Outline of Research Paper

  Follow the format from the example  Each section of the paper should relate back to proving your thesis.  Each paragraph should be about something related to the section that it’s in and so then related to the thesis.  The subpoints should be related to the topic of that paragraph. This follows the basic premise of argumentative writing CEI, claim evidence interpretation.

This format is just a model.  You can have as many sections, paragraphs, and subpoints as you want.  Just remember that it usually takes several subpoints to prove a point being made in a paragraph.

This must be turned in as a traditional outline, a mapping is not acceptable.

It must contain a thesis statement, though I understand that you may alter it somewhat when writing the actual paper.

It must be typed.

It must contain an attached correctly  format works cited page.  You can add more sources before the paper if you wish and adjust the works cited page accordingly.

It must contain a cover page with your name and an abstract of your paper.  The abstract should be one paragraph which describes what research question(s) your paper will be addressing and how you will construct your argument.

Make sure that every section of your paper is clearly connected to your thesis statement.  Information that is not connected is not relevant to your argument and should be left out.  If you did the amount of research you should have, you will probably have found some info that no longer fits with the focus of your paper.  Don’t force it. 

A paper that does not clearly address and prove the validity of the thesis statement cannot receive a grade higher than C.

Grading Rubric for the Outline

________  (50 points)  Clearly stated and well thought out thesis statement that is actually a thesis and not just a restated topic.

________  (50 points)  Abstract clearly states what questions the paper is attempting to answer.

________  (50 points)  Works cited page complete, in Rampolla Format, satisfies minimum source requirements and shows students have located sources on topic and not just general sources with small sections on their topic.

________  (100)   Outline is organized, logical, sections connect to thesis, subsections connect to the section they are in.

________  (50 points)  Points in the outline are cited,  the citations cover the sources listed on the works cited page, shows that paper will be balanced and not with most of content coming from just a couple of the sources.

________  (100 points)  Depth of Content.  How detailed is your outline, how much information have you found, how much research have you done, are there obvious gaps.

Remember that this is like a draft of the paper if you do it well.  The more effort you put into it the more I will be able to tell if you are on track for the paper and make appropriate suggestions.  The more effort you put into it the less time the writing will take in January.

(The following example is an outline based on one of the best papers written by a sophomore several years ago)

(The source requirements were different don’t get caught up in who he cites or how many)

Topic : The Proslavery Movement in the Antebellum United States

I.  Introduction

A. A couple sentences on slavery in general

B.  Development of Proslavery Movement

C.  Thesis Statement: Pressured by the idea that the southern heritage would decay, the South developed and then defended a proslavery movement based on historical, religious, social, and economic arguments.

II.  Early Southern Beliefs about Slavery 

A.  Colonial Period

       1.  uphold property rights and est. religious power (Tise 13)

      2.  Loyalists opposition to Jefferson over slavery (Tise 130

      3.  Keep ideals of American Revolution from slaves (Tise 13)

B.  Early Proslavery Writers

      1.  John C. Calhoun  (Genovese 47)

      2.  Belief that it would die out soon  ( McPherson 49-50)

      3.  Colonization Movement  (Tise 13, 50-52)

      4.  Failure of colonization  (Tise 52-53)

II.  Causes for the Development of the Proslavery Argument

A.  Rise of Abolitionist Movement in the North

      1. abolitionist literature appears (Jacobs 151)

      2.  religious abolitionists  (McDuffie 191)

      3.  tactics of north and southern reaction (McDuffie 191, 196)

      4.  writings attacking northern actions (Smith 187-188)

B.  Political Action causes Southern defense

      1.  Thomas Jefferson  (Jefferson 588)

      2.  congressional arguments over extension of slavery into territories (Tise 35)

      3.  southern writings against Missouri Compromise  (Against 588)

     4.   southern claims of government corruption by northerners  (McDuffie 194)

C.  Growing Fears of Rebellion

       1.  Robert Walsh (Tise 51)

       2. Vesey Rebellion and white reaction (Van Atta 338-9)

       3.  Turner Rebellion and white reaction (Wallenstein  31)

       4.  Overall beliefs in reduced security among whites (Van Atta 338; Wallenstein 31; Tise 241)

III.  Reorganization of the Proslavery Argument  

A.   Reinterpretation of Revolutionary Ideals to Justify Slavery

        1.  Declaration of Ind. re-interpreted by south (Harper 342)

        2.  Bledsoe’s interpretation (Genovese 54)

        3.  other ideas (Tise 39)

B.  New Emphasis on Slavery as a Positive by Southern Writers

        1.  George Fitzhugh leading southern defender  (Faust 75-76)

        2.  Emancipation in theory instead of fact  (Tise 393)

        3.  John C. Calhoun southern politician  (Tise 101)

C.  Organization of Defense

         1.  call upon southern educated elite (Faust 74)

         2.  conformity of argument  (Faust 79)

         3.  ignoring of the morality of the issue  (Faust 75)

IV.  The Argument

A.  Slavery as Natural

      1.  History

            a. history shows slavery natural  (Smith 38-40; Fitzhugh 194)

            b.  cause of civilization (Harper 341)

            c.  necessity for government (McDuffie 194)

            d. social foundation for achievements of man (Faust 80) 

      2.  Nature

             a.  taxonomy of science and ranking (Fitzhugh 227)

             b.  control of the inferior (Harper 345)

       3.  Inferiority of the Black Race

              a.  mental  (Smith 156)

              b.  African civilization as barbaric (Smith 174)

              c.  biology  (Tise 107)

              d.  Ethnology and the separate species theory (107)

               e.  they need special protection (Genovese 57)              

B.  Religion

      1.  Use of the Bible             

              a.  Old Testament and slavery (McDuffie 192)

              b.  Instructions on enslavement in the Bible (Smith 205)

              c.  New Testament and Christ (Faust 79)

              d.  New Testament and the Ephesians  (Fitzhugh 102-103)

              e.  only God could judge not the north (McDuffie 192) 

       2.  Need to Save the Heathen Slaves

              a.  successful Christianization of many slaves (Smith 174)

              b.  inculcation of Christian values in slaves (Faust 21)

              c.  enslavement as work of God  (Faust 27)

C.  The Social Argument

         1.  Attacks on the North

                 a. north and white slavery (Fitzhugh 256; McPherson 51)

                 b. capitalist bosses and white working class (Fitzhugh 28)

                 c. negro in better conditions than northern poor (Fitzhugh 86)

                 d.  southern perceptions of the north (Fitzhugh 233; Genovese 56)

          2.  Couldn’t Possibly Live Among Whites

                a.  chaos if the two races suddenly mixed (McDuffie 193)

                b.  Negro would become burden to society (Fitzhugh 83)

                c.  failure of colonization  (Smith 155)

D.  The Economic Argument: Impossibility of Emancipation

        1.  southern economy would collapse without slaves (Tise 73)

        2.  Dew’s economic predictions (McDuffie 196)

        3.  predictions of worldwide hunger (McDuffie 197)

V.  Extension of the Proslavery Movement from words to Action

A.  Legal Moves

       1.  state laws on free speech (McPherson 51)

        2.  court orders on mail (McPherson 510

        3.  restriction of movement of free blacks and slaves (Van Atta 339)

        4.  laws restricting religion and literacy (Wallenstein 32)

B.  Extra-Legal Moves

         1.  violence against whites who tried to help slaves ( McPherson 51)

         2.  attacks on anti-slavery literature (Stewart 763)

         3.  mob violence (Jacobs 151)

         4.  William Lloyd Garrison attacked (Opdycke 667)

        5.  Elijah Lovejoy attacked and killed (Dillon 5)

VI.  Conclusion

A.  Sum up arguments

B.  why study the proslavery view

C.  implications for today

Example of an Abstract:

I am studying the pro-slavery movement in the south in the Ante-Bellum United States to find out how it developed and how it was articulated and put into practice in order to better understand the role the institution of slavery in U.S. history.  In order to do that the first part of my paper will examine early southern attitudes and how they began to defend slavery.  The main section will examine the different ways that they justified slavery.  Finally, a last sections will address the tactics that you used to defend their beliefs.  This will show that they were pressured by the idea that the southern heritage would decay and so they developed a proslavery movement based on historical, religious, social, and economic arguments which they sometimes defended within and outside of the law.