The Essay Outline

Once you have taken your research notes, recorded bibliographic information, and composed your central idea, the next step is to create an outline of your essay. The outline is your essay's blueprint, in which you arrange the parts of your discussion into a logical order.

You should make a preliminary topic outline at an early stage of your research; the outline can serve as a guide for the research itself. As your work continues, you will likely have to revise your outline. In some cases, your course instructor may require you to submit your preliminary outline and bibliography, along with the central idea, before you begin writing the essay.

Take care that your outline covers the whole topic promised in your essay title -- but no more. A common student error is to consume space at the beginning of the essay with irrelevant biographical or anecdotal material.


Outline Format

Write your outline in point form, using numbering styles and levels of indentation to make clear the logical order and hierarchy of your ideas, as follows:

Title:

General Idea:

  1. Used for major headings
  2. . . .
    1. Used for "first level" subheadings
    2. . . .
      1. Used for "second level" sub-subheadings
      2. . . .
        1. Used, if necessary, for "third-level" headings. Use the multi-level paragraph numbering tool in your word processor, which will wrap text around with proper hanging indents.
        2. . . .
Headings and subheadings stand for logical divisions, and a division has at least two parts. Therefore, you should not have any single headings at a given level.


Sample Outline

Below is a sample outline that illustrates the above principles. This outline could well serve for a major paper of about 10,000 words. For a 3,000 word essay, the topic and the outline would both have to be more limited.

Title: The Assimilation of Counterpoint into Classic Sonata-Form Movements in the Symphony
Central Idea: While the Pre-Classic composers rejected counterpoint in favour of a simple homophonic texture in sonata-form movements of their symphonies, the High Classic composers created a rapprochement between sonata-form and counterpoint.

  1. The rejection of counterpoint in Pre-Classic symphonies

    1. Homophonic texture in Pre-Classic works

      1. Treble-dominated style of style galant

      2. Retention of the basso continuo

      3. Character of the melodies

        1. "Broken style"

        2. Lack of character in symphonic themes compared to fugue subjects

    2. Musical examples

      1. J. Stamitz

      2. George Wagenseil

      3. Early Haydn

  2. The return of counterpoint

    1. Strict contrapuntal movements

      1. Canon

      2. Fugue

    2. Counterpoint in sonata-form movements

      1. Divisible character of melodies

      2. Obbligato accompaniment

    3. Musical examples

      1. Early Haydn Symphony

      2. Middle Haydn Symphony

  3. The rapprochement of counterpoint and sonata-form

    1. Character of the melodies

      1. Motive and theme

      2. Harmonic orientation of themes

    2. Counterpoint in sonata-form

      1. Contrapuntal theme-groups

      2. Counterpoint and development technique

    3. Musical examples

      1. Haydn's Symphony no. 104, 1st movement

      2. Mozart's "Jupiter" Symphony, last movement