Answer: An outline is the basic structure or “skeleton” of an essay. That is, it organizes the thesis, main points, and supporting evidence into a neat format that can be built off of to form the first draft of an essay.
Outline:
Intro: thesis, introduce 2-3 main points
Body paragraphs 2-3: 1 main point for each paragraph, expand upon main point, provide evidence, explain impact of evidence, repeat, conclude paragraph with a strong statement
Conclusion: restate thesis, briefly go over 2-3 main points, strong closing decree.