Create an outline that will organize your argument effectively.

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Whether you have rough notes or a complete draft, making an outline of what you have written can help you organize the essay effectively for your audience. One way to outline a literary analysis is to lay out your argument as a series of because sentences. For example, here’s how Iris Lee might have outlined her argument:

  1. The story performs a valuable service because, through the doctor’s actions, readers see that it’s unwise to blindly trust members of his profession.
    1. Although he displays his “best professional manner,” the doctor does so only because he knows it will encourage the family’s deference to him despite his rude and rough behavior.
    2. The doctor shows his untrustworthiness because he seems more interested in harming the girl than healing her.
  1. Readers who see the doctor purely as a bad person are wrong because the author presents two sides of him.
    1. The doctor-as-actor deserves our scorn because he is capable of brutality under the guise of professionalism.
    2. The doctor-as-narrator deserves our thanks because he depicts the crimes of the doctor-as-actor, warning readers about the dangers of placing too much trust in medical professionals.

Once you have a working outline, you should not hesitate to change it as necessary while drafting and revising. For instance, you might find you left out an important idea that is needed to make the chain of reasoning complete. Remember that the purpose of an outline is to help you organize your ideas logically, not to lock you into a particular structure.