Create an outline that will organize your analysis effectively for your readers.

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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. Your outline will differ depending on your audience and purpose. Using headings in the form of questions, Jeremy Bernard’s outline (at left) is organized around topics under which each author’s arguments are presented. Betsy Samson’s outline (at right) is organized around points of agreement and disagreement on the central question.

Jeremy Bernard’s Outline (Emphasizes Topics)
  1. Introduction of the issue: Should PEDs be banned by major league baseball?
  2. Introduction of opposing positions: Should performance enhancing drugs be illegal/banned?Yes—George Mitchell, the MLB-sponsored Mitchell ReportNo—Eric Walker’s independent Web site, Steroids, Other “Drugs,” and Baseball
  3. Heading 1: Should PEDs be banned because their health risk is significant?Points of agreement:
    • Medical evidence inconclusive
    • Risk of side effects exists
    • Risk to adolescents particularly serious
    Points of disagreement:
    • Risk to adults—Mitchell: Grave; Walker: Not grave
    • Choice—Mitchell: Adults should be prohibited from undergoing risk; Walker: Adults should be allowed to choose.
  4. Heading 2: Should PEDs be banned because players who take them have an unfair advantage?Points of Agreement:
    • Use of PEDs gives athletes an advantage
    • Unequal access is unfair, not a level playing field
    Points of Disagreement:
    • Whose responsibility?—Mitchell: MLB should set rules; Walker: Athletes should decide for themselves.
    • Distinction between “natural” and “unnatural”—Mitchell: Distinction is clear and should be maintained; Walker: Distinction is arbitrary and needs rethinking.
  5. Conclusion: Possibility of common ground based on shared love of baseball
 Betsy Samson’s Outline (Emphasizes Points of Agreement and Disagreement)
  1. Introduction: From dependence in infancy to independence as adults; definition and role of helicopter parentingIssue: Should parents control their children’s decisions?
  2. Introduction to Issue: Should parents control their children’s decisions?Yes—Amy Chua, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior,” Wall Street JournalNo—Hanna Rosin, “Mother Inferior?” Wall Street Journal (response to Chua)
  3. Points of agreement
    • Parents are influential in their children’s lives
    • Parents want to do what’s best for their kids
  4. Points of disagreement
    • Parents should
      • make decisions for their children (Chua)
      • support their children as they learn to make their own decisions (Rosin)
    • Parents should make sure their children
      • attain mastery (Chua)
      • find happiness and personal satisfaction (Rosin)
  5. Conclusion
    • Summarize Chua’s argument for heavy parental involvement vs. Rosin’s argument for child-directed parental involvement
    • Common ground:
      • Shared value of acting in the best interest of child
      • Cultural/situational cues influencing parenting techniques