Creating a plan and outline before starting your research paper can lead to a more successful and satisfying writing process. Contrary to concerns about stifling creativity, planning ahead actually frees your mind from cluttered thoughts and allows for creativity to flourish within the boundaries of your rough plan. Just like various aspects of the natural and man-made world, successful creations often begin with some form of structure or boundary. Outlines serve as recipes for your paper, while research plans function as shopping lists, helping you organize your ideas and check your progress once you've completed your work.
According to the Purdue OWL's Writing Process guide, using an outline is helpful when wanting to "show the hierarchical relationship or logical ordering of information. For research papers, an outline may help you keep track of large amounts of information." Outlines even help those that are preparing a speech or presentation to deliver in front of an audience. Therefore, an outline has many benefits in aiding your writing, organizing your thoughts, keeping your material in logical structures, and giving your writing a boundary within which to keep focus. Making any kind of outline, no matter how rough or polished, will benefit you.
An outline is a structured document that lists the main parts of your research paper, essay, presentation, or report. It provides a roadmap for your planned writing, utilizing numbered lists to indicate the larger and nested structures.
Unless required to use a certain outline template, you have the freedom to choose the type of outline that suits you best, whether it is rough or structured with full sentences, phrases, and alphanumeric ordered lists. Any kind of outline can be effective in aiding your writing process. In conclusion, outlining is a valuable tool for successful writing, allowing you to organize your thoughts and achieve your goals efficiently. By creating a clear plan, you can enhance your creativity and produce a more cohesive and well-structured piece of work.
Please open Purdue OWL's Writing Process guide or separate PDF which provides examples of full sentence and alphanumeric outlines.
Your final step in the beginning stages of your research journey is making a plan for the rest of your research and writing steps. Treat it like a schedule or shopping list, utilizing a short to-do list or a detailed schedule. Remember, this plan you devise is not restrictive; it's a guide to set achievable goals within one overall process. Here's what to include:
As stated above, you don't need to fill out an entire research plan right now, *but as you learn more throughout this "How to Research" guide series. The following items are recommended items to put in your research plan:
You can use the provided templates to create your research plan as you progress through the "How to Research" guide series.
Congratulations on completing the initial steps of your research journey, and now you're ready to explore different types of information and sources.
Unless otherwise indicated, all images are courtesy of Adobe Stock. Paul J. Meyer quote image made in Canva, courtesy of Kristen Cook. The Research Outline Template was adapted from EasyBib.com.
