Organization: Paragraph Outline

Some writers feel more comfortable with methods which prescribe what they should do when: it's like having a built-in authority figure in the paper who tightens you up when you come loose. For such writers a modified form of the traditional paragraph (Roman numeral, A.B.C., 1.2.3.) might work. This technique concentrates on shaping the scheme of a paper by weighing each of its paragraphs. 

It works well for comparative papers, arguments where the writer considers several points of view, discussions of trends or unresolved problems in history or social science, and analysis of literature. The writer begins this outline by roughing out a paragraph which presents a thesis or problem. The paragraph may contain a list of questions which the writer is promising to answer. In this case, the introduction resembles a contract which the writer makes with the reader.

After drafting this paragraph, the writer then goes on to block out the rest of the paper. She roughs out a main sentence for each succeeding paragraph, and lists the evidence she'll need to prove that point. Here's an example from a "student paper" on Bram Stoker's Gothic thriller, Dracula:

Throughout Bram Stoker's Dracula, the reader encounters conflict between the rational world and the non-rational. As we read the book, we sense that the ways people keep themselves healthy, productive, and sane cease to work when evil comes on the scene. When Dracula himself uses rational techniques, this emphasizes the pathetic machinery of human beings fighting the supernatural with ignorance and superstition. As the good guys in the book become more helpless, we wonder not only if good will triumph, but how. What methods must good use to overcome evil? Are those methods always good, and how do they change the characters?

Paragraph 2: How Stoker sets up the rational world:

1. Harker as narrator: the perfect Victorian type
2. Harker becoming irrational, his methods breaking down
3. How Harker escapes: transformation from good guy to desperado

1. Believes in mystery and faith as handmaidens to science
2. Troubled past is like Dracula's
3. Medical methods contrast to and resemble D's methods

1. Scientist as limited and smug: Seward
2. Madman as Herol Renfield's self-sacrifice
3. Neglect of Mina ("good") as form of evil
4. Use of Mina as lure ("evil") to do good

And so on. The writer still needs to see if this outline will help complete the contract made in the first paragraph. Should she talk more about Dracula's methods? And if so, where? Maybe if the writer notes "METHODS?" in the margin, that will help clarify the focus. But for now, the process has begun to shape a coherent paper, covering important points and taking them in a reasonable order. Presenting more evidence, sharpening focus, and working on transitions can come later, along with polishing up that first paragraph. 

   Using The Paper Topic
   Rough Magic
   Grocery Lists
   Up Against The Wall
   Paragraph Outline
   Building On Evidence
   Traditional Outlines
   Starting With Last Paragraph