Nursing Essay Writing – Outlining
Creating an Outline
To ensure that each paragraph in your nursing essay serves a specific purpose, it can be helpful to outline your first draft by listing the topic sentence of each paragraph. This approach allows you to identify and potentially eliminate repetitive ideas or sections that do not advance the central argument of your paper.
Furthermore, if you are struggling with revising your paper, outlining each paragraph and its topic sentence after writing the initial draft can help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your paper.
Sample Outline
The following outline is for a 5-7 page paper that discusses the connection between educational attainment and health. Refer to the other sections of this page for more detailed information about each component of the outline.
I. Introduction
A. Current Problem: Declining educational attainment rates in the United States alongside increasing healthcare costs.
B. Population/Area of Focus: Unskilled or low-skilled adult workers
C. Key Terms: Healthy, well-educated
Thesis Statement: Students who drop out of high school face a higher risk of physical and mental health problems later in life due to income deficit and susceptibility to depression.
II. Background
A. Historical Employment Overview: Past unionization and adequate compensation for unskilled laborers.
B. Historical Healthcare Overview: Previous provision of adequate healthcare and benefits for unskilled laborers.
C. Current Link between Education and Employment Type: Growing prevalence of uneducated workers in low-skilled jobs.
D. Research Gaps: Limited information on the health implications of current conditions in low-skilled jobs.
III. Major Point 1: Conditions of employment impact physical health of workers.
A. Minor Point 1: Strong correlation between unskilled work environments and worker injury.
B. Minor Point 2: Lack of healthcare and insufficient recovery time in unskilled work environments.
IV. Major Point 2: Conditions of employment affect workers’ mental health.
A. Minor Point 1: High correlation between low-skilled positions and dangerous levels of stress.
B. Minor Point 2: Stress has a significant impact on mental health.
V. Major Point 3: Physical health and mental health are interconnected.
A. Minor Point 1: Strong correlation between mental health problems and physical health problems.
B. Minor Point 2: Manifestation of stress in physical form.
VI. Major Point 4: Financial worries contribute to increased stress and poor physical health.
A. Minor Point 1: Financial struggles faced by many high school dropouts.
B. Minor Point 2: Correlation between financial problems and unhealthy lifestyle choices.
VII. Conclusion
A. Restatement of Thesis: High school dropouts face a higher risk of mental and physical health problems throughout their lives.
B. Next Steps: Advocacy for education, awareness among educators, and promotion of student retention to encourage healthy lifestyles and prevent the risks associated with dropping out of school.
Introduction/Context
The introduction provides contextual information to prepare readers for the argument or purpose of the paper. It should not be a broad background overview but should instead discuss the specific topic and provide enough context, such as defining key terms, to introduce the thesis or purpose statement.
Sample Introduction/Context: If the topic is the link between educational attainment and health, the introduction might accomplish the following: (a) specify the population under discussion, (b) define key terms such as healthy and well-educated, or (c) justify the discussion by highlighting its connection to a current problem.
Thesis/Purpose Statement
The thesis or purpose statement comes at the end of the introduction and clearly states the central argument or purpose of the paper. The introduction sets the stage for this statement, and the rest of the paper supports it.
Sample Thesis Statement: Students who drop out of high school face a higher risk of physical and mental health problems later in life due to income deficit and susceptibility to depression.
Background
Following the introduction, the background section provides justification for your own project or paper by addressing a gap in current research.
Sample Background: A background section on education and health could include an overview of recent research in the area, such as studies on depression or declining high school graduation rates.
Major & Minor Points
Major points are the primary components of your paper, building on one another to advance the central argument. Each major point should be a clear claim that relates to the thesis statement.
Sample Major Point: The impact of employment conditions on workers’ physical health is a suitable major point. It can discuss the limited availability of healthcare and the high incidence of injuries in unskilled work environments.
Minor points provide supporting details within each major point. They can include statistics, examples, or supporting ideas.
Sample Minor Point: For the major point on employment conditions affecting physical health, a minor point could address the lack of healthcare benefits and insufficient recovery time in low-skilled work environments.
The body of the paper consists of additional major and minor points. Each major point should contribute to the central argument, building upon previous points and providing evidence and analysis to support the paper’s conclusion.
Conclusion
The conclusion restates the central claim of the paper and connects it to a broader discussion. Instead of simply repeating major and minor points, the conclusion should tie the thesis statement to current research, future implications, or related fields of study.
Sample Conclusion: In this paper, the conclusion would restate the argument about the link between lack of education and health issues and expand the discussion to the broader context of the U.S. healthcare and education systems.
