Thesis Statement & Outline

(My Topic: Researching how the stress many older adults may feel evaluated on mental health outcomes during this COVID outbreak.)

Step 4: Thesis Statement & Outline

Formulate a thesis statement and an outline for your paper. For information on creating a thesis statement, see Effective Writing Center pages with links to writing an essay.

Create a paper outline using the following format:

Research Paper Title

I. Introduction: Grab attention, relate importance to health and aging, and present a focused thesis statement. For more information, see: Prewriting and Outline

II. Body: Main points and articles your will use to support your point.

A. Main point 1 (reference 1: author’s name, year; reference 2: author’s name, year;…)

B. Main point 2 (reference 1: author’s name, year; reference 2: author’s name, year;…)

C. Main point 3 (reference 1: author’s name, year; reference 2: author’s name, year;…)

D. Etc.

III. Conclusion: Wrap up your paper with a brief summary of your main points.

Step 5: First Draft

Write a 6-8 page first draft of your paper, including the following:

Title page: Provide the title of the paper, your name, and the course and section

Introduction: Grab attention, relate importance to health and aging, and present a focused thesis statement

Body: Identify and develop each of the following main points in an organized, clear manner, using in-text citations.

1) A clear thesis statement of your chosen topic

2) A discussion of why the topic is important (significance, relevance)

3) A summary of who is affected by your issue (populations, prevalence, other related statistics)

4) A discussion of the historical context of your issue. When did the issue first become something of concern? How has it evolved over time?

5) A discussion of the current research on the topic (literature review)

6) A discussion of the role that public policy plays or could play in addressing this topic?

7) Future trends and recommendations to address the issue

Conclusion: Wrap up your paper with a brief summary of your main points.

Reference list: Incorporate revisions from Step 1

APA Formatting: Running head, page numbers, 1″ margins, double spaced