When composing your outline, always write complete sentences. This forces you to articulate your argument clearly and precisely. If you plan to cite a text, then note the page- or line-numbers of passages to be quoted.
Example 1
3.2.1 The Philosophical Outline Drill
Let’s say you are writing an essay on the following prompt:
Are Homer’s epics great literature, even today? Why or why not?
Your thesis statement runs as follows:
Even in the modern age, the Homeric epics remain great literature because they accurately depict human emotions that transcend the limits of time.
If we examine this statement closely, it is actually a syllogism.
(Implied premise: All books that accurately depict human emotion are great works of literature.)
Stated premise: The Homeric epics accurately depict human emotions.
Stated conclusion: Therefore, the Homeric epics are great works of literature.
Which of the two premises should the body of your essay prove? Certainly the second. Some people may not have read Homer; others may have read him but may not automatically agree with your interpretation. And the first premise requires proof as well. What makes human emotion a criterion for greatness in literature? Your essay should answer this question.
Notice that by analyzing your thesis statement you discover not only which premises you ought to prove but also the manner in which you ought to prove them. The first premise is a philosophical statement. It requires you to make claims about the world in general. But the second premise is an interpretive statement that requires you to analyze the text. In this way, by breaking down your thesis statement into a syllogism, you have discovered that you are writing the more common sort of philosophical essay, the hybrid kind that combines statements about general truths with statements about the text.
As you seek to defend the two premises, you will develop an outline that looks something like this.
Thesis: Even in the modern age, the Homeric epics remain great literature because they accurately depict human emotions that transcend the limits of time.
Body:
Paragraph #1: Books that accurately depict human emotion are great books, for works such as these transcend barriers erected by different cultures, and times.
Argument:
All books that depict human emotion transcend cultural/temporal barriers.
All books that transcend these barriers are great books.
Therefore, all books that depict human emotion are great.
In your paragraph, focus on the idea that books transcending these barriers are great.
Paragraph #2: Books that present the depths of human emotion are great because they teach about the human condition.
Argument:
All books that depict human emotion teach about the human condition.
All books that teach about the human condition are great books.
Therefore, all books that depict human emotion are great books.
In your paragraph, focus on the idea that books that teach about the human condition are great.
Paragraphs #3-5: Homer’s epics accurately depict human emotion.
For these paragraphs, you will need to use induction by analyzing the text for examples:
Paragraph #3. The anger of Achilles is an accurate depiction of human emotion.
Paragraph #4. The love between Hector and Andromache is an accurate depiction of human emotion.
Paragraph #5. The return of Odysseus contains accurate depictions of human emotion.
Example 2
3.2.2 The Interpretive Outline Drill
Let’s say you are writing an essay on the following prompt:
In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, how does the title relate to the dominant themes of conquest and power?
Your thesis statement runs as follows:
In a tale of conquest, where the English attack and Africans are subdued, all human beings — whether victorious or defeated — lie subject to the greater power of ideas, as symbolized by the “dark heart” of the African jungle.
This statement about the text is not a syllogism; it is a statement about certain textual “facts” which must be proven by induction (textual analysis). These facts are as follows:
1. The “dark” heart of the African jungle symbolizes the power of ideas.
2. Every person in this tale lies subject to this power.
You must prove these facts by induction. So your outline will take a simpler form than the one in Drill 3.2.1.
Thesis: In a tale of conquest, where the English attack and Africans are subdued, all human beings — whether victorious or defeated — lie subject to the greater power of ideas, as symbolized by the “dark heart” of the African jungle.
Body:
Paragraph #1: The “dark” heart of the African jungle symbolizes the power of ideas.
List of examples.
Paragraphs #2-3: Every person in this tale lies subject to this power.
Paragraph #2: The conquered are subject to this power.
List of examples.
Paragraph #3: Conquerors are subject to this power.
List of examples.