This document provides a template for creating a formal outline for an argument research paper. It includes guidelines for formatting the outline with roman numerals for main sections, capital letters for supporting ideas, numbered lists for source information, and lowercase letters for explanations. The outline template contains seven sections: introduction, topic background, four supporting topics, and conclusion. Each section has multiple paragraphs to develop the argument with support from sources. The document aims to help students organize their ideas, sources, counterarguments, and rebuttals to strengthen the overall argument presented in their paper.

1. Feel free to use this document as a template for your own
outline.
This is a skeleton outline example. Use to begin outlining your
essay and change as needed. *Note: Each Roman Numeral is a
section, not a paragraph. Each section should have multiple
paragraphs depending on the explanation and support offered in
each section.
*Include parenthetical citations with all information from a
source
Name
Due Date
Course Name/Instructor
Assignment Name
Skeleton Outline: Argument Research Paper
I. Introduction:
A. Attention getter (starting with a scenario story or interesting
fact may work)
B. Topic Introductory Information
C. Thesis:
II. Topic (History/Background)
A. Supporting Idea
1. Supporting information from Source
2. Explanation
B. Supporting information from Source
1. Explanation
2. Explanation
C. Transition
III. Supporting Topic #1

2. A. Supporting Idea
1. Supporting information from Source
2. Explanation
B. Counterargument
1. Supporting information from Source
2. Explanation
C. Rebuttal
1. Supporting information from Source
2. Explanation
D. Transition
IV. Supporting Topic #2
A. Supporting Idea
1. Supporting information from Source
2. Explanation
B. Counterargument
1. Supporting information from Source
2. Explanation
C. Rebuttal
1. Supporting information from Source
2. Explanation
D. Transition
V. Supporting Topic #3
A. Supporting Idea
1. Supporting information from Source
2. Explanation
B. Counterargument
1. Supporting information from Source

3. 2. Explanation
C. Rebuttal
1. Supporting information from Source
2. Explanation
D. Transition
VI. Supporting Topic #4
A. Supporting Idea
1. Supporting information from Source
2. Explanation
B. Counterargument
1. Supporting information from Source
2. Explanation
C. Rebuttal
1. Supporting information from Source
2. Explanation
D. Transition
VII. Conclusion
A. Revisit thesis/topic
B. Final Thoughts (what idea do you want to leave readers
with?) *Hint: Do not suggest they should think about think
topic, or consider the topic. You want them to agree with your
opinion/research.
*Include references on following page.
References
Assignment Objective: Create an clear organizational pattern to
present the argument, support, counterclaims, and rebuttals
which will develop a stronger argument to persuade
readers.��Student Example: Formal Outline

4. Example�Template Documents: Formal Outline Template
At this point you have your ideas flushed out and you have your
support information gathered – now it’s time to get it all
organized.
The essay outline, an essential portion of the drafting process,
assists writers to organize their material before beginning the
rough draft. Before you start your outline complete the
assigned readings and read the details offered here to ensure
you meet all the requirements of the formal outline. In this
class you are required to write a formal outline - one that is
much more developed and detailed than you may have
completed before.
The formal outline incorporates the ideas formulated in the
roadmap and the information gathered and analyzed in the
annotated bibliography. Setting out ideas in the order
anticipated alerts writers to gaps in the development of their
ideas and can show them where key ideas lack sufficient support
(or have too much material for the shape of the full paper).
The outline assists you to organize your ideas and support in a
way that directly supports your thesis statement. Add
transitions sentences in-between sections to lead readers to new
ideas, include further analysis of source information, and
incorporate your own analysis to round out your argument – all
of which will force you to think through your plans for the
paper.
If you find the outline confining, remember this one fact – you

5. will have a good majority of your paper written after
completing your outline. Let that be your motivation! Whether
this comes naturally or not, you have two previous assignments
to assist you – the roadmap and the annotated bibliography –
use the outline discovery draft to begin your basic outline (the
Roman Numerals for each section), your basic ideas of support
(capital letters A, B, etc), your support information from the
sources (1, 2, etc), and finally your analysis of the support
information (a, b, etc).
Notes:
Put your thesis statement in bold lettering.
Complete sentences & transitional sentences
Include parenthetical citations
Reference page
Important: I will grade this assignment based on the
organizational pattern, not on the quality of the sources, which
was assessed in the annotated bibliography assignment. If you
are still using inappropriate sources at this stage in the writing
process, I will not address that here. If you are concerned about
a source, review the feedback you received from the annotated
bibliography. If you have a new source and are unsure about it,
email the link and we can discuss it.

6. Student
Example
–
Formal
Essay
Outline
Paper
topic
–
Radio
Frequency
Identification
in
hospitals).
*Note:
this
outline
is
not
without
errors,
but
is
used
to

7. show
the
formatting.
III. Reduce
costs
throughout
the
medical
facility
–
track
items
in
“real
time”
A. Wasted
man-­‐hours
1.
Medical
personnel
spend
countless
man-­‐hours
searching
for
medical
equipment

8. such
as
wheel
chairs,
portable
x-­‐ray
machines
(Revere,
2010,
pg.
28).
a. Basic
items
with
high
frequency
use
can
be
accounted
for
quickly
and
easily
without
wasting
valuable
time.
b. Having

9. to
spend
even
a
few
extra
minutes
to
search
down
a
wheelchair
is
not
good
use
of
time
for
medical
staff
and
RFID
allows
for
staff
to
pinpoint
the
exact
location
of
the

10. item
they
need.
B. Faster
prep
of
patients
1. “Patients
are
given
a
regular
identification
bracelet
and
one
implanted
with
an
RFID
chip,
allowing
them
to
be
tracked
at
the
various
steps

11. in
the
surgical
process”
(Secours,
2011,
p.
72)
a. Staff
knows
when
each
patient
is
ready
for
the
next
step
of
the
preparation
process.
b. Staff
does
not
need
to
check
with
one
another
about

12. the
patient
status.
c. Staff
does
not
need
to
ask
the
patient
the
same
questions
over
an
over
again.
2. RFID
decreased
“surgical
prep
time
from
45
minutes
to
20
minutes,
by
providing
an
alert

13. to
staff
members
at
the
exact
moment
a
patient
leaves
a
surgical
room,
thereby
notifying
them
that
the
room
is
ready
to
be
cleaned
and
prepared
for
the
next
patient
(Secours,
2011,
p.

14. 73).
3. Finally
the
RFID
system
will
alert
staff
that
a
surgery
is
complete
and
the
patient
has
been
moved
to
recovery,
allowing
for
the
staff
to
prep
for
the
next
surgery
Secours,
2011,

15. p.
73).
a. Not
only
are
man-­‐hours
decreased,
but
patient
satisfaction
increases.
b. The
patient
does
not
have
to
continue
to
wait.
C. Lawsuits
from
post-­‐surgery
equipment
loss
1. Surgical
nurses,
doctors,
assistants
already

16. have
a
system
to
account
for
medical
instruments
and
supplies
used
in
surgery,
but
mistakes
happen
which
results
in
massive
lawsuits.
a. Recent
studies
noted
that
“mistakes
occur
in
1
of

17. every
1,000
to
1,500
interabdominal
operations”
(Gawande,
et
al,
2003,
p.
63)
b. Since
the
items
are
all
RFID
tagged,
medical
professionals
can
easily
check
to
ensure
all
instruments
are
accounted
for

18. after
surgery.
2. These
types
of
lawsuits
can
drop
drastically
with
the
use
of
RFID
taking.
a. Medical
faculties’
payout
billions
in
lawsuits
from
post
operations
due
to
left
behind
medical
instruments
and

19. surgical
sponges
enclosed
in
patients
after
surgery
(Gawande,
M.D.,
2003).
b. The
use
of
RFID
decreases
the
risk,
thus
decreases
costly
lawsuits.
c. RFID
protect
the
health
of
the
patient,
but
also
the
liabilities

20. related
to
surgery.
D. Savings
examples
1. “St.
Olavs
Hospital
in
Trondheim,
Norway…
saved
$6
million…
by
tracking
hospital
scrubs
with
RFID-­‐embedded
tags”
(Rand,
2011,
p.
14)
a. Even
hospital
uniform
tracking
would

21. save
money.
Since
many
employees
wear
a
hospital
issue
uniform
that
they
do
not
own,
the
uniforms
could
be
tracked
and
accounted
for.
b. Staff
would
have
to
check

22. out
the
uniform,
and
check
back
in
the
uniform.
2. One
hospital
system
in
Virginia
found
a
decrease
in
the
“incidence
of
lost
and
stolen
equipment
by
50
percent”
(Secours,
2011,
p.
76)

23. a. The
inflated
cost
of
a
hospital
stay
should
be
drastically
affected
if
the
cost
would
not
have
to
include
replacing
lost
and
stolen
items.
b. Hospitals
would
not
have
to
overstock
high
use
items,

24. as
the
items
would
be
accounted
for
and
accessible.
E. Transition
–
Money
isn’t
the
only
thing
saved
–
lives
are
saved.
Overall
topic
of
this
section
2nd
Supporting
Idea

25. (directly
supports
topic
of
reduced
costs
1st
Supporting
Idea
(directly
supports
topic
of
reduced
costs
3rd
Supporting
Idea
(directly
supports
topic
of

26. reduced
costs
4th
Supporting
Idea
(directly
supports
topic
of
reduced
costs
Transitional
sentence
to
the
next
section
of
support
(RFID
saves
lives)

27. Supporting
information
from
source
Explanation
of
the
source
information
Supporting
information
from
source
This
time,
the
student
started
with
his
own

28. ideas,
then
used
the
source
information
to
support
(this
method
is
preferred)