A research outline is a list of all of the steps you need to take to find the answers to your questions about your paper. Making a research outline also gives your research a sense of direction and helps you decide which parts of your theme you should tackle first. See Organizing Your Research.

FOR EXAMPLE: Your research outline on the theme "The Division of Korea at the End of World War II" might look like this:

THEME: "The Division of Korea at the End of World War II"

1. Visit the reference section of the library.
2. Read an encyclopedia article about the history of Korea.
3. Take notes on the encyclopedia article, especially on the years from 1910 to 1945 when Korea was a colony of Japan.
4. Read in your textbook about the ending of World War II in Asia.
5. Take notes about the defeat of Japan by the United States.
6. Find and read a more extensive history about the ending of the war.
7. Take notes about the occupation of Korea (in the north) by the Soviet Union and (in the south) by the United States in 1945.
8. Take notes about the agreement between the Soviet Union and the United States to divide Korea at the thirty-eighth parallel.

A research outline should also include the amount of time you think you will need to do the work. The more research and writing experience you acquire, the more accurately you will be able to make this type of projection, but it is always important to try to estimate how long it will take to complete each step in your research outline so that you will finish your research in time to write your paper.