This document provides guidance on outlining and drafting an essay. It instructs students to create an outline that includes stating the problem, thesis, arguments for the proposed solution, anticipated counterarguments and responses, and evaluation of alternative solutions. The outline should acknowledge and refute important counterarguments and discuss disadvantages of alternative solutions compared to the proposed solution. The draft should restate the problem and proposed solution's advantages, and discuss consequences of not solving the problem. The outline is meant to organize ideas, not lock the writer into a structure, and can be changed during drafting. Students are assigned to post their draft outline.

1. +
Class 38
EWRT 1A

2. +
AGENDA
REVIEW
OUTLINING YOUR ESSAY
DRAFTINGYOUR ESSAY

3. +
With your purpose and goals in mind,
make a quick scratch outline that
includes the following:
 a clear statement of the problem
 your thesis statement, announcing the proposed solution and
forecasting your reasons for it
 your argument for the solution, giving reasons and support
 anticipation of counterarguments and a response to objections readers
might have about the proposed solution
 your evaluation of alternative solutions

4. + The Counterargument
 You anticipated objections for your homework in class 36.
Now choose the two or three most important objections to
acknowledge, accommodate, or refute.
 Write down objection 1
 Acknowledge, accommodate, or refute the objection.
 Write down objection 2
 Acknowledge, accommodate, or refute the objection.
 And so on.

5. +
Consideration of alternative solutions
and their disadvantages
 You identified alternative solutions for your homework. Now choose those
you will discuss in your essay. Write out each solution and discuss the
disadvantages of it compared to your solution.
 Write out alternative solution 1
 What are the disadvantages of this solution?
 Write out alternative solution 2
 What are the disadvantages of this solution?
 Write out alternative solution 3
 What are the disadvantages of this solution?

6. +
Restatement of the proposed solution
and its advantages
Briefly remind your reader of the problem
and your proposed solution and its
advantages.
Then, remind the reader of the
consequences of failing to solve the
problem.

7. +
Remember
 Your outline will of course reflect your own writing situation.
Once you have a working outline, you should not hesitate to
change it as necessary while drafting and revising. For
instance, you might find it more effective to hold back on
presenting your own solution until you have discussed
alternative but unacceptable solutions. Or you might find a
better way to order the reasons for adopting your proposal.
The purpose of an outline is to identify the basic features of
your proposal and to help you organize them effectively, not
to lock you into a particular structure.

8. +
HOMEWORK
 Post #44 Put all of the parts we wrote today into a single
document. Read it aloud to make sure it is in a logical order.
Change the order of your paragraphs if that makes sense to
you. Post your draft.
 Study the rest of the vocabulary words.