Essay Outline Template (With Examples)
A clear, section-by-section outline structure you can fill in for any essay — introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. See the full template below, then fill it in and export to Word.
An essay outline organizes your argument before you write. A standard outline has three parts: an introduction (hook, background, thesis), body paragraphs (each with a topic sentence, evidence, and analysis), and a conclusion (restated thesis, closing thought). Fill each section in order and your draft writes itself.
What goes in an essay outline?
An outline is the skeleton of your essay. It forces you to decide what you're arguing and in what order before you get lost in sentences. The strongest outlines break each section into its working parts, so instead of a blank "Introduction" box you have three specific prompts: what's your hook, what background does the reader need, and what exactly is your thesis.
What are the three parts of an essay outline?
Every essay outline has an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The introduction opens with a hook, gives the background your reader needs, and states your thesis. The body carries the argument across one or more paragraphs — each built from a topic sentence, supporting evidence, and analysis that ties the evidence back to your thesis. The conclusion restates the thesis in fresh words and ends on a closing thought.
How do you use this template?
Start with your thesis — everything else supports it. Then draft a topic sentence for each body paragraph, and note the evidence and analysis that back it up. Add as many body paragraphs as your essay needs. Once the outline is filled in, you have a paragraph-by-paragraph map of your whole essay — and you can export it straight to a formatted Word document to draft from.