Reccomended Outline for Red Badge of Courage

Topic: The Red Badge of Courage shows how the character Henry Fleming matures as a result of his
experiences in war. Do you think that Crane means for us to see Henry as courageous and heroic by
the end of the novel? Or should we feel that although Henry has learned from his experiences and has
grown as a human being, he cannot really be called heroic?
Title: Must be original and centered at the top of your essay_________________________________
Introduction - Paragraph 1:
Attention Grabber -Choose a quote from the novel that reflects your chosen topic. Options
are below, but you may choose another if you prefer. (remember transitional words and
phrases!)
TOPIC Sentence (Sentence 2): Introduce novel = tell setting, author, title of book, and general
information about the novel
Statement of Problem: Explain your problem. Basically you will be stating that there is a
debate among readers of this book about whether Henry is to be considered a hero or a coward.
THESIS Sentence /Transition Sentence (Sentence 3): Make a thesis statement about your
selected topic. Your thesis would be something that states that Henry is either heroic OR
cowardly (select ONE only), then list the main events from the story or arguments you are
going to make that support your thesis (paragraph 1, paragraph 2, paragraph 3). *** Use thesis
Worksheet!***
Main Point Paragraphs 2-4:

TOPIC Sentence (Sentence 1) Introduce your first example.

Explanation of event (Sentence 2)- Explain the event from the story that shows his
heroism or cowardice.
Evidence of event (Sentence 3-6): Explain why this event was either heroic or cowardly. This
explanation should be more about 3 sentences long or more . THIS IS WHERE YOU PUT
IN EITHER A PASSAGE FROM THE TEXT OR A QUOTE FROM A CHARACTER W/
A LEAD IN Example: During this event, Henry says _____________________,
___________________________________________ (_____).
Explanation of quote (Sentence 7): Explain how the quote/example ties to the topic sentence
and overall thesis.
Transition Sentence (Sentence 8): This sets up your next paragraph. Ex. This is not the only
instance in which Henry shows heroic qualities,

*****Opposing Viewpoint & Rebuttal***** Paragraph 5:

TOPIC Sentence (Sentence 1) Explain the opposing viewpoint: Ex Some may argue that
Henry is a hero/coward because
Explain why this viewpoint is INCORRECT (Sentence 2): Ex. This viewpoint is incorrect
because
(Sentence 3): Quote to reinforce YOUR argument (rebuttal). (Sentence 3). In other words.
Find a quote that goes with Sentence 2
1

Explanation of quote (Sentence 4): Explain how the quote/example reinforces your viewpoint
and how it connects to the topic sentence and overall thesis.
Example - Give an 2nd example from the story that you have not already used to explain
why this viewpoint is INCORRECT (Sentence 5): Ex. In the story, Henry does _____Explanation of example (Sentence 6): Explain how the example reinforces your viewpoint
and how it connects to the topic sentence and overall thesis.
Transition Sentence (Sentence 9): This restates your rebuttal.
** Make sure you have a lead in for all of your quotes!
To Recap, for this portion, you need 1 quote and 1 example to back up your opinion and
prove that the other side is wrong.

Conclusion - Paragraph 6:
TOPIC Sentence (Sentence 1): Reword the thesis.
Restatement of Problem (Sentence 3): Explain your problem.(From introduction)
Restate Main Points (Sentence 2): Explain which events you discussed (3 main points and
rebuttal. Each of these should be in its own sentence.)
Memorable Ending (Sentence 4): End your paper with another quote from the story that
relates to your thesis.

Topic and Sentence Outlines: which

type of outline is best for the
assignment?
There are two main types of outlines: Topic and Sentence outlines. Both types are
hierarchical outlines but a topic outline is far more brief.
A topic outline provides a quick overview of topics to be included in an essay. You are
probably already familiar with this structure. Look at a syllabus from one of your courses. It is
probably the equivalent of a topic outline, with topics listed for each unit, and readings and
assignments under each. After each heading in a topic outline for an essay, a maximum of
several words is used to identify the topic or idea that will be discussed under the given
heading.
In a sentence outline, the thesis and topic sentence of each supporting paragraph are fully
written out. The sentence outline forces part of the essay to be written out in sentences
before the first draft. Here are examples of sentence and topic outlines:

Sentence Outline

Topic Outline