•The outline quickly and clearly shares your content and thesis with the reader. In the early stages of your research, an outline will help you to organize your ideas and material. Later in the research process, a more detailed outline will help you unify and refine your final paper. Whether formal or informal in style, outlines aid clear thinking and well-developed ideas.
•The most important rule for outlining form is to be consistent!
•An outline can use topic or sentence structure.
•A topic outline uses words or phrases for all entries and uses no punctuation after entries.
•Advantages: presents a brief overview of work and is generally easier and faster to write than a sentence outline.
•A sentence outline uses complete sentences for all entries and uses correct punctuation.
•Advantages: presents a more detailed overview of work including possible topic sentences and is easier and faster for writing the final paper.
•You should start your outline by identifying your thesis statement. Then you clarify the progression of your argument as follows:
•I. Use Roman Numerals to identify the section of your paper. (e.g. Arguments for, Arguments against, background information, biographical information, Evaluation, etc)
•A. Use Capital letters under each Roman Numeral (Be sure to indent!) to present your arguments within those sections. (e.g. under a paper section called "Advantages of studying at ISP" you may have international community, International Baccalaureate, competitive education).
•1. Use numbers to list the details or facts that you will use to back up the claims made by the Capital letters.
•Sample outline
•Thesis: The war on drugs will do far more to control and eliminate illegal drug use in the USA than will the legalization of drugs.
•I. Epidemic proportions of drug problem in last decade have prompted efforts at all levels of society to address problem
•A. Three pronged effort of President's war on drugs - overview
•1. enforcement
•2. education
•3. treatment
•B. Legalization also proposed by many as solution - overview of sketchy implementation plan
•II. Arguments in favor of legalization
•A. Takes away criminal element
•1. citation of Amsterdam experiment - Goldblatt
•2. analogy to legalized prostitution in Europe, Nevada
•B. Government can control drug quality and quantity
•1. FDA supervision
•2. more personnel and support required
•C. More revenue to support prevention and education
•1. estimates of revenue by Scheffer study
•2. analogy to revenue from state liquor operations - Maine, Oklahoma
•III. Arguments against legalization
•A. Violates moral/ethical principles of country
•1. Taber's assessment of constitutional intention
•2. Heritage Foundation study
•B. Makes drugs permanent fixture of society
•1. analogy to prostitution - Rosenburg study
•2. normalization lowers standards - Whitten's study
•C. Encourages greater drug use by wider spectrum of users
•1. Post Vietnam study of mid size American cities
•2. Impact on middle class and youth - Fallow's views
•D. Subsidizes addiction with public money
•1. Amsterdam argument - Goldblatt's rebuttal
•E. Does not address causes of addiction - inner city survey from 1996
•IV. Three pronged war on drugs addresses supply, prevention, treatment
•A. Coordinated law enforcement efforts at local, state, federal levels
•1. Legislative intent - McMurphy Bill
•2. sample cases from PA, MA, DC, CA
•B. Education - treatment programs at state - local levels
•1. success of NA based programs
•2. statistics on welfare cost saving
•3. 1997 Florida based study
•C. Attention to factors encouraging drug dealing - addiction
•1. poverty and lack of education - Wilson data
•2. low self-esteem, lack of hope - AMA's new policy initiative
•3. lack of community involvement with youth - Center for Urban Studies position paper
•V. War on drugs clearly better than legalization
•A. War on drugs is long range solution
•B. War on drugs addresses underlying causes
•C. War on drugs consistent with country's values
•D. War on drugs will eventually end widespread drug use
