Documented Essay Outline

A documented essay requires the writer to study the documents provided to discover and communicate a significant point about history. It shows how the topic under discussion relates to the time period of your focus. The purpose of a documented essay is to conduct research methodically and identify a trend or vital issue to report.

Documented Essay Outline

The following is a documented essay outline: 

1. Introduction

Your documented essay introduction should include a thesis statement and main argument for your essay. You should begin your essay by describing the historical context of your topic. State what your topic is in space and time and who the main players are in the document. Explain the context at the beginning of your essay so that your readers can be ready for what you will present in the rest of your essay.

2. Body paragraphs

Each body paragraph should include a topic or summary sentence and transition sentences between paragraphs. Throughout the body of the paper, be sure to give enough contexts to introduce each source you discuss, and completely address the documents that you have been assigned.

You will have to quote primary and secondary sources, collect data from books and publications or come up with experiments and conduct surveys to get the necessary data when writing the body of your essay.

3. Conclusion

Your conclusion should:

• Summarize what has been proven in the documents as well as the connection that the writer made.
• Explain why the proof matters. State what people of that historical time learned from it.
• Satisfy the introduction. Ensure that the introduction and conclusion tie together.

4. References.

Cite all the sources that you have used for the documented essay in a bibliography. You should list the sources in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. If there is no author listed, use the title of the source.