TEACHER’S NOTES

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Essay Outlines

Activity Type Introduction

Reading and writing This essay outlines worksheet helps to teach students how to
exercises create outlines as part of the essay writing process.

Procedure
Focus
Give each student a copy of the four-page worksheet. Students
Essay outlines
begin by reading about the importance of an outline in the essay
writing process.
Aim
Students then read an example essay and use it to complete an
To learn and practice essay outline.
creating essay outlines.
Exercise A - Possible answers

Preparation Thesis statement: Nuclear energy advantages and disadvantages

1. Topic sentence: 2 advantages of nuclear
Make one copy of the
a. Supporting idea: Reduce greenhouse gases
four-page worksheet for
i. Detail: No pollutants or CO2
each student.
ii. Detail: Good for air and global warming
b. Supporting idea: Proven and reliable
Level i. Detail: 30 countries and 10% global electricity
ii. Detail: 50-year lifespan and uninterrupted power
Intermediate (B1) 2. Topic sentence: 2 drawbacks
a. Supporting idea: Risk to health and safety
i. Detail: Chernobyl and Fukushima meltdowns
Time ii. Detail: Exposure to radiation = cancer
90 minutes b. Supporting idea: High start up costs
i. Detail: $9 billion to build
ii. Detail: Decades to recoup costs

Next, students read and analyse an essay question and brainstorm

ideas to include in an essay outline about the topic.

After that, students create an outline for the essay based on their
brainstormed ideas.

Exercise C - Possible answers

Thesis statement: Advantages and disadvantages Australia

1. Topic sentence: My country benefits
a. Supporting idea: High living standard
i. Detail: Low unemployment and high wages
ii. Detail: Free ed. and health
b. Supporting idea: Liveable cities
i. Detail: Weather + work and study
ii. Detail: Aus cities rank highly e.g. Melbourne

(continued on the next page)

Note: This resource can be edited using a PDF editor.

Teach-This.com © 2021 Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

 TEACHER’S NOTES

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Essay Outlines

Activity Type Procedure continued

Reading and writing 2. Topic sentence: Less appealing aspects
exercises a. Supporting idea: High living costs
i. Detail: 9th most expensive and 15% more than US
ii. Detail: Very expensive housing
Focus b. Supporting idea: Isolation
Essay outlines i. Detail: Big
 area + low population = must fly
between cities
ii. Detail: Perth most isolated in the world
Aim
In the last exercise, students write a complete essay based on the
To learn and practice outline created in Exercise C.
creating essay outlines.
Exercise D - Possible answer

Preparation There are close to two hundred countries in the world, which are
all unique in their own way and offer different qualities of life.
Make one copy of the My country, Australia, is widely considered a comfortable place
four-page worksheet for to live, but like anywhere, it is not without its problems. This
each student. essay will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of living in
Australia.
Level To begin with, my country affords its residents a number of
Intermediate (B1) benefits. The first of these is a high standard of living. The
economy is such that unemployment is generally low and wages
and salaries tend to be high. In addition, the government also
Time provides free health care and K-12 education along with other
social welfare programs. Another advantage of life in Australia is
90 minutes that all of the major cities are very liveable. This is because they
have pleasant weather and are good places to work and study.
In fact, a number of cities make up the top ten places of global
rankings of liveable cities, with Melbourne having topped the list
a number of times.

Despite its positive attributes, life in Australia has some less

appealing aspects. One of the most negative facets of Australian
life is the high cost of living. Australia has the ninth highest cost
of living of any country, with consumer goods being around 15%
higher than in the United States. Moreover, relative to income,
Australia has one of the most expensive housing markets in the
world. The second disadvantage of living in Australia is a sense of
isolation. Australia is a very large country but with a relatively low
population, which means travelling between the major cities can
only be done by air. Perth, in particular, is considered the most
isolated metropolitan area in the world and is in fact, closer to
Singapore than it is to Sydney.

In conclusion, Australia is definitely a great place to live, but it

does come with some downsides. The cities are some of the most
comfortable in the world, but also very expensive and isolated.
However, on the whole, the drawbacks are outweighed by the
benefits.

Note: This resource can be edited using a PDF editor.

Teach-This.com © 2021 Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

 ESSAY WRITING

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Essay Outlines

Developing an outline is an important step in the essay writing process.

This is because an essay outline helps you to clarify your thoughts and
develop strong ideas. It also helps you arrange your ideas so that they
are logical and coherent. An outline acts as a road map to make your
writing stay on course and not veer off topic. An outline also allows you
to focus more on the language related elements of your writing such
as vocabulary and grammar because you already know what you want
to say.

Notice that the incomplete essay outline below includes only the most essential elements of the
essay and acts as a type of skeleton or framework for the writer's development of the essay.

* Note: the subheadings, 'introduction', 'body', and 'conclusion' are not required in an outline.
They are included here to remind you of the basic structure of an essay.

A. Read the example essay on the next page and use it to complete the outline below.

Introduction

Nuclear energy advantages and disadvantages

Thesis statement: ........................................................................................................

Body

1. Topic sentence: ........................................................................................................

a. Supporting idea: ...................................................................................................

i. Detail: ............................................................................................................

ii. Detail: ............................................................................................................

Proven and reliable

b. Supporting idea: ...................................................................................................

i. Detail: ............................................................................................................

ii. Detail: ............................................................................................................

2 drawback
2. Topic sentence: ........................................................................................................

a. Supporting idea: ...................................................................................................

i. Detail: ............................................................................................................

ii. Detail: ............................................................................................................

b. Supporting idea: ...................................................................................................

i. Detail: ............................................................................................................

Decades to recoup costs

ii. Detail: ............................................................................................................

Conclusion

Teach-This.com © 2021 Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

 ESSAY WRITING

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Essay Outlines

Global warming is largely due to our dependence on fossil fuels to supply the majority of our
energy needs. Most cars run on petroleum, and most power stations are coal fired, with both
emitting vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Many countries are aiming to shift to
cleaner and renewable forms of energy such as wind and solar, but currently, they are not able
to provide reliable and stable supplies of energy. Another option is nuclear energy, but this
solution comes with a number of advantages and disadvantages.

There are two convincing advantages of using nuclear energy. The first of these is that nuclear
energy has the potential to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike traditional power
stations, nuclear power stations do not emit air pollutants or carbon dioxide, which means air
quality within the vicinity of a plant is not diminished nor is global warming exacerbated. The
second benefit of nuclear power is that it is a proven and reliable energy source. It is used in
more than thirty countries and accounts for around 10% of global electricity generation. In
addition, nuclear power plants have a lifespan that is well over 50 years, and they can run
around the clock uninterrupted for at least a year. This makes them far more dependable than
other types of power stations.

Despite its benefits, nuclear energy has a number of serious drawbacks. Firstly, it presents
some serious risks to human health and safety. Two very well-known incidents, Chernobyl and
Fukushima highlight this fact. In both cases, the power plants suffered serious malfunctions
resulting in meltdowns, which caused widespread releases of deadly radiation into the
environment, impacting people and wildlife. In fact, exposure to radiation can lead to serious
side effects such as fatal cancers. Another argument against the use of nuclear energy is the
high initial capital costs required. It is estimated that a typical nuclear power plant can cost up
to $9 billion to build from scratch. This means any country building a nuclear power plant must
commit to this type of power for decades to recoup the costs.

In conclusion, there are strong arguments for and against nuclear energy. Those in favour
of nuclear energy would point to its environmental and reliability strengths, while opponents
would highlight the security risks and prohibitive start up costs. In spite of its negatives, nuclear
energy should not be completely disregarded given the problems associated with fossil fuels.

B. Read and analyse the essay question below and then brainstorm ideas in the box
to include in an essay outline about the topic.

In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of living in your country?

Teach-This.com © 2021 Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

 ESSAY WRITING

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Essay Outlines

C. Create an outline for the essay based on your brainstormed ideas.

Thesis statement: ........................................................................................................

1. Topic sentence: ........................................................................................................

a. Supporting idea: ...................................................................................................

i. Detail: ............................................................................................................

ii. Detail: ............................................................................................................

b. Supporting idea: ...................................................................................................

i. Detail: ............................................................................................................

ii. Detail: ............................................................................................................

2. Topic sentence: ........................................................................................................

a. Supporting idea: ...................................................................................................

i. Detail: ............................................................................................................

ii. Detail: ............................................................................................................

b. Supporting idea: ...................................................................................................

i. Detail: ............................................................................................................

ii. Detail: ............................................................................................................

D. Now, use the outline above to write a complete essay.

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

Teach-This.com © 2021 Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.

 ESSAY WRITING

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Essay Outlines

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

Teach-This.com © 2021 Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.