you can cite it later!
7. Draft a thesis statement: Once your paper is shaped, try writing a working thesis statement. The thesis statement is a tool to keep you and your essay structure on track. It would be best if you continued revising your thesis as you go, but start your essay with an end goal in mind. For more specificity on editing a solid thesis statement, there are excellent resources on the Writing Studio website (or consider making an appointment with us to discuss your thesis!).
8. Develop topic sentences: Based on the loose topics set earlier, I like to write my topic sentences for each paragraph to work as mini-thesis statements for each paragraph. A topic sentence is a summary of the paragraph’s main idea and should typically appear at the beginning of each paragraph. Returning to my earlier example, a topic sentence in my imaginary Plato paper might be, “To create strong citizens, Plato envisioned a family structure where children were separated from their parents early in life.” Having topic sentences prepared creates a strong structure for your paragraphs right from the beginning.

Follow these steps, and you’ll have a thorough outline ready for drafting. Whether you’re struggling to come up with an idea or already raring to go, outlining saves time while drafting for all writers because the arguments already flow and prevents a mid-paper structure disaster. A small amount of extra time on the front end can vastly simplify the writing process, giving you more time to edit, visit the Writing Studio, and finally relax. 

Happy Writing!

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Ella Hachee is a sophomore behavioral sciences major (sociology emphasis) with an English minor. She is from Temecula, CA, and she loves reading, writing, and cuddling with her pug. She enjoys talking about big books and even bigger ideas. Writing has been a wonderful way to express herself and build confidence in her ideas, and she wants to help others do the same! She firmly believes that everyone can produce great writing and has something interesting to say, even if they don't realize they do quite yet. She is most familiar with MLA format but has experience with CMS format as well. She loves to help writers with anything from putting their swirling ideas down on paper to refining edits for creative or academic writing.