The Power of Meaning Essay Outline

This outline is a starting-place for fulfilling each of the requirements of the prompt. Feel free to modify it to accommodate your essay. That means you can add or subtract body paragraphs from the outline. However, you’ll want to plan at least four body paragraphs for this essay. The point is for you to create a detailed outline that works for you. I’m looking for a specific and detailed outline. You can use bullet points, but I want to see you’ve put significant time and energy into planning your essay. The more thought you put into your outline, the easier it will be to write your essay. As you write your outline, keep a few things in mind:
● Avoid using “you” in your outline in your essay. Instead, write “individuals”, “people”, “me”, etc.
● Write about Smith’s ideas in the present tense. Ex: Smith argues, not Smith argued.

Paragraph #1: Introduction
Attention grabber. Suggestions: pose a question, provide a thought-provoking quote, use an analogy, provide a short personal story, etc. Just make sure your attention grabber directly relates to the focus of your essay. 1-3 sentences. Context and background information. For the purposes of this essay, this is a good place to 1) introduce the book and the author 2) summarize Smith’s main argument in the book, 3) define each of the four pillars of meaning 4) set context for your essay related to the specific pillar you will be writing about.

Note The Power of Meaning is not a novel. It’s a non-fiction book. Novels are fiction/untrue stories. 5-6 sentences.

Thesis. Your thesis should identify the pillar you find most important, and answer the key questions for this assignment: Which pillar do you think is best suited to help individuals to cultivate more meaning in their lives during this specific time we are living in?

Body Paragraphs
Your body paragraphs are places for you to present evidence to support your thesis. Each body paragraph matters. What evidence do you need to show your reader in order to convince them that your thesis is true — that the pillar you chose is important for people to cultivate to meet this moment. Each body paragraph will need to contain a thoughtful topic sentence that supports the thesis, evidence, and analysis. Creating a successful outline means opening up your book / looking at your annotations to find the most important pieces of evidence to include in your essay. You can use evidence from any part of the book we’ve read so far, just make sure it supports your thesis that is focused on a single pillar.

Body Paragraph #1
Your first piece of evidence. What is the first piece of evidence you want to share with your reader?
● A full paragraph summarizing the pillar you are focusing on?
● Your personal connection to the pillar? Or personal analysis of why this pillar is needed right now (this could connect to a present-day challenge). (You can use personal experience in a maximum of two paragraphs in your essay. Remember: this essay isn’t about “you” – it’s about the pillar).
● A specific piece of evidence from The Power of Meaning that you either quote or paraphrase.
● Choose one.

  1. Topic Sentence. What will this paragraph be about? 1-2 sentences:
  2. Specific piece of evidence to support your topic sentence: Direct quote, paraphrase, or summary from The Power of Meaning, personal experience, etc. (2-3 sentences):
  3. Interpret and analyze this evidence. Interpret the piece of evidence you chose. What is it saying? What insight does it have to offer your reader? (2-3 sentences)
  4. Make connections back to your argument and purpose. How does this piece of evidence show the importance of your pillar? How does it support your thesis statement? (1-2 sentences)

Body Paragraph #2: Next focus
What is the next claim you are making about why your pillar is important that you want to share with your reader and support with evidence?
1. Topic Sentence. What will this paragraph be about? 1-2 sentences:
2. Specific piece of evidence to support your topic sentence: Direct quote, paraphrase, or summary from The Power of Meaning, personal experience, etc. (2-3 sentences)
3. Interpret and analyze this evidence. Interpret the piece of evidence you present. What is it saying? What insight does it have to offer your reader? (1-2 sentences)
4. Make connections back to your argument and purpose. How does this piece of evidence show the importance of your pillar? How does it support your thesis statement? (2-3 sentences)

Body Paragraph #3: Next focus
What is the next claim you are making about why your pillar is important that you want to share with your reader and support with evidence?
1. Topic Sentence. What will this paragraph be about? 1-2 sentences:
2. Specific piece of evidence to support your topic sentence: Direct quote, paraphrase, or summary from The Power of Meaning, personal experience, etc. (2-3 sentences)
3. Interpret and analyze this evidence. Interpret the piece of evidence you present. What is it saying? What insight does it have to offer your reader? (1-2 sentences)
4. Make connections back to your argument and purpose. How does this piece of evidence show the importance of your pillar? How does it support your thesis statement? (2-3 sentences)