Essay Outline

1. Introduce the main idea. Over a hundred million people in the U.S. work in the food service industry. That number is steadily growing.
2. State the thesis. Experience in the service industry can benefit people on any career path.

1. Introduce the supporting idea. Working in food service requires multiple people to work quickly as a team. They build strong skills in communication and conflict resolution.
2. Provide supporting details. Lots of careers (construction, software development, healthcare, etc.) require teamwork and collaboration.
3. Connect the supporting details to the main idea. The fast-paced collaboration required in food service helps prepare people for the teamwork required in other careers.

1. Introduce the supporting idea. Some restaurant and fast food chains assist employees in finding new careers.
2. Provide supporting details. Some of these large chains assist employees with college tuition and federal student loan debt. Some also help employees to move into management and other roles in the company.
3. Connect the supporting details to the main idea. In cases like these, working in food service can provide a springboard to the next career step.

1. Introduce the main idea. Fruits and vegetables are important for a healthy lifestyle. People in the U.S. have become more interested in growing their own fruits and vegetables.
2. State the thesis. Home-grown fruits and vegetables are healthier than store-bought fruits and vegetables.

1. Introduce the supporting idea. The nutrient density of foods is highest at peak freshness.
2. Provide supporting details. Produce shipped from farms and stored in supermarkets is harvested before its peak freshness so it doesn't spoil as quickly. Home-grown produce can continue ripening until it's ready to be eaten.
3. Connect the supporting details to the main idea. Since it can easily be harvested at peak freshness, home-grown produce can be more nutrient-dense than store-bought produce.

1. Introduce the supporting idea. People are more likely to eat produce they grew themselves.
2. Provide supporting details. A study at Saint Louis University showed that children who learn to grow their own fruits and vegetables are more likely to eat a healthy diet than other children.
3. Connect the supporting details to the main idea. Home-grown produce is a healthier option because it encourages people to eat more produce.

1. Introduce the supporting idea. Store-bought produce is also nutritious.
2. Provide supporting details. Growing food requires a large commitment of time, space, water, and other resources. When this commitment isn't possible, store-bought vegetables are the best option. This is why it's important to have good produce available in stores.
3. Connect the supporting details to the main idea. Because of the relative advantages, if home-grown produce is an option, it is a more nutritious solution than store-bought produce.

1. Return to the thesis and sum up the supporting ideas. Home-grown produce can be fresher and more nutritionally dense than store-bought produce. It also encourages a healthier diet overall.
2. Explore the implications and questions raised by the thesis. Home gardening isn't an option for everyone, but advances in indoor and container gardening can make home-grown fruits and vegetables available to more people.

Compare and Contrast Essay Outline

A compare and contrast essay discusses the similarities and differences between two given topics. Its supporting ideas can consist of summaries of each topic and key similarities or differences between the topics.

Compare and contrast essays can be organized using the block method, where the two topics are discussed separately, one after the other, or the point-by-point method, where the two topics are compared at a single point in each supporting paragraph.

This essay discusses the differences between the piano and the organ using the point-by-point method.

Fig. 3 -The keyboards may look the same, but the piano and organ are very different instruments.

1. Introduce topics: At a glance, the piano and the organ look like the same instrument. They have the same type of keyboard, and they're usually in a wooden casing. However, the piano is able to play some musical pieces that the organ cannot, and vice versa.
2. Thesis statement: Even though they look similar, the piano and the organ are very different instruments.

1. Introduce the supporting idea: One key difference between the piano and the organ is their sound production. Both are in the keyboard instrument family, but they produce different types of sound.
2. Supporting details of Topic 1: Striking a piano key causes a felt hammer to swing onto a group of metal strings.
3. Supporting details of Topic 2: Striking an organ key allows air to flow through the wood or metal pipes connected to the machine.
4. Connect the supporting details to the main idea: The piano uses its keyboard to behave like a percussion or string instrument, while the organ uses its keyboard to behave like a woodwind or brass instrument. This is why the piano and organ sound so distinct from one another.

1. Introduce the supporting idea: Both the piano and organ require the player to work with foot pedals. These pedals, however, serve different functions.
2. Supporting details of Topic 1: A piano's pedals affect the instrument's "action." The pedals may shift the hammers to one side to strike fewer strings or raise the felt dampers, so the strings freely ring out.
3. Supporting details of Topic 2: An organ's pedals constitute an entire keyboard. The organ's primary pedalboard is a very large keyboard that controls the instrument's largest pipes.
4. Connect the supporting details to the main idea: The pianist and organist must use their feet to operate the instrument, but they use different skill sets.

1. Introduce the supporting idea: The piano and organ also differ in volume control.
2. Supporting details of Topic 1: A pianist can control the instrument's volume by striking the keyboard lightly or intensely.
3. Supporting details of Topic 2: An organ's volume can only be controlled by changing the amount of air that can pass through the pipes or by changing the number of pipes connected to the keyboard register.
4. Connect the supporting details to the main idea: Because of their different methods of volume control, a piano cannot produce the organ's large "wall" of sound, and an organ cannot produce the piano's flowing dynamic changes.

1. Return to the thesis and sum up the supporting ideas. Although the instruments look very similar, the piano and organ have significant mechanical differences, from the keys to the pedals. Because of these mechanical differences, a musician must approach each instrument differently.
2. Explore the implications and questions raised by the thesis. This is one reason the two instruments can produce such different musical pieces. Both instruments are valuable contributions to world music.