SAMPLE OUTLINE
The following is a sample outline of Paper #2. Please note:
- This is not the only way to approach this paper. In fact, I strongly encourage students to attempt more adventurous approaches to the task at hand.
- Students should avoid adopting the specific language of this outline. I will be happy should you choose to adopt this as a model, but I do not want to see papers that parrot the language of this outline back to me directly.
I. INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH
a. 1-2 sentence(s): statement of paper topic (Ex.: "In the following essay, I will consider what freedom meant to both Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs and compare their understandings of liberty to those of antebellum white Americans.")
b. 1-2 sentence(s): summary of response to Point 1 (Ex.: "For Frederick Douglass, author of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, freedom meant [DESCRIPTION OF DOUGLASS'S CONCEPTION(S) OF FREEDOM].")
c. 1-2 sentence(s): summary of response to Point 2 (Ex.: "For Harriet Jacobs, author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, freedom entailed [DESCRIPTION OF JACOBS'S CONCEPTION(S) OF FREEDOM].")
d. 1-3 sentence(s): summary of response to Point 3 (Ex.: "Finally, for nineteenth-century white Americans, freedom meant [DESCRIPTION OF MEANING(S) OF FREEDOM FOR ANTEBELLUM WHITE AMERICANS]. These ideals [DID OR DID NOT] coincide with Douglass and Jacobs's ideals of freedom because [DESCRIBE WHY WHITE AMERICANS' CONCEPTIONS OF FREEDOM WERE OR WERE NOT SIMILAR TO THOSE OF DOUGLASS AND JACOBS].")
II. SECTION ONE / RESPONSE TO POINT ONE
a. 1-3 sentence(s): topic sentence / statement (Ex.: "Born in Talbot County, Maryland around 1818, Frederick Douglass entered a world in which the meaning of freedom was fiercely contested. Though enslaved from birth, Douglass would ultimately play an important role in these conversations, articulating a vision of freedom that revolved around [DESCRIBE TWO OR MORE WAYS IN WHICH DOUGLASS DEFINED FREEDOM].")
i. Definition 1 (Consider making this its own paragraph)
1. 2+ sentences: Describe one of the ways in which Douglass defined freedom, and substantiate this claim with references to Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. (N.B. This definition should reflect one or more of the points you made in the topic statement above.)
ii. Definition 2 and beyond [if necessary] (Consider making this its own paragraph)
1. 2+ sentences: Describe a second way in which Douglass defined freedom, and substantiate this claim with references to Narrative of the
Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. (N.B. This definition should reflect one or more of the points you made in the topic statement above.)
III. SECTION TWO / RESPONSE TO POINT TWO
a. 1-3 sentence(s): topic sentence / statement ("Though Frederick Douglass would become one of the most prominent antebellum commentators on freedom and its meaning, he was far from alone in this enterprise. Harriet Jacobs, another refugee from American slavery, also made memorable comments on this topic. Writing in her 1861 narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Jacobs defines freedom as [DESCRIBE TWO OR MORE WAYS IN WHICH DOUGLASS DEFINED FREEDOM].")
i. Definition 1 (Consider making this its own paragraph)
1. 2+ sentences: Describe one of the ways in which Jacobs defined freedom, and substantiate this claim with references to Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. (N.B. This definition should reflect one or more of the points you made in the topic statement above.)
ii. Definition 2 and beyond [if necessary] (Consider making this its own paragraph)
1. 2+ sentences: Describe a second way in which Jacobs defined freedom, and substantiate this claim with references to Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. (N.B. This definition should reflect one or more of the points you made in the topic statement above.)
IV. SECTION THREE / RESPONSE TO POINT THREE
a. 1-3 sentence(s): topic sentence / statement ("Not surprisingly, Douglass and Jacobs's white contemporaries, ignorant of the ordeal of slavery, understood the concept of freedom quite differently. For them, freedom meant
[DESCRIBE THREE OR MORE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH ANTEBELLUM WHITES DEFINED FREEDOM]. These ideals differed from those of Douglass and Jacobs in that they [DESCRIBE TWO OR MORE WAYS IN WHICH WHITES' IDEALS OF FREEDOM WERE SIMILAR TO THOSE OF DOUGLASS AND JACOBS]."
-- OR --
"Remarkably enough, Douglass and Jacobs's white American contemporaries shared broadly similar ideals of freedom. Despite the fact that they had never felt the sting of the lash, they nevertheless embraced ideals similar to those cherished by Douglass and Jacobs, including [DESCRIBE THREE OR MORE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH ANTEBELLUM
WHITES DEFINED FREEDOM]. These ideals were similar to those held by Douglass and Jacobs in that they [DESCRIBE TWO OR MORE WAYS IN WHICH WHITES' IDEALS OF FREEDOM WERE SIMILAR TO THOSE OF DOUGLASS AND JACOBS].")
i. Definition 1 (Consider making this its own paragraph)
1. 2+ sentences: Describe one of the ways in which antebellum whites defined freedom, and substantiate this claim with references to course materials. (N.B. This definition should reflect one or more of the points you made in the topic statement above.)
ii. Definition 2 (Consider making this its own paragraph)
1. 2+ sentences: Describe a second way in which antebellum whites defined freedom, and substantiate this claim with references to course materials. (N.B. This definition should reflect one or more of the points you made in the topic statement above.)
iii. Definition 3 and beyond [if necessary] (Consider making this its own paragraph)
1. 2+ sentences: Describe a third way in which antebellum whites defined freedom, and substantiate this claim with references to course materials. (N.B. This definition should reflect one or more of the points you made in the topic statement above.)
iv. Comparison 1 (Consider making this its own paragraph)
1. 2+ sentences: Draw an explicit comparison or contrast between antebellum whites' understanding of freedom and that of Douglass and Jacobs. Substantiate this claim with references to course materials. (N.B. This definition should reflect one or more of the points you made in the topic statement above.)
v. Comparison 2 and beyond (Consider making this its own paragraph)
1. 2+ sentences: Draw a second explicit comparison or contrast between antebellum whites' understanding of freedom and that of Douglass and Jacobs. Substantiate this claim with references to course materials. (N.B. This definition should reflect one or more of the points you made in the topic statement above.)
V. CONCLUSION
a. 2-4 sentences: Summarize the foregoing argument or claims of the paper and/or make some brief comments that build upon the foregoing paper.