Lesson Plan: Outline Your Paper
Politics
Objective
To help students organize their thoughts and writing
Total estimated time
25 min
Work Completed Before Class
Students have started researching their case studies (or other research/writing assignment). They should bring notes on sources and a tentative outline. At this point they should already be thinking about the structure of the paper.
In Class
- Have a conversation about the importance of outlining and organization for effective writing. (10 min)
- Ask two students to volunteer to share their tentative outlines (either ask them to bring extra copies to class or write it up on the board). As a group discuss the best plan for those papers. Ask students to think about the flow of ideas, where particular sources will fit, and the overall structure of the paper. (20 min)
- Have students work individually on their own outlines, applying the class discussion. (10-15 min)
- If there is any extra time have a discussion with the class about their impression of outlining as a tool for clarity, organization, and style.
Developed at Brandeis University through a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation