Moving from thesis to outline… Here’s another sample thesis statement. You can clearly see the 3 key points this student has chosen to discuss in her essay:

Moving from thesis to outline…

Here’s another sample thesis statement. You can clearly see the 3 key points this student has chosen to discuss in her essay:

Requiring the use of school uniforms has many benefits including decreased discipline problems, increased school attendance, and enhanced security.

Moving from Thesis to Outline…


The Roman Numeral Outline – consists primarily of 5 sections: an introduction, conclusion and three body paragraphs.

I. Introduction (includes thesis)II. Body Paragraph 1III. Body Paragraph 2IV. Body Paragraph 3V. Conclusion

Thesis to Outline…

I. Introduction (includes thesis)II. Body Paragraph 1 - Key point 1III. Body Paragraph 2 – Key point 2IV. Body Paragraph 3 – Key point 3V. Conclusion

Here, you can easily see how the key points are incorporated into the actual outline.



I. Introductiona) Many schools have “tightened up student dress codes or

begun requiring students to wear uniforms as a way of reducing the risk of violence and creating a positive, productive learning environment.” (Lumsden, 2001)

b) Requiring the use of school uniforms has many benefits including decreased discipline problems, increased school attendance, and enhanced security. (Here’s your thesis!)



II. Requiring the use of school uniforms has many benefits including decreased discipline problems.

a) Long Beach curbed gang-related problems by mandating the use of school uniforms in 1994. It required all elementary and middle school students to begin wearing uniforms at that time (Lumsden, 2001).

b) Ronald Stephens of the National School Safety Center reported that administrators are looking at uniforms as a way to address the serious issues involving school shootings and similar violent acts (Lumsden, 2001).



III. Requiring the use of school uniforms has many benefits including increased school attendance.

a) Proponents of school uniforms believe that they improve school attendance even though it is usually a combination of techniques that may actually be the most effective (Lumsden, 2001).

b) The Seattle School Corporation reported that, in 1995, the South Shore Middle School reported a 98% improvement in student demeanor, a decrease in truancies (skipping school) and not one theft (Manual on School Uniforms, 1996).



IV. Requiring the use of school uniforms has many benefits including enhanced security.

a) It is easy to quickly identify non-students who have entered the school building (Lumsden, 2001).

b) When wearing uniforms, students are easy to identify on field trips which makes it much easier to supervise children when away from school grounds (Lumsden, 2001).



IV. Conclusion

a) The use of school uniforms provides many benefits to public schools that used to only be enjoyed by private schools. These benefits address discipline, attendance and security issues.

b) It is logical to conclude that public school systems across the country will begin to look at school uniforms as one step in addressing the many concerns that plague our educational system.


Why an Outline?

An outline is a valuable part of the essay process, as well as a great tool to implement in a lot of your writing. It will help you organize your ideas and your research. This is one of the beginning steps of your next major project.

An Overview of APA Citation

In-text citation: This should be included in your outline. Make sure that when you include quotes or any information that you’ve gathered through your research that you cite them: (author’s last name, year of the publication)

This citation goes at the end of the sentence.

For example:Studies have shown that learning APA citation is

not as difficult as once thought (Leigh, 1993).

APA Citation: Reference Page

Two Sample Entries:

Hughes, M. (2004). How to Master APA Style. New York: Citation Central.

Leight, V., Mitchell, M., & Wilkes, A. (1993). Gone With the References. Atlanta: Reference Press.

*This is all spelled out for you in your APA handouts from the Writing Center and in the Unit 4 Reading. Be sure to read these carefully and follow directions when the time comes. It really is a matter of “plugging in” your own information.

Documents

Moving from thesis to outline… Here’s another sample thesis statement. You can clearly see the 3 key points this student has chosen to discuss in her essay: