Writing Tip: Getting Started on a Longer Essay

When beginning a paper it is important to establish an outline first. This is achieved easily by turning the main points of the paper into questions. The desired length of the paper will determine how many questions. For example, if the topic is Outsourcing, questions will help to specify the main aspects such as "Where does outsourcing taking place? Why does outsourcing take place? Who is affected? What are the benefits? What are the consequences?" Questions like this will help to guide the paper into a more concise, unified essay. Finally, when all the questions have been answered, it is time to write the introduction and begin filling in the points.