This week you will write an outline for Paper 2.  To do so, you should organize the information that will be in your essay.  The purposes of an outline are many, and it is a vital skill to be able to make an effective structure for your thoughts.  Outlines should save you time and effort, while also making your work far more effective.  That said, few students use them at all, or use them effectively.  That is why we are going to practice them here.

An effective outline should have a few basic elements.  To demonstrate these, I will do so in outline form.  You can watch

this video

 for some helpful tips too.

1. Aspects of an effective outline

   Hierarchy of ideas (structure)

   Defines the function of each idea

   Topic sentence: defines a paragraph
   Major detail: supports the topic sentence and is usually a concept of some kind
   Minor detail: supports a major detail and is often a specific, concrete example, quote, statistic, or explanation

   Content: evaluating your ideas

   Order: there should be a logical way to connect the ideas

   Chronological: develops along a time line
   Spatial: develops in a physical space

   Example: from US regions—West, Mountains, Plains, Midwest, East Coast, South

   Importance

   From most to least important
   From least to most important

   Quantity: there should be enough evidence to clearly make your point

   Are there any concepts that need additional explanation or evidence to support?
   Are there any terms that the reader might not know that need definition?

   Quality: the points should be specific and easily understood

   Organization

   Unity

   Every point that is made pertains to the thesis

   Coherence

   All the points transition well

   Transitions are relationships, so there needs to be an obvious relationship between ideas

You should view the Outline Rubric before you begin this assignment.  You are also required to write two peer responses, which is a space that should be used to review each other’s work and make suggestions for improvement.

Please remember that the rubric is a qualitative evaluation of the discussion forum.

Please choose a prompt from the following sources.  Take careful note of what the prompt is asking, and be sure that your paper directly addresses the question at hand.

For “I Want a Wife” answer the following:

Brady’s essay was published in 1972.  How do you think “being a wife” has changed since that time?

I Want a Wife, by Judy Brady

I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am A Wife. And, not altogether

incidentally, I am a mother.

Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce. He

had one child, who is, of course, with his ex-wife. He is looking for another wife. As I thought

about him while I was ironing one evening, it suddenly occurred to me that 1, too, would like to

have a wife. Why do I want a wife?

I would like to go back to school so that I can become economically independent, support

myself, and, if need be, support those dependent upon me. I want a wife who will work and send

me to school. And while I am going to school, I want a wife to take care of my children. I want a

wife to keep track of the children’s doctor and dentist appointments. And to keep track of mine,

too. I want a wife to make sure my children eat properly and are kept clean. I want a wife who

will wash the children’s clothes and keep them mended. I want a wife who is a good nurturing

attendant to my children, who arranges for their schooling, makes sure that they have an

adequate social life with their peers, takes them to the park, the zoo, etc. I want a wife who takes

care of the children when they are sick, a wife who arranges to be around when the children need

special care, because, of course, I cannot miss classes at school. My wife must arrange to lose

time at work and not lose the job. It may mean a small cut in my wife’s income from time to

time, but I guess I can tolerate that. Needless to say, my wife will arrange and pay for the care of

the children while my wife is working.

I want a wife who will take care of my physical needs. I want a wife who will keep my house

clean. A wife who will pick up after my children, a wife who will pick up after me. I want a wife

who will keep my clothes clean, ironed, mended, replaced when need be, and who will see to it

that my personal things are kept in their proper place so that I can find what I need the minute I

need it. I want a wife who cooks the meals, a wife who is a good cook. I want a wife who will

plan the menus, do the necessary grocery shopping, prepare the meals, serve them pleasantly,

and then do the cleaning up while I do my studying. I want a wife who will care for me when I

am sick and sympathize with my pain and loss of time from school. I want a wife to go along

when our family takes a vacation so that someone can continue to care for me and my children

when I need a rest and change of scene.

I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife’s duties. But I want

a wife who will listen to me when I feel the need to explain a rather difficult point I have come

across in my course studies. And I want a wife who will type my papers for me when I have

written them.

I want a wife who will take care of the details of my social life. When my wife and I are invited

out by my friends, I want a wife who will take care of the baby-sitting arrangements. When I

meet people at school that I like and want to entertain, I want a wife who will have the house

clean, will prepare a special meal, serve it to me and my friends, and not interrupt when I talk

about things that interest me and my friends. I want a wife who will have arranged that the

children are fed and ready for bed before my guests arrive so that the children do not bother us. I

want a wife who takes care of the needs of my guests so that they feel comfortable, who makes

sure that they have an ashtray, that they are passed the hors d’oeuvres, that they are offered a

second helping of the food, that their wine glasses are replenished when necessary, that their

coffee is served to them as they like it. And I want a wife who knows that sometimes I need a

night out by myself.

I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love passionately and

eagerly when I feel like it, a wife who makes sure that I am satisfied. And, of course, I want a

wife who will not demand sexual attention when I am not in the mood for it. I want a wife who

assumes the complete responsibility for birth control, because I do not want more children. I

want a wife who will remain sexually faithful to me so that I do not have to clutter up my

intellectual life with jealousies. And I want a wife who understands that my sexual needs may

entail more than strict adherence to monogamy. I must, after all, be able to relate to people as

fully as possible.

If, by chance, I find another person more suitable as a wife than the wife I already have, I want

the liberty to replace my present wife with another one. Naturally, I will expect a fresh, new life;

my wife will take the children and be solely responsible for them so that I am left free.

When I am through with school and have a job, I want my wife to quit working and remain at

home so that my wife can more fully and completely take care of a wife’s duties.

My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?

OutlineRubric

This is a qualitative evaluation of the discussion forum. Students will be expected to complete an original

post and two responses.
Excellent (45) Satisfactory (40) Needs

Improvement (20)
Does Not
Participate (0)

Introduction/Thesis Thesis is clear and
specific, and
introduction
provides
background
details that
capture the
readers’
attention.

Provides a thesis
for the paper, but
lacks specific
detail about
issues at hand.

Does not provide
a clear thesis for
the paper.
Details are too
general or are
unrelated to
topic.

Does not include.

Support Highly skilled
presentation of
ideas. Essay
development and
organization are
clearly
articulated.

Details have some
organization, but
lack specificity or
logical
development.

Details are
underdeveloped
and/or
disorganized.
Possibly, too
many personal
examples are
used.

Does not include.

Conclusion Provides new
contexts and
evidence to
engage reader
with previous
points.

Does not simply
summarize or
restate points,
but adds to the
essay.

Restates thesis
and/or
summarizes
points from essay.

Does not include.