Basic outline of a research paper

What is an Outline for a Research Paper? An outline for a research paper is a blueprint for a whole subject. It helps a student map his way through the writing process without losing his point or skipping important things as he writes. We can also say that a research paper outline serves as an action plan.

A research paper is a compulsory academic writing task assigned both in high school and college. It is considered as an important activity to check the writing and research abilities of the students. However, writing a research paper cannot be possible without creating a well-structured research paper outline.

The outline structure of a research paper is fairly similar to that of a book outline. The only difference is the actual content presented in the paper. For us to further understand the significant components of a research paper outline, let us discuss each part accordingly:

There are three different kinds of research paper outline: alphanumeric, full-sentence and decimal outlines. The differences relate to formatting and style of writing. An alphanumeric outline is most commonly used. It uses Roman numerals, capitalized letters, arabic numerals, lowercase letters to organize the flow of information.