The first thing that students must do when writing essays is to do background reading. This will help the students get a clearer overview of the subject assigned. An up-to-date journal or book can be a good starting point for any student to do research. With background reading, students can start putting their ideas together—those that they have originally thought and those they have accumulated through research—in an organised manner. This involves creating a general premise for the essay to be written.
As students start thinking about what premise they are going to present for their essays, they will also start considering what effective approach to use. With these factors already involved in their essay writing task, students must already start writing essay outlines to make sure that all the aspects are appropriately covered in the entire essay.
In the essay outline, the following elements can be found:
- Topic of the essay
- Topic sentences
- Supporting points
- Research ideas
- Introductory lines
- Concluding lines
An essay outline can be written with lines or sentences, depending what students mostly prefer. With essay outlines, students can easily insert new ideas that they want to include in their essay. It also easily guides students through their research—they have a guide on the points or ideas that need more research for supporting data. Students can also omit or insert new ideas they have done through their research. It also assures the students that all the ideas they have thought out are carefully presented in the essay. Essay outlines can also be written as a guide to students when referencing—they can write indicators on their outlines to remind them that the data included has a source.
The essay outline has two types, depending on how the students use it. A preliminary outline is written prior to their research studies. This includes the points that students want to put into their essay, including the points that need further research. The final outline is written prior to the writing of the essay draft and after the students have done their research. The final outline contains all the points inserted and omitted after accumulating additional information.