the outline: your recipe for a great essay!

The Outline:Your Recipe for a

Great Essay!

Chefs follow recipes to make sure they don’t leave anything out of a great

meal.

Missing one ingredient could turn great dish into a definite

dud.

Same thing goes for a good outline.

So once you make one – STICK WITH IT!

The first thing we’ll need is an outline …

How about one for the next Quest writing assignment:

“What is Worth Fighting For Speech”

I. Introductiona. Quoteb. Explain quotec. Support explanationd. Thesis Statement

II. Main Topic 1a. Repetitionb. Support/evidencec. Support/evidenced. Support/evidencee. Support/evidencef. Repetitiong. Support/evidenceh. Support/evidencei. support/evidencej. Support/evidencek. Repetitionl. Transition to Main Topic 2

III. Main Topic 2a. Analogyb. Support analogyc. Support/Evidenced. Support/Evidencee. Support/Evidencef. Support/Evidenceg. Support/Evidence h. Disprove counter argumentj. Restate quote or make your own quote

Now, let’s take that outline and add our own flavor (ideas).

Remember to be brief.

Save the sentences for your essay!

Abbreviate or use short hand.

NO:a. Humor is an

exercise of intelligence; you

can’t make a good joke about a topic

you are not informed about.

YES:

a.Humor is exercise of intelligence

OR

a.Humor = intelligence

I. Introductiona. Bill Cosby quoteb. Said this because he believed humor was worth preservingc. People must learn to laugh at themselvesd. Thesis: some people think certain issues not laughing matter –

humor is worth fighting: used for exhibiting intelligence & pointing out social injustices

 II. Main Topic I – intelligence

a. Knock knock – humor. Who else? Intelligenceb. Humor is an exercise of intellectc. Must have knowledge to make good joked. Even simplest joke are exercises in language expertise e. Not talking about fart jokes, although … timingf. Knock, knock – humor. Who else? Dedicationg. Comedians spend hours, days and months to create

materialh. Humor not afterthoughti. Humorists/comedians dedicated to craftj. Comedians believe in humork. Knock, knock – humor. Who else? Understandingl. Along with exhibiting intelligence, humor also helps create

understanding

III. Main Topic II – understanding a. loss of a loved one – remember things that made

us laughb. easier to remember happy timesc. also true about social issuesd. many comedians joke about serious issuese. we laugh at our own absurdities, but also

question themf. chris rock/dave chappelle joked about racial

prejudice to show it still existedg. bill hicks joked about drug issues to show their

absurdityh. bill cosby joked about his family to show that

love was still the corei. People who think jokes inappropriate – don’t

understand purposej. knock knock – humor. A cause worth fighting for.

But anyone can MAKE an outline – the hard part is sticking to it.

Let’s take our outline and turn it into an essay ingredient by

ingredient …

I. Introductiona. Quote: Bill Cosby : “Once you find laughter

…”b. Said this because humor is importantc. Jokes have many purposesd. Humor is worth fighting for

a. Quote:

Bill Cosby:

“Once you

find

laughter

…”

Take …

a. Q

uote

:

Bill

Cosb

y:

“Onc

e yo

u

find laug

hter

…”

… and add it to your essay as a sentence.

Bill Cosby said, “Once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.”

Now add all the other sentences:

b. Said this

because

humor is

important

c. People

must learn

to laugh at

themselvesd. Thesis:

Humor is

worth

fighting for

Bill Cosby said, “Once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.” The famous comedian said this to remind people about the importance of a good sense of humor. It is not easy, but all people must learn to laugh at themselves or they will never see the error of their ways. Although some people believe certain issues are not a laughing matter, humor is worth fighting for because it can be used for everything from exhibiting intelligence to pointing out social injustices.

Give it a try:

Use the strips of paper to match the outline phrases

with the sentences. Keep them in order!

 II. Main Topic I – Exhibit Intelligencea. Knock knock – humor. Who else? Intelligenceb. Humor is an exercise of intellectc. Must have knowledge to make good joked. Even simplest joke are exercises in language

expertise e. Not talking about fart jokes, although … timingf. Knock, knock – humor. Who else? Dedicationg. Comedians spend hours, days and months to

create materialh. Humor not afterthoughti. Humorists/comedians dedicated to craftj. Comedians believe in humork. Knock, knock – humor. Who else? Understandingl. Along with exhibiting intelligence, humor also

helps create understanding

Now try and write sentences for the last

paragraph.

III. Main Topic II – Understanding Social Injustice a. loss of a loved one – remember things that made

us laughb. easier to remember happy timesc. also true about social issuesd. many comedians joke about serious issuese. we laugh at our own absurdities, but also

question themf. chris rock/dave chappelle joked about racial

prejudice to show it still existedg. bill hicks joked about drug issues to show their

absurdityh. bill cosby joked about his family to show that

love was still the corei. People who think jokes inappropriate – don’t

understand purposej. knock knock – humor. A cause worth fighting for.