Outline of a Research Paper

Tips on Creating an Outline

A well-written outline is a valuable tool in presenting a well-written research paper. The outline
is the first step in creating the structure for what will be said in the paper as well as how it will
be said.

Use parallelism - Parallelism refers to the structure between headings and sub-headings.
The structure needs to remain consistent throughout all the headings and sub-headings.
For example, this means if you start each heading with a verb, then all your headings and
subheadings should start with a verb.
Example: "Choose Desired Colleges" and "Prepare Application" "Choose" and
"Prepare" are both verbs. However, it is preferable in an outline to use the
present tense of the verb.
Example: "Visit and evaluate college campuses" and "Visit and evaluate college
websites"
Example: "1. Note important statistics" and "2. Look for interesting classes"
Use coordination - Coordination is important between headings. In other words, all the
headings should have the same amount of significance or importance. The rule applies to
sub-headings as well, but their information will be less significant than the headings.
Example:
I. Choose Desired Colleges
A. Visit and evaluate college campuses
B. Visit and evaluate college websites
1. look for interesting classes
2. note important statistics
(College campuses and college websites are equally important.)
Use subordination - Subordination is the relationship between the headings and the sub-
headings. Information in headings is general in nature, and the information contained in
the sub-headings should be more specific, and so on to the other levels.
Example:
A. Describe an influential person in your life
1. Favorite high school teacher
2. Grandparent
(The category of influential people in your life is general, and a favorite teacher
and grandparent are specific.)
Use division - Division should be accomplished in this manner. Each heading needs to have
at least two parts. It can have more, but if you have too many, then you may need to put in
another heading or sub-heading or combine some of the divisions.
Example:
A. Compile resume
1. List relevant coursework
2. List work experience
3. List volunteer experience
(The heading "Compile resume" is divided into 3 parts.)
An outline is usually required when writing a paper for a college course. Be sure and ask your
professor for the required format for your particular course.





Outline of a Research Paper
Outline: The following outline describes the components of a paper. Complete the
following components of this outline based on your topic.

I. Title: Genetics and Color blindness.
Examples:
VAGUE Genetics and Medicine
SPECIFIC The Role of Genes in Alzheimers Disease


II. Introduction: Imagine not being able to tell the difference between ketchup and chocolate
syrup, whether a banana is ripe or not, or not knowing which colored pencil to grab when you
want to color a picture. These simple everyday tasks become quite difficult for those suffering
from color blindness. Color blindness is an inherited disease that causes people to lack certain
color vision. Only on very rare occasions is someone completely deprived of all colors. Color
blindness affects many people but as we move into the future there will soon be many ways to
treat it.

ATTENTION-GETTER (first 1 -2 sentences of paper):
SPECIFIC POINTS (3-5 sentences):
THESIS (SO WHAT?) one sentence summarizing what your paper is about in 3
rd
POV:

III. Body Paragraphs: During the body of the paper you should make the specific points that
relate to the purpose statement. You may choose to make 1 3 paragraphs for each point. Be
sure that each paragraph has a topic sentence, meaning the first sentence of each paragraph
should describe what the paragraph is about. Each sentence in the paragraph should then relate
to the topic sentence. For this outline, write the topic sentence for each of at least five different
points that you plan to make/describe in the paper; add additional subheadings as necessary (at
least two).
I. Many people assume that people who are color blind can only see black and
white, however, this is rarely the case.
1. Explain what cones are (5)
a. S, M, and L cones
b. what color each is responsible for
c. how cone defects cause color blindness
2. Describe different types of color blindness (6)
a. Deutreranopes
b. Protanopes
c. Tritanopes
II. There have been many important people who have contributed to color blindness.
1. Summarize John Daltons contribution
a. first scientist to study and record color blindness (8)
b. Originally thought it was cause by the discoloration of the aqueous humor. (8)
c. How he was disproved (11)
2. Explain how Ishihara has contributed (9)
d. The ishihara test
e. How it is used today
III. Color blindness causes everyday tasks to become more difficult.
1. Outline children (4)
a. school
b. problems when playing with friends
2. outline adult struggles
c. driving
d. prejudgments on food taste because of color (11)
3. Explain how people learn to get around these difficult tasks
f. learning to distinguish items by other means
g. asking others for help
IV. Although color blindness can be a side effect of diseases or medications, it is
usually inherited.
1. Discuss genes for S cones
a. S gene is on chromosome 7
b. Why blue-yellow color blindness is uniform among males and females
2. Discuss genes for the M and L cones (14)
a. They are located on X chromosome
b. Why red-green color blindness is more common in men
V. Although there are currently little to no treatments for people who have color
vision deficiencies there are many promising treatments that are being
researched.
1. Explain gene- transfer technique with harmless virus
a. Currently being developed at the University of Florida
b. Uses a harmless virus to deliver corrective genes that will cause a certain
protein production.
2. Describe special lenses for those who are color blind.
c. They enhance brightness between colors
d. Some users say they find these lenses to confuse them even more



IV. Conclusion: For someone with perfect color vision, it is quite difficult to imagine a world
through a color blind persons eyes. It can cause many inconveniences and it deprives some
people of a beautiful, colorful world. However, there is much hope for those suffering from
color blindness. New treatments are being developed that will be able to give the gift of color
for those who dont already have it. The development of these treatments will not only help
those with vision deficiencies but it will also further our understanding of gene-repair therapy.
It is safe to say that those who suffer from this disorder will be looking towards a more colorful
future.