research paper graphic organizer outline

10 Free Graphic Organizer Templates for Any Subject

Different lessons require different types of content to help students learn. Here are 10 free graphic organizer templates to use for any subject.

Most students are returning to the classroom in Fall 2021, but everyone’s learning methods have had to change over the past two years. It’s important to adapt as an educator with new techniques , digital materials, and fresh content to keep students engaged .

For any subject, graphic organizers provide effective ways to introduce, teach, develop, and test new material. But different lessons require different types of content to help students learn best. I’m going to give you 10 free graphic organizer templates to use for any subject – just use the Make It button to customize, label, and download your graphic organizer.

• Venn Diagram
• Plot Pyramid
• Brainstorm Chart
• Concept Map
• 5-Paragraph Essay Outline
• 4 Square Writing Chart

1. Flowchart

The Flowchart is one of the most versatile and recognizable forms of graphic organizer out there, ideal for project planning and science experiments. A goes to B goes to C goes to D . With this version, you can copy and paste sections of the chart to make it as long or as short as you need, label each section with specific details, and add a title and other information for your assignment.

2. Timeline

The Timeline is similar to the flowchart , with events spaced out along a single path . In a Timeline, however, the intervals between the events is important to the graphic organizer as a whole. Using this template, you can drag events from one point of the Timeline to another, and add text labels for years and events.

3. Venn Diagram

One of the most widely-used graphic organizers, the Venn Diagram provides a simple way for students to compare and contrast 2 or more distinct ideas. With this template, you can copy and recolor the Venn Diagram circles to compare any number of items with each other.

4. Plot Pyramid

This graphic organizer is most commonly used in elementary and middle school English, language arts, and literature classes. It’s used to identify and map the various stages of a plot arc , from exposition to conclusion. Use this template to title the Plot Pyramid and add any other relevant information you need.

5. Brainstorm Chart

The Brainstorm Chart is a far more freeform type of graphic organizer than most others on this list, and can be arranged almost any way you like. All it requires is a central idea or “problem” to solve, along with an array of other ideas and concepts that are connected to it, and supporting details for these connected points. The freeform nature of the Brainstorm Chart allows students to think creatively and originally on any subject.

6. Concept Map

The Concept Map is similar in form to the Brainstorm Chart, but with slightly more limitations on how it’s used. It’s used to illustrate the relationships that exist between various related concepts , filling in different sections of the organizer to show how the different parts are connected. The Concept Map is perfect for introducing students to a new set of related vocabulary terms in any subject.

7. 5-Paragraph Essay Outline

While some of your students may not remember the 5-paragraph essay too fondly years later, it’s an important step in developing their persuasive writing . This classic 5-paragraph planner is perfect for helping students construct their arguments, counter-arguments, supporting data, and conclusions before they put pen to paper.

8. 4 Square Writing Chart

The 4 Square Writing Chart is similar to the 5-paragraph essay outline, it gives space for looser organizational styles and more creative types of writing structure . The central area contains the main idea or argument, and the surrounding squares are filled with supporting arguments, sections of a narrative essay, personal experiences, or several sides to the same story.

9. Story Map

The Story Map is used for a similar purpose to the Plot Pyramid, but with a broader approach to narrative plot arcs. In the Story Map, students not only recount the plot progression of a story, but detail the setting , characters , and central problems and outcomes . There are dozens of ways to organize your own Story Map, so I recommend you use this template to include whatever areas are most important for your students to identify and analyze.

10. KWL Chart

KWL Charts ask students to write on three different things before and after completing a lesson, activity, or reading: what they Know already about the topic, what they Want to learn from the lesson, and, afterward, what they Learned from the experience. It creates more of a big-picture exercise than most of the graphic organizers on this list, allowing students to identify what they gain from their lessons.

I hope these graphic organizer templates help you engage students effectively in every subject you teach. For more tips and tutorials on creating great digital content in 2021, check out the Kapwing YouTube channel or read through some related articles on education materials:

• 10 Back to School Frames for Fall 2021 • The 4 Best Ways to Learn Video Editing Online • How to Add Subtitles to a Lecture Video • How to Make a Frayer Model Online

A Gen Z Teacher’s Perspective on Banning Phones in Schools

The Ultimate Guide to Teacher TikTok for Back to School 24-25

10 Fun Morning Announcement Ideas for Schools, Backed by Pedagogical Research

Using Graphic Organizers for Writing Essays, Summaries and Research

Ask any student – essay writing is one of the most despised tasks of their educational career. Perhaps there is so much displeasure associated with the task because it’s perceived as too linear – there isn’t enough visual and creative appeal. But if you use graphic organizer for writing essays then you can make writing enjoyable – or at least less terrible.

Not only enjoyable but graphic organizers (or diagrams) can make the writing process a snap. They’ll help you think outside the box, draw conclusions you wouldn’t normally observe, and make the entire process faster and more efficient.

Why Use Graphic Organizers for Writing

The phrase “graphic organizer” is just a fancy way of saying “diagram” or “visual aid.” Basically, they are a visual representation of the information you’ve acquired in the research process. There are quite a few reasons why you should use them when writing essays or summaries.

• Helps you visualize your research and how elements connect with each other
• Enhance your essays, summaries and research papers with visual elements
• Track correlations between your thoughts, observations, facts or general ideas

When it comes to essay writing, the most common graphic organizers are webs, mind maps, and concept maps .

Using Webs for Brainstorming

Webbing is a great way to see how various topics are interrelated. This graphic organizer is particularly useful during the brainstorming step of the writing process.

A web can sometimes get a bit messy. Usually, there are lots of arrows to connect overlapping ideas. However, even with lines crisscrossing every which way, it is still a great way to visualize your thoughts. If you’re using an online diagramming software like Creately you can overcome some of this because we automatically arrange the object for you.

Once you’ve created a map to document all your ideas and establish connections, you can easily transition to other forms of diagramming to better organize the information.

For example if you’re writing a research paper about the food web of the Australian bushes you can start creating a food web diagram similar to the one below. This way you can easily visualize the web while writing the paper. This is a simple example but graphic organizers become even more important when the subject gets complex.

Although simple this example shows the importance of using graphic organizers for writing summaries. A comprehensive diagram pretty much does the summation for you.

Using Mind Maps as Graphic Organizers

Mind maps are a great way to depict a hierarchy. What is hierarchical organization ? The concept is simple: a singular topic dominates with each subsequent idea decreasing in importance.

Usually, the mind map starts with the thesis (or main idea) at the center.  From there, you can branch out with your supporting evidence.

Use this process to replace your traditional note taking technique – note cards, outlines, whatever. You’ll quickly realize a mind map is a great way to formulate the structure of your essay. The thing to note here is that the nature of the mind maps force you think about sub topics and how to organize your ideas. And once the ideas are organized writing the essay become very easy.

Above is a mind map of a research proposal. Click on it to see the full image or you can see the fully editable template via this link . As you can see in this mind map the difference areas of the research proposal is highlighted. Similarly when your writing the research paper you can use a mind map to break it down to sub topics. We have more mind map templates for you to get started.

Concept Maps

A concept map will help you visualize the connection between ideas. You can easily see cause and effect – how one concept leads to another. Often times, concept mapping includes the use of short words or phrases to depict the budding relationship between these concepts.

If you look closely you can see that its very similar to a mind map. But a concept maps gives more of a free reign compares to the rigid topic structure of a mind map. I’d say it’s the perfect graphic organizer for writing research papers where you have the license to explore.

By creating a concept map , you can also see how a broad subject can be narrowed down into specific ideas.  This is a great way to counter writers block.  Often, we look at the big picture and fail to see the specifics that lead to it.  Identifying contributing factors and supporting evidence is difficult. But with a concept map, you can easily see how the smaller parts add up to the whole.

Why Bother With Graphic Organizers?

If you already detest the writing process, adding another step might seem insane. However, there really are several advantages of using them.  If you haven’t already accepted the benefits of each individual diagram style, here are some more perks of graphic organizers in general:

• Quality essays are based on detail. No one is going to accept your opinions and reasoning just because you say so. You’ll need proof. And organizing that proof will require attention to detail. Graphic organizers can help you see that detail and how it contributes to the overall concept.
• Graphic organizers are flexible. You don’t need one of those giant pink erasers. You don’t need to restructure your outline. All you have to do is draw a few arrows and bam – the relationship has totally changed.
• No matter what you are writing about, a graphic organizer can help. They can be used to structure an essay on the Great Wall, theoretical physics, or Spanish speaking countries.
• If you write an outline, can you easily see how point A influences point X? Probably not. But if little thought bubble A is sitting out there all by itself, you can visualize the way it ties into point R, T and X.
• Some of us find it difficult to put our opinions, thoughts, and ideas into writing. However, communicating our feelings with little doodles and sketches is far less threatening.
• As a writer, our brain often feels like a 2-year-old’s toy box – a big jumbled mess. Taking that mess and putting it onto paper with some semblance of organization is challenging. Rather than trying to take your thoughts from total chaos to a perfectly structured list, just try to get them out of your brain and onto paper in the form of a diagram.
• A graphic organizer helps you establish validity and relevance. You can easily nix the ideas that don’t support or enhance your thesis.

The next time you are faced with a writing project, take a few minutes to explore the efficiency of graphic organizers. You can find a wealth of templates here.

Have you ever used a graphic organizer to structure an essay? How did it go? Do you have a diagram suggestion for the writing process that wasn’t mentioned here? Let us know!

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

More Related Articles

These are awesome guest posts contributed by our users and technology enthusiasts. Do you have something interesting to share? Want to get exposed to a massive tech audience? Check out our Guest Posting Guidelines to how to proceed.

Graphic Organizer for Research Papers

Our multi-paragraph organizers and single-paragraph organizers for writing research papers can be helpful in many classrooms.

These are another free resource for teachers from the curriculum corner..

We have expanded our collection of multi-paragraph organizers for writing research papers.

Included in our collection are a range of options for you to choose from.

Our new set includes options for single-paragraph essays along with choices for multiple-paragraph essays. 

A few years ago, my oldest son came home from school with a 10-paragraph research paper assignment.  

After choosing The Holocaust as his topic, he set out to gather knowledge and facts.  

His teacher gave the students an organizational tool which involved index cards.  Basically, he was to brainstorm 10 broad topics related to The Holocaust. He then would write them on 10 different index cards.  

Then as he set out to gather his research, he was to have at least 5 index cards for each broad topic. Those cards were for containing information and/or facts to go with each of the topic cards.  

These would eventually help him to develop his 10 paragraphs for the research paper.

My first thought said it was a great organizational tool and a very concrete way to help the students stay on topic. I quickly realized that this method was probably not the easiest for all kids.  

While he did fine, I would see him occasionally shuffling through cards and getting them mixed up.  

It got me thinking about those students we all have in our classes who have true struggles with organization. Those students might lose research because they misplace or mix up their cards.

As a result, I set out to create an organizer for those students.

Graphic Organizers for Research Writing

One of our graphic organizers follows the same organizational pattern as the index cards.

Instead of separate cards, students write all facts for each paragraph on one sheet of paper.

So for my son’s research paper assignment, he would have had 10 pages to keep in a folder, as opposed to several index cards.  

Obviously, students would have one organizer for each paragraph of their paper, no matter the length of the research paper that was assigned.  

While my son’s work inspired me to create the first organizer, the collection has grown to include a range of planners. You can browse through the set and choose which fit your classroom best.

One of the great aspects of these organizers is that they provide scaffolding for your writers. Students can choose the tool that works and makes sense to them.

Sometimes we find that students benefit from being able to choose their own.

This is a great way to provide choice and help students be successful.

You can download this set of organizers here:

Multi-Paragraph Graphic Organizer

You might also like our unit of study for writing research papers: How to Write a Research Paper

As with all of our resources, The Curriculum Corner creates these for free classroom use. Our products may not be sold. You may print and copy for your personal classroom use. These are also great for home school families!

You may not modify and resell in any form. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Author Study: Meet Seymour Simon - The Curriculum Corner 4-5-6

Monday 6th of April 2020

[…] Research Graphic Organizers […]

FSU | Academic Center for Excellence

Academic Center for Excellence

Division of Undergraduate Studies

• Study Tools and Tips

Graphic Organizers by Subject Area

Graphic organizers involve the intentional manipulation of information by the learner through processes such as repetition, elaboration, and reorganization of the material in such a way that the new information is able to be stored in the learner’s memory and accessed for retrieval. The organizers listed under each subject were determined to be useful for working with material relevant to that subject; however, these templates are transferrable to other subject areas as well. Please download the templates for use with your learning and test preparation. This  Graphic Organizer Description explains how to use some of the most popular graphic organizers. 

Mathematics

• Charting Method
• Cyclical Flow Chart 1
• Cyclical Flow Chart 2
• Layered Hierarchy
• Linear Flow Chart

English, Classics, Speech

• Argument Claim Map
• Character Trait Map
• Network Tree Map
• Plot Graphic Organizer
• Reading Grid
• Story Board
• Three Column Chart
• Tree Hierarchy

History, Anthropology, Sociology

• Column Hierarchy 1
• Column Hierarchy 2
• Comparing Diamonds
• Compare/Contrast Matrix
• Concept Map (one level)
• Concept Map (multi-level)
• Concept Map (two level)
• Continuum Timeline
• Human Interaction Outline 1
• Human Interaction Outline 2
• Human Interaction Outline 3
• Multi Flow Map
• Problem Solution Map
• Sequence of Events Chart
• Series Chain Map
• Word Definition Map

Biological Science, Chemistry

• Cluster Map
• Fishbone Map
• Running Concept List

Philosophy, Religion

• Venn Diagrams
• Sequence of Events

Modern Languages

New This Week: Research Process Graphic Organizers

• Topics : Inspiring Teachers Teaching Advice

If you have ever taught the research process, you know that it is challenging for students.TeacherVision advisory board member, Mikaela, created a comprehensive set of graphic organizers to support students during each step of the research process.

Teaching Research Is Challenging 

Teaching your students how to write a research paper can be challenging. Before students can write the paper, they need to know how to conduct research, how to analyze that research, how to cite that research, and how to synthesize their findings into a cohesive outline. It is a time-consuming process, but an essential one.

Finding resources that support students to practice and develop strong research skills can be challenging. You may find a great outline, but then realize you don’t have a system for supporting students to analyze their evidence.

A System For Teaching Research 

TeacherVision advisory board member, Mikaela, created a comprehensive set of graphic organizers that walk students through the research process in order to prepare them to write a research paper. You can use these resources individually as you are teaching writing or as a set to ensure that you are teaching students all the parts of the research process. Here are the organizers, so you can download and print:

• Citing My Sources Graphic Organizer 
• Paraphrasing Sources Graphic Organizer
• What's The "Gist"? Graphic Organizer
• Analyzing Sources Graphic Organizer 
• Research Paper Outline Graphic Organizer   

Essential Research Skills

There are five graphic organizers that are designed to be used in chronological order, so that students are practicing these essential research skills:

• Accessing information
• Understanding information
• Organizing information
• Evaluating information

Teaching Tip

Before students begin conducting research, teach a series of mini-lessons to help them best practices for finding and reading sources on the web. You can use, Student Guide To Web Research: Learning To Read On The Web , Guide To Citing Online Sources, and Student Guide to Web Research to make sure that students feel confident beginning this process.

Model the research process for students as much as possible. This process almost always ends up taking more time than you plan. Know that you might need to slow down the process in order for students to complete each step.   

How do you teach students to conduct research? Share with us on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , and Pinterest .

Mikaela Prego is an elementary educator from Massachusetts. She spent the last 3 years teaching 4th grade in Colorado, and now she is back teaching in Massachusetts.

About the author

Contributor

About mikaela.

Graphic Organizer Research Paper Outline

Affiliate 💸

Get started free

Literature Review

What is a Research Paper Graphic Organizer, and How Can One Be Created?

Discover what a research paper graphic organizer is and learn how to create one to organize your ideas and streamline your writing process.

Sep 1, 2024

Organizing all the information you have gathered is crucial when tackling a research paper. With a system, you may find yourself in the information, trying to figure out how to structure your paper or make sense of your notes. This can be a frustrating process, especially when facing a deadline.  Luckily, a research paper graphic organizer can help you as you begin to outline your paper. First, it will help you structure your notes and understand the main ideas uncovered during your literature search . From there, you can use a graphic organizer to outline your paper, breaking it down into manageable sections to simplify the writing process. Otio's AI research and writing partner can help you write efficient research papers and get unique study material with AI. This tool can improve your literature search, organize your notes, and even help you create an outline for your paper to ease the writing process.

Table Of Contents

What are graphics in a research paper, what is a research graphic organizer, how to create a graphic organizer easily, 5 best research paper graphic organizer templates, purpose of research paper graphic organizer, how do you organize a research paper, supercharge your researching ability with otio — try otio for free today.

Research graphics are visual representations of the data gathered in your research project. They summarize findings, illustrate relationships between variables, and present complex information in a more digestible format. Research graphics can help your audience understand your research more quickly and easily. Using research graphics to tell the story of your data can make your paper more engaging and even lighten the mood of a technical and complex subject.

A research graphic organizer is a visual tool for arranging and structuring information for a research paper or project. These diagrams can help you visualize the connections between concepts, ideas, and evidence. 

What Are the Different Types of Research Graphic Organizers? 

There are many different types of research graphic organizers, but some common ones include:  

Concept Maps

These diagrams show the relationships between different concepts or ideas. They are often used to brainstorm and organize information during the research process.  

Venn Diagrams

These diagrams compare and contrast two or more sets of information. They are often used to analyze similarities and differences between different concepts.  

These diagrams show the sequence of steps in a process. They are often used to visualize research methods or experimental procedures.  

Timeline Charts

These diagrams show the progression of events over time. They are often used to organize historical data or track the development of a research project.  

How Can Research Graphic Organizers Help You? 

Research graphic organizers can be created using pen and paper or with specialized software tools. They can be a valuable tool for researchers at all stages of the research process, from planning and organizing to analyzing and presenting findings.  

Let Otio be your AI research and writing partner — try Otio for free today!

Related Reading

• Systematic Review Vs Meta Analysis • Impact Evaluation • How To Critique A Research Article • How To Synthesize Sources • Annotation Techniques • Skimming And Scanning • Types Of Literature Reviews • Literature Review Table • Literature Review Matrix • How To Increase Reading Speed And Comprehension • How To Read Research Papers • How To Summarize A Research Paper • Literature Gap

Kick Off Your Graphic Organizer By Opening Google Sheets

To start creating a graphic organizer , open Google Sheets and click on the "+ New/Blank" button in the upper-left corner of the screen. This will create a new, blank spreadsheet from which to work. 

Create Your Columns

Next, begin adding your categories to the first row or column. These categories will serve as the column headers for your graphic organizer. 

Make It Look Nice

Now that you've set up your graphic organizer's basic structure , it's time to customize its appearance. Use the formatting tools in Google Sheets to change your text's font, font size, color, and background color to make it more visually appealing. Play around with the format until you find a style that works for you. 

Start Filling It In

Once your graphic organizer looks how you want it, it's time to add your research notes. Enter your notes under each category in the corresponding column. You can add text, numbers, and even images to your sheet. Continue to add notes as your research progresses, adding new categories or columns as needed. 

1. Otio: A Smart Way to Handle Research Overload

Otio is an AI-powered workspace that helps researchers, students, and knowledge workers manage research overload. It solves the problem of content overload, which is becoming a more significant issue as more people create content online. 

With Otio , you can collect all kinds of data sources, from bookmarks, tweets, and extensive books to YouTube videos. The platform then helps you extract key takeaways with detailed AI-generated notes before allowing you to create research outputs using your collected sources. 

2. EdrawMax Graphic Organizer: Create Any Type of Research Organizer

EdrawMax Online is a cloud-based software that allows users to create various diagrams, charts, drawings, and graphic organizers. By signing up, you can access a canvas to draw any organizer of your choice by dragging and dropping various shapes and symbols from the included library. 

You can also use EdrawMax Online to develop graphic organizers for research papers . You can choose to create one from scratch or just use a template, albeit the latter option relies on the presence of a template in the template gallery.

3. HMH Templates: Free Research Graphic Organizers for Students

Help your students classify ideas and communicate more effectively with these free graphic organizer templates available for download at HMH. They can be used to structure writing projects and help with problem-solving, decision-making, studying, planning research, and brainstorming.

4. Teachers Pay Teachers: Vast Selection of Fillable Research Templates

TPT has over 2000 graphic organizer templates in all areas, including animal research, career research, etc. These fillable templates are easy to use and can help students and researchers organize information in one place.

5. Canva Graphic Organizer Templates: Customizable Templates for Any Topic

Learn concepts, brainstorm ideas, and gain insights using editable graphic organizer templates you can customize for any topic or purpose on Canva. 

1. Why Graphic Organizers Matter

Graphic organizers help students of all ages organize, clarify, or simplify complex information, aiding understanding construction by exploring the relationships between concepts.

2. The Importance of Teacher-Generated Organizers

Teacher-generated graphic organizers support student learning by providing a means to categorize cumbersome amounts of information, introducing a more refined lens to analyze complex text, recognizing patterns, and comparing perspectives.

3. Keeping the Focus on Learning Goals 

Well-designed graphic organizers focus students on learning goals. They should guide students in categorizing key concepts, surfacing the interconnection of ideas, or helping them construct knowledge.

4. Designing Graphic Organizers to Foster Deep Thinking

Effective graphic organizers foster deep thinking and should be designed to help students move beyond surface understanding. 

Research papers are the traditional way of organizing and presenting information. The best way to start your paper is to create an outline. It may be helpful to physically write out your thoughts first, placing key events, points, and evidence on notecards and arranging them on a flat surface. This may give you a better idea of how you would like to organize your paper. 

Basic Outline

Introduction.

Use this section to introduce your topic briefly. Give the reader enough information to orient them about when and where your topic is happening. Don’t spend a great deal of time explaining everything. That is what the rest of your paper is for. Your thesis should be included in this first paragraph as well. It should help to outline the rest of your argument for the reader. 

Body Paragraphs

Each of these paragraphs should make a point that ties back to your thesis. Tell a story with your writing. You want the information to be segmented and arranged in a way that flows from one point to the next. Consider tools like subtitles to orient the reader and make it easier to fill in your information as you write. 

The conclusion of an influential paper restates (in a slightly different way than the thesis) your argument and summarizes your evidence. Every sentence in this paragraph must be robust and use an active voice. This is your final impression – so make it a good one! 

Let Otio be your AI research and writing partner —try Otio for free today!

• Literature Search Template • ChatGPT Prompts For Research • How To Find Gaps In Research • Research Journal Example • How To Find Limitations Of A Study • How To Do A Literature Search • Research Concept Map • Meta-Analysis Methods • How To Identify Bias In A Source • Search Strategies For Research • Literature Search Template • How To Read A Research Paper Quickly • How to summarize a research article • How To Evaluate An Article • ChatGPT Summarize Paper • How To Take Notes For A Research Paper • AI in Research • Can You Use "We" in a Research Paper

Research papers are essential in academia and beyond. They help scholars, researchers, and students share knowledge on specific topics to advance understanding in particular fields. However, writing academic papers with many complex moving parts can be overwhelming. 

First, there’s the sheer volume of existing research. Before writing a paper, it’s crucial to conduct thorough literature. And collect relevant sources. Often, this means sifting through hundreds, if not thousands, of articles, studies, and other academic materials to find the most pertinent information. 

Next, there’s the organization of research. Before writing a paper, you must understand the existing literature and how it fits together. A graphic organizer can help you map out your research's key themes and ideas before you delve into writing. You can begin drafting your paper using organized notes to guide the process.

Let Otio be your AI research and writing partner — try Otio for free today !

• Best AI for Research • Sharly AI Alternatives • AI For Summarizing Research Papers • Literature Review Tools • How To Identify Theoretical Framework In An Article • Graduate School Reading • Research Tools • AI For Academic Research • Research Paper Organizer • Best AI Tools For Research • Zotero Alternatives • Zotero Vs Endnote • ChatGPT For Research Papers • ChatGPT Literature Review • Mendeley Alternative • Unriddle AI Alternatives • Literature Matrix Generator • Research Assistant • Research Tools • Research Graphic Organizer • Good Websites for Research • Graphic Organizer Examples • Summary Graphic Organizer • Sequence Graphic Organizer • Paragraph Graphic Organizer • Who What When Where Why Graphic Organizer • Research Project Graphic Organizer • Research Note Taking Graphic Organizer • Graphic Organizer Research Paper Outline • Research Essay Graphic Organizer • Research Notes Graphic Organizer • Translational Research Graphic Organizer • Research Graphic Organizer Template

Sep 18, 2024

Literature Search

How To Use ChatGPT Paper Summarize Tool In 3 Simple Steps

Sep 19, 2024

Join over 80,000 researchers changing the way they read & write

Chrome Extension

© 2024 Frontdoor Labs Ltd.

Terms of Service

Privacy Policy

Refund Policy

Join over 50,000 researchers changing the way they read & write

Join thousands of other scholars and researchers

Try Otio Free

© 2023 Frontdoor Labs Ltd.

Notes From a Writer's Desk: How to Build a First Draft from an Outline

Share this page

You’ve decided to write a paper or fellowship application, but now it’s time to start drafting. There are almost no sights more intimidating to an academic than a blank page that you hope will soon be filled with brilliant arguments and turns of phrase. However, you don’t need to start with complete sentences and paragraphs. Arranging scattered words and phrases into an outline and gradually filling it in can get you to your goal. In fact, this approach may help you keep the big picture in mind as you write, allowing you to stay focused on your main ideas and overarching argument even as you delve into the weeds.

Here are some steps and strategies for assembling an outline and massaging it into a first draft:

• What are the key points that you must get across? For a thesis, you might start with the headings in a chapter outline; for a research paper introduction, you may write down broad topics constituting the background of your work, gradually zeroing in on your research question. For a personal statement, a key point might be a life experience that sets you apart as a scholar, or for a research proposal, an aim that you mean to accomplish in the lab. Jot down the key stories and their significance as bullet points. Right now, completeness and order don’t matter as long as you’ll be able to understand what you wrote at a later point.
• Organize subtopics as indented bullet points under your main ideas. Later on, these ideas might become body sentences in a paragraph or become their own paragraphs.
• Think about order and transitions. Shift your bullet points into an order that lets your points build and compound upon one another. It’s easier to see issues in the progression of ideas at this stage, when they are in their shorter, undeveloped form, than later on, when they have expanded into full paragraphs. Next, consider how each bullet point connects to the previous one and play with transitions. If it supports the previous point, add phrases such as, “In addition to” or “Not only . . . but also.” If the ideas are contradictory, add “Despite” or “However.”
• Set up citations and use key references as scaffolding.   Integrating citation software into your word processor is a beneficial administrative task that is best to complete during the outline stage. Despite the initial time investment and technical hiccups you may have to work through, this step will save you many hours in the future. Do this task toward the end of an early writing session, or on a day when you’re perhaps stuck or waiting for feedback. Whether you use Mendeley, EndNote, PaperPile, Zotero, or another citation manager, having the scaffolding of key literature in place can help you stay organized and save you from scrambling for sources during a later stage. Important references can also serve as landmarks as you go.
• Ask for feedback early. If writing collaboratively, get your coauthors’ or advisor’s feedback on your outline so that you can agree on the big picture. What order should the ideas follow? Do they have ideas to add or subtract to the piece? This practice doesn’t guarantee that you won’t need to make large, structural edits later, but it will kick off this piece in an organized, logical manner.

There are many ways to begin a first draft. Gradually fleshing out a rough outline was what worked best for me when writing research reports and my dissertation. It isn’t pretty—few first draft strategies are—but it helped me bypass the initial feeling of being overwhelmed as well as overcome instances of writer’s block. Try it, and whether you love it or hate it, you’ve come closer to figuring out a writing practice that works for you.

Ready to book an appointment with FWC staff? Access the  FWC intake form .

Get the Latest Updates

Join our newsletter, subscribe to colloquy podcast, connect with us, related news.

Notes From a Writer's Desk: Meet the Writing Specialists!

The Fellowships & Writing Center is excited to introduce its cohort of postdoctoral fellows for the 2024–25 academic year. We welcome three new and two returning members to our team of specialists from across the disciplinary and geographical landscapes of the University. 

Notes From a Writer's Desk: Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of August

August in New England signals the height of summer heat, and with it, the tendency to move at a slower pace. But for those of us who live by the academic calendar, the laziness of August quickly yields to a bubbling sense of urgency as the fall term approaches.

Notes From a Writer's Desk: Summer by the Charles

A few hours in a kayak on the Charles is, for me, a uniquely refreshing summer activity. Between instinctual stroke after stroke on the tranquil waters, my mind can relax, thoughts meander, and ideas flow. 

Notes From a Writer's Desk: Summer Writing & Research Plans

Summer is a time to exhale and refresh our minds before evaluating and resetting our goals. After the hustle and bustle of the academic year, what kinds of projects might you tackle over the summer and how might you move forward with them?

Fellowships & Writing Center

The Fellowships & Writing Center helps students heighten the impact of their research.