Back in middle school, most of us had to memorize a very specific formula for organizing our essays. It went something like this:
- Introductory paragraph that states a main idea
- Three body paragraphs that support the main idea
- Concluding paragraph that restates the main idea
We had to practice this five-paragraph essay format over and over, scribbling some of the world’s dullest essays. As a pretentious, literary-minded teenager, I had a lot to say about how those formulaic essays were disrespectful to the essence of writing.
So, it’s with a lot of resignation that I admit to you that this is actually a good structure, and I still use a version of it to organize my writing today.
Of course, what I write now is worlds better than what I wrote as a student. But at the end of the day, every piece of content I write still has:
- An introduction that explains a main idea
- Body paragraphs that support the main idea
- A conclusion that reemphasizes the main idea
It’s the exact same thing, just a little more mature.
Not only that, but referring back to this basic structure has helped me develop a four-step process for outlining any article.
This process is fairly quick, it’s applicable to the vast majority of client work I do, and it guarantees that everything I write is clear, focused, and well-organized.
Here’s a deep look at that process and how you can use it.
Step 1: Decide on a Main Idea
The first step, before you even begin outlining your article, is deciding what its main idea is.
A main idea is typically one complete sentence, or at least a detailed phrase.
If you’ve come up with a vague phrase or a single word, that’s not a main idea—that’s a general topic. A main idea is specific. It’s the exact message you want your reader to take away from your piece.
-Not a main idea: Home remedies for upset stomach
–A main idea: Five home remedies for an upset stomach and how to make them
–Not a main idea: Climate legislation
–A main idea: Progressive climate legislation is necessary for preventing worst-case climate change.
–Not a main idea: How to improve SEO
–A main idea: Strategically using subheadings, secondary keywords, and backlinks improves SEO.
Once I’ve developed my main idea, I write it in big letters at the top of my outline. This keeps me focused on it as I finish the outline and work on the article. Your main idea is your piece’s north star, and keeping it in front of you guarantees you won’t stray from your point.
Step 2: Plan the Body Sections
Now it’s time to decide what goes into the bulk of your article.
If you’ve settled on a main idea, this step usually becomes pretty easy. Ask yourself what facts, arguments, or ideas you need to explain to prove or fulfill your main idea. The answers you come up with are potential topics for each subsection.
I recommend keeping the topic of each subsection as simple as possible, especially if you’re writing for a digital audience. This helps break your piece into small sections that are easy to read.
The classic middle school essay asks for three body sections. In adulthood, you can include as few or as many subsections as you need.
That being said, I usually default to three sections unless I have a really good reason not to. Western audiences are primed to expect lists of three more (there’s even a literary device called the Rule of Three). That means that sometimes, breaking a piece into three sections will make it more memorable.
Step 3: Develop the Introduction
Now it’s time to structure the introduction. Even though it’s the first thing in your article, it should be one of the last things you plan—after all, you can’t know what should go in your introduction until you know what you’re introducing.
When writing digital content, you’ll typically want to keep your introduction short. If you have an interesting concept or story to explore in it, that’s great. But if you don’t, it’s better to get straight to the main idea as soon as possible.
One of my favorite pieces of writing advice is to think of your introduction as a V. It starts broad with some kind of audience hook—a compelling idea, a story, a quote, etc. Then, it gradually narrows in its focus until, by the last sentence, you’re explaining exactly what your main idea is and how you’ll explore it in the article.
Step 4: Consider Your Conclusion
Now, let’s conclude with a look at conclusions.
But first ask yourself if your content really needs a conclusion. Many types of journalistic articles don’t bother with conclusions. SEO articles usually do to pad the word count, but let’s be honest—people rarely read those conclusions. A conclusion is not always necessary for digital content.
When done well, though, a conclusion can be a powerful way to make your main idea stick in your reader’s mind.
How do you do that? Well, just as an introduction is a V, your conclusion is a ꓥ. The first couple sentences should be a narrow-focused reexamination of your main idea (though not a direct restatement). The last couple sentences should then broaden into an exploration of the broader implications of the main idea.
I know “broader implications” is very vague, but unfortunately conclusions are often vague bits of writing. Exactly what they need to include will vary depending on the piece. In marketing content, your conclusion may be a couple sentences that introduce a CTA. In a thought leadership piece, it may end with a big-picture look at why your topic should matter to the reader, or with a final question you want your reader to ponder.
For example, now that it’s time for me to conclude this piece, I need to start with a reexamination of my main idea. To do that, I might say something like this: Anyone can produce well-organized writing by using the basic essay formula to guide their outline.
I might then broaden my focus by saying that though some aspects of article writing, like conclusions, can take some time to master, understanding and practicing the basic principles of essay organization can help you get there.
And then, since this is secretly a piece of marketing content (marketing myself and my writing abilities), I’d wrap up with a CTA like this one:
If you need a writer who will deliver well-organized work every time, contact me!
Nicole D'Angelo 