I’ve read the prompt…now what?! Steps to organize your essay.

Alright, alright, I’ve looked at the prompt, I’ve visualized what “done” looks like. Can I start writing yet?!

The next step for writing an essay

Not quite yet! So many of my clients who need help with writing struggle with getting started. Either they 

1. put it off until the last minute because they just don’t want to write.
   Hiding behind this “I don’t want to do it!!” are big feelings about not knowing how to start their essay, worries that it will take forever, a sense of resignation that it won’t be good enough no matter how long they spend on it.

2. they jump right into writing the essay without a plan, don’t edit their work, and get a lot of ???s (unclear) in their feedback from their teachers because their essay doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

What is a tried and true method to help with both of these writing challenges? An outline!!

But, but, I HATE writing outlines!

Now, you might already be having a lot of big feelings about outlines…Maybe you’ve had a teacher tell you “the right way” to make an outline and you hated it. They made you write a lot for each section of the outline, you had to include quotes, use full sentences, and include your bibliography — the whole shebang. Is that the only way to write an outline?

Nope, nope, and nope.

What can an outline for an essay look like?

An outline can be long and detailed (picture) or it can be a few bullet points with a few words per bullet. For example, if you were going to write an essay about whether people should be encouraged to volunteer, you could write an essay outline that is as short and sweet as:

Yes, volunteer because it helps 

1. animals and people

2. yourself (feel better)

3. the environment

Or you could add some more examples if you have specific ideas for each section:

Yes, I think people should be encouraged to volunteer because it helps 

1. animals and people

   1. food bank: give food to the needy

   2. trash pick-up

   3. homeless shelter

   4. pet shelter

2. yourself (feel better)

   1. learn skills

   2. feel good

   3. make new friends with similar interests

3. the environment

   1. cleaning up neighborhood

   2. cleaning up beach

   3. cleaning up park
      
      
      

You can add quotes to each section or references to specific programs you want to mention. Check the prompt to make sure you are fulfilling all of the requirements.

Find the right outline style for you!

Try out different styles of outlines!

Does a detailed outline help keep you on track? Does it make starting the writing process less daunting?

Or does the idea of having a “perfect outline” keep you from getting started writing? Would a short and sweet outline help you best?

Try making the messiest outline you can. Does that help you avoid the trap of needing something to be “perfect?” 

What an essay outline needs

The only thing your outline needs is

• an answer to the question posed in the prompt (a thesis),

• and a list of examples you will use.
  

It’s totally up to you how detailed the outline is. It’s yours!!

The purpose of an outline is to help you organize your thoughts so you can write an essay that expresses the opinions and ideas that you want to share.

Make an outline that helps YOU.

Let’s figure out what works for you!

I would love to discuss how I can help you find the style of outlining that works for you or your child.  

Schedule a free consultation today!

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Hi, I’m Hollis, the owner of Mindful Speech.

I’m a speech-language pathologist licensed in Illinois and Colorado.

I specialize in providing speech therapy to help children, teens, and young adults to improve language, reading, writing, and executive functioning skills. Now offering in-person sessions in Chicago!

Learn more about me on my About Hollis page.