Assignment 11: Outline of Research Paper

This outline should be a "zero draft" of the research paper due on Friday, December 5. The purpose of this outline is to think strategically about the function of each section and sub-section of your paper.

You should follow these steps:

Step 1: Create the skeleton of the paper (traditional outline)
Step 2: Insert / rearrange subheads to improve organization
Step 3: Put [transition] in between sections and sub-sections
Step 4: Write brief sentences describing what you want to accomplish under each heading
Step 5: Repeat for each subheading

Remember that you are often trying to accomplish more than one thing in any particular section or sub-section, so you should have more than one sentence after some headings / sub-headings.

Here is the example we worked through last Tuesday:

Literature Review

Synthesize most relevant literature to establish theoretical context.

Keep my own project prominent (use it for concrete illustrations).

Make the “gap” or “problem” clear, so the need for my project is obvious.

Please post your functional outline by 12 p.m. on Tuesday, and bring a copy (paper or electronic) to class for your reference.