Research papers can be daunting. Sometimes even the idea of starting to think about writing a paper can stop you from even starting. One way to get over the writer's block is to create an outline. An outline is just the building block of your paper. It is where you start to put your ideas down on paper in some type logical order to help guide you in your research and writing of the course project.
Outlines are an important and underutilized writing tool. A strong outline creates a "road map" that can be used to keep your topic and message on track. The length of your outline will be determined by the components of your proposal topic.
For this class, the course project is based on an outline that you will create and submit in the FINAL PROJECT only (Module 05). This week you will have an opportunity to create a practice outline that is based on a library article that is provided. In this assignment, read the provided article and create an outline of it. The next step will be for you to write your own outline (using the format listed below) to help you write your course project. The course project outline will be a part of the final course project grade.
Remember, you will be writing two outlines in this course. The first one will be here in this assignment; this is an outline of a library article.
The second one will be done separately and will be specifically about your course project topic. You will submit the second outline as a piece of the final project in Module 05.
For this assignment, follow a traditional outline format using the information below as a guide:
General Information on Outlines:
- Outlines can be as detailed as you want them to be. Start out with vague ideas, and as you research your topic, you can fill in the holes. Make the outline more detailed as you get closer to the writing of your project.
- The sentences you use in an outline don't have to be complete sentences. They can be short ideas, words, statistical data (that have been cited).
- Use headings (see below) to help you get an idea of what your paper will look like as a final product.
- You must have two main ideas for each point
Example of an Outline Format:
- Purpose Statement: Why are you writing this paper? What is the goal your paper? What are you hoping to do with your research? Why do you care and why should your audience care?
- Problem: List out specifics of the problem
- Main idea
- Main idea
- Original and Creative Solution to the Problem:
- Main idea
- Main idea
- Conclusion: Where you wrap it all up and re-iterate your Purpose Statement and Original and Creative Solution how you proved it.
For this assignment, you will need to read one of the provided articles and fill in the blank of the outline format that has been provided to you. You are looking for main ideas or thoughts that the author is trying to convey to you. Below you will find a link to an article. Read it and develop an outline based on the main points in the article. While reading the article, locate and write down the main ideas and secondary ideas.
Meyer, E. (2014). Navigating the Cultural Minefield. Harvard Business Review, 92(5), 119-123. Link to article .
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