Outlining Your Research Paper

Writing a research paper is a major task, and one that should not be done without some planning. It would not be wise to take on this kind of task without an outline. I know how some people may feel about outlines, and believe me, I have felt the same. An outline does not have to be a fancy document with numbers, letters, and subsections. If you can make a list, you can write an outline. People with good outlines have their entire paper mapped out for them before they start writing.

If you have taken good notes from around ten sources, you are ready to begin outlining your paper. This is when you move from collection mode into writing mode, though you may still need to collect a few more sources. An outline can also help you see which sections of your paper need more sources.

Let's continue with the example I started with. I am writing a research paper on Negro League Baseball. I have collected notes from twelve sources from the Internet and from print sources. The first thing I want to do is to catagorize what I have found. After reviewing my notes, I see that I have the following catagories of information:

1. History of the Negro Leagues
2. Negro League Players
3. Negro League Stadiums
4. Negro League Teams
5. Integration into the Major Leagues

All I have done so far is make a list. Anyone can do this. If your list is very short, then you know you should look for different types of information. Once I have this, it is time to stretch this list out, and list some of the details I will include about these subjects.

1. History of the Negro Leagues
a. How did it start?
b. Where did it start?
c. What prevented African-Americans from playing in the Major Leagues?
d. How long did the league last?

2. Negro League Players
a. Well-known players
b. Records
c. Negro League Hall of Fame

3. Negro League Stadiums
a. Kansas City
b. Homestead
c. New York
d. Atlanta
e. Which stadiums are still there?
f. attendence

4. Negro League Teams
a. Kansas City Monarchs
b. Homestead Greys
c. New York Cubans
d. Atlanta Black Crackers
e. What became of these teams
f. Championships, etc.

5. Integration into the Major Leagues
a. How many players integrated
b. How did the African-American players do in the major leagues
c. What struggles did the new players have?

Now that I have catoragized my information and stretched each of those sections out, it is time for me to get more detailed about what is actually going to appear in my paper. If I do this part well, my paper will almost write itself off of this outline. This is where I am going to specify where I am going to use all the information I've taken from my sources. It may be helpful to number your notes at this point.

1. History of the Negro Leagues
a. How did it start?
1. Original Baseball Leagues had black players (note 25)
2. Segrigation Laws (note 13)
3. School Teams (note 9)
4. Military Teams (note 16)
b. Where did it start?
1. Texas (note 12)
2. Ohio (note 2)
3. New York (note 5)
c. What prevented African-Americans from playing in the Major Leagues?
1. Segrigation Laws (note 23)
2. Burger vs. New York (note 8)
3. Players arrested for playing baseball (notes 13, 43)
d. How long did the league last?
1. New York League (note ?)
2. Ohio League (note 32)
3. Major Negro League (note 8)
4. Post-Integration (notes 7, 23, 14)

2. Negro League Players
a. Well-known players
1. Jackie Robinson (notes 2, 4, 56)
2. Josh Gibson (notes 18, 2, 43)
3. Satchel Paige (notes 34, 23, 19)
4. Cool Papa Bell (notes 1, 56, 7)
b. Records
1. Home Runs (note 34)
2. Hits (note 43)
3. Stolen Bases (note 8)
4. RBI (note 29)
5. Strikeouts (note 32)
c. Negro League Hall of Fame
1. Kansas City (note 5)
2. Exhibits (note 18)

3. Negro League Stadiums
a. Kansas City
1. Dates (note 26)
2. Capacity (note 17)
3. Now (note 11)
b. Homestead
1. Dates (note 26)
2. Capacity (note 17)
3. Now (note 11)
c. New York
1. Dates (note 26)
2. Capacity (note 17)
3. Now (note 11)
d. Atlanta
1. Dates (note 26)
2. Capacity (note 17)
3. Now (note 11)
e. Which stadiums are still there?
1. How are they used? (note ??)
f. attendence
1. How did it compare to MLB? (note ??)
2. Did white people attend? (note ??)

You should be able to see that if I had continued stretching out my entire outline, I would have a map of my paper. This work will make it simple for me to begin my first draft of my research paper since I have a list of everything that will go into it, right down to the notes I will use. Keep in mind that each of these green sections are likely to be paragraphs including the paraphrased and directly quoted material you have collected. Creating an outline like this takes time, but it will make the writing easier in the long run.