Thesis Statement and Outlining

There is an important step between the research and planning of a paper or project and the actual writing: outlining. The outline serves as a map of your essay, paper, or project to help keep you organized and on track. Part of outlining is developing a thesis statement, which provides the central idea or argument of your paper. In this topic, you will learn how to create an outline and thesis statement and how they can be helpful to keeping your writing focused. You may call on information that you already know about the writing process.

Essential Questions

• What is a thesis statement?
• What is the purpose of an outline?
• How does one create an outline?