If you’re finding it challenging to get started on your paper, consider creating an outline (structured plan). Creating an outline before writing can help organize your thoughts, speed up the process, clarify relationships between ideas, identify gaps in arguments, and ensure logical flow. In other words, if you map out your argument first, writing the actual paper will be that much easier.
Three popular types of outlines are: alphanumeric, full-sentence, and decimal:
Alphanumeric - this is the most popular form of outline and uses a combination of Roman numerals, capital letters, and Arabic numerals to list your key points.
There are multiple formats for creating a paper outline. Below is a general template. At the end of the day the best type of outline to use is the one that is easiest to organize your thoughts and research.
