How To Compose A Good Economic Research Paper Outline

When tasked with writing an economics research paper, the place to start is with a good outline. Before you can outline your proposed paper, however, you have to decide what you’re going to write about. To do that, you need to formulate a question that you plan to answer with your research.

Since your assignment is for an economics paper, you’ll need a good economics question. Here’s an example of an economics question:

“How would the price of jelly increase in response to an increase in the price of peanut butter?”

Writing an Outline

The outline of your paper is your plan or blueprint for what you plan to write. Writing an outline will help you to organize your thoughts and present your arguments in a coherent manner. A well-constructed outline can make researching and writing your paper a more efficient process.

You outline page needs to include the following:

  • title of the paper
  • your thesis statement
  • major points or arguments, identified by Roman numerals (i.e., I, II, III, etc.)
  • information to support your major points, organized by capital Arabic numerals (i.e., A, B, C, D, etc.)
  1. Title: this is the name you give your paper
  2. Thesis statement: this is usually a one-sentence summary of the main point or argument of an essay or research paper. It should be expounded upon, supported and explained in the text of your paper with evidence and examples. Here’s an example of an economics thesis statement:

    3. “Western culture, in particular American culture, can be described as a culture of capitalism, or more specifically consumer capitalism, and American society can be characterized as a society of potential perpetual growth.”

  3. Introduction: this should be your Roman numeral I. This is where you will tell your reader what your paper is about. It will explain what you plan to prove with your paper. The introduction is an overview of your topic and thesis statement.
  4. Body: this will be divided by other Roman numerals, as many as it takes to cover your topic and support your thesis statement. Each additional Roman numeral will be a major point in your argument.
  5. Conclusion: this will be the final Roman numeral in your outline. This is where you will summarize what you’ve told your reader and make your final argument in support of your thesis.

Once you have your outline completed, writing your actual paper should be easier and follow an efficient procedure. Your outline may be more detailed or less detailed, depending on your topic and the depth of your argument.