An outline is the scaffold upon which you build your pg You probably already use a mental outline when you plan a pg , perhaps without even being aware of it. Writing the outline can give you a visualization of your plan. An outline provides both focus and direction for the pg, shows where relevant points and arguments need to be made and also identifies areas where more supportive evidence is needed. As you are writing a research pg your pg is built around the research findings that you located in your search. When you prepare an annotated outline, you will note the research that supports each section of the pg. This will help you see any areas that need further research to support them. The following example may help support the transition of your pg from a collection of research notes to a fully developed pg. Suppose the research topic you chose was the relation of childhood bullying to self-esteem. The title of your pg is: Self-esteem in childhood bullying. When researching the pg, you found conflicting research results. Some research showed that children with low
self-esteem tended to bully others, while other research showed that children with extremely high self-esteem were bullies. Looking closer, you began to see that this research could be divided into studies investigating different variables, such as gender, age, and ethnic background. Now, you want to turn this into a research report. An annotated outline might look like this (all citations are fictional) Topic: The relation of childhood bullying to self-esteem: Too much or too little? Preparing an annotated outline in this way will give you a way to organize and clarify your plans. It gives your instructor a chance to provide feedback on the proposed structure of the pg before you begin to write. You can also see which subtopics you need to research further before proceeding with the final draft. This week, you must submit an annotated outline for your Signature Assignment due in Week 8. Your assignment should include: Include at least five scholarly references that support your topic (although more are required for the final pg) Length: 2-3 pages, plus reference page