Formal Outline

Write your formal outline (a road map for your essay). Your formal outline should be either a topical or sentence outline. This outline is flexible as you draft, so do not worry about it changing. You may want to put notes into your formal outline about sources: which sources will you be using to support which points? Many people find it helpful to do this and possibly write page numbers of sources to help in the drafting stage.

1. Begin by writing your thesis statement.
2. Then write your main sections.
3. Then fill in with any subsections and details that will help you as you draft your essay.