Hello @jimnaa!

Here are some helpful guide on how to write an outline for a term paper.

1. Know your main idea for this is needed for the introduction portion of your paper outline. Make sure that you label your introduction, body, and conclusion with Roman numerals.
Example: Paper Title
Thesis Statement
I. Introduction

2. Identify the major points that you want t make in your paper and if possible build a paragraph around each major point.
II. Body

3. Next is to add minor points for this will help you remember which direction you want to go in while writing. Make sure you stick to your topic.

4. Add in your conclusion as your last Roman Numeral. You can also list any extra points if you need to. The outline serves as a guide to help you structure your paper
III. Conclusion

5. Be sure that you follow the guidelines that are set forth by your teacher or professor since different instructors have different preferences when it comes to outlines. Some prefer you invert roman numerals and letters and some prefer that you list the main idea listed as part of the introduction and not separate. Just double check with your professor just to be sure.

The OWL website at Purdue University is a wonderful toolbox full of academic writing help. It has resources for everything from writing research papers (including term papers) to formatting bibliographies to style guides. It's been an invaluable help to me in my college work.

An outline is a sketch for a written work that you have yet to create. The most often used of these is the Harvard Outline. An example of one can be found here:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/brainstorm_outline.htm.
The outline begins to get your many different and ranging ideas into a form that you can use to communicate to your reader. You have all the info in your head and you can see how it fits together. But your reader does not. The outline forces you to think sequentially, namely, from one idea to the next. You can begin at any point in your idea that makes sense. But as you move from one to the other, your reader should be able to follow. An outline shows if that is true or not. Especially if you give your outline to another person to read your idea and tell you what the paper is about. If that person gets it right, your outline is effective. If not, you may need to go back to the computer and do some refining.