Writing a Nursing Essay Paper Outline
Strategies for Outlining
Creating an outline for your initial draft can help ensure that each paragraph in your nursing essay serves a specific purpose. By listing the topic sentence for each paragraph, you can easily identify any repetitive ideas or sections that hinder the progress of the paper’s central argument.
Furthermore, if you’re struggling to revise your paper, outlining each paragraph and its topic sentence after writing can help you identify its strengths and weaknesses. Writing a nursing essay paper outline allows you to gain a clearer understanding of the structure and coherence of your paper.
Example Outline
The following outline is for a 5-7 page paper that explores the relationship between educational attainment and health. Refer to the subsequent sections for more detailed information on each component of this outline.
I. Introduction
A. Current Problem: Decreasing educational attainment rates in the United States coupled with rising 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 before graduation face a higher risk of physical and mental health problems in the future due to income deficits and susceptibility to depression. Writing a nursing essay paper outline.
II. Background
A. Historical Employment Overview: Past trends show that unskilled laborers were often unionized and adequately compensated for their work.
B. Historical Healthcare Overview: Unskilled laborers in the past received sufficient healthcare and benefits.
C. Current Link between Education and Employment Type: Presently, uneducated workers are increasingly employed in unskilled or low-skilled jobs.
D. Gaps in the Research: Limited information exists on the health implications of current conditions in low-skilled jobs.
III. Major Point 1: Employment conditions and physical health of workers
A. Minor Point 1: Unskilled work environments have a high correlation with worker injuries.
B. Minor Point 2: Unskilled work environments often lack adequate healthcare and recovery time for injuries.
IV. Major Point 2: Employment conditions and mental health of workers
A. Minor Point 1: Low-skilled positions are closely associated with excessive levels of stress.
B. Minor Point 2: Stress has a significant correlation with mental health issues.
V. Major Point 3: Direct correlation between physical health and mental health
A. Minor Point 1: Mental health problems and physical health problems are highly interconnected.
B. Minor Point 2: Stress manifests itself physically.
VI. Major Point 4: Financial concerns, stress, and physical health
A. Minor Point 1: Many high-school dropouts experience financial difficulties.
B. Minor Point 2: Financial problems often lead to unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as poor diet, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, and abusive relationships.
VII. Conclusion
A. Restatement of Thesis: High school dropouts face a higher risk of both physical and mental health problems throughout their lives.
B. Next Steps: Advocacy for education is crucial, and educators should strive to retain students to promote healthy lifestyles and raise awareness of the risks associated with dropping out of school.
Introduction/Context
The introduction section provides context to prepare readers for the paper’s argument or purpose. It should discuss the specific topic without providing a broad background overview, while also offering enough context, such as defining key terms, to acquaint readers with the thesis or purpose statement.
Sample Introduction/Context: If the topic of your paper is the link between educational attainment and health, your introduction might accomplish the following: (a) identify the population under discussion, (b) define key terms like healthy and well-educated, or (c) justify the relevance of the topic by highlighting its connection to a current problem that the paper aims to address. Writing a nursing essay paper outline.
Thesis/Purpose Statement
The thesis or purpose statement appears at the end of the introduction, clearly and concisely stating the paper’s central argument or purpose. The introduction sets the stage for this statement, with the rest of the paper providing support and evidence in its favor.
Sample Thesis Statement: High school dropouts are at a higher risk of physical and mental health problems in later life due to income deficits (Smith, 2010) and a higher susceptibility to depression (Jones, 2011).
Background
Following the introduction, background information on the topic is often provided. This paragraph or section may include a literature review that surveys the current state of knowledge on the topic or a historical overview of relevant information. Its purpose is to justify the paper by identifying gaps in existing research that the work intends to address.
Sample Background: The background section for a paper on education and health might include an overview of recent research, such as studies on depression or decreasing high school graduation rates. Writing a nursing essay paper outline.
Major & Minor Points
Major points serve as the foundation of your paper, building upon each other to advance the central argument. Each major point should present a clear claim that relates to the paper’s thesis.
Sample Major Point: Exploring the connection between employment conditions and physical health could be a suitable major point for this paper. It may discuss how dropping out of high school limits employment opportunities, which often leads to poor work environments and low wages. Writing a nursing essay paper outline.
Minor points are subtopics within major points, developing nuances without warranting extensive attention on their own. They can consist of statistics, examples from sources, or supporting ideas.
Sample Minor Point: A minor point related to the previous major point (employment conditions and physical health) could address worker injuries or the lack of healthcare benefits provided by low-paying employers. Writing a nursing essay paper outline.
The body of your paper will comprise additional major and minor points. Each major point should contribute to the paper’s central argument, building upon previous points and providing evidence and analysis to support the thesis.
More Major and Minor Points: In this paper, additional major points could cover the mental health of high school dropouts, access to healthcare for dropouts, and the correlation between mental and physical health. Minor topics might include specific work environments, job satisfaction in different fields, and the relationship between depression and chronic illness.
Conclusion
The conclusion restates the paper’s central claim and connects it to a broader discussion. Instead of simply summarizing major and minor points, the conclusion revisits the thesis statement and links it to current research in the field, future directions for researchers, broader implications, or other relevant aspects. Writing a nursing essay paper outline.
Sample Conclusion: In this paper, the conclusion might restate the central argument (the link between lack of education and health issues) and extend the discussion to broader topics like the healthcare or education systems in the United States. Writing a nursing essay paper outline.
