Outlining instructions. keep it simple as you can

Can you help me understand this English question?

Outlining instructions for Position Paper (research project)

An outline is your paper and your paper’s organization in a nutshell. Most of you are familiar with the outlining process. This is the format I want you to follow for this course:

THESIS/ARGUMENT: In a position paper, your thesis will indicate agreement or disagreement with the argument of your primary text.

• Ground/Reason #1: Provide one sentence that explains why your argument is true. This is be a fact-based statement. (Remember: your thesis is debatable/opinion, but your grounds will not be because they will serve as proof for your thesis.) For example: Women in polygamous marriages have reported a higher rate of depression than those not in polygamous marriages. OR: Apologizing Earnestly helps to mend breaches in relationships. (These are statements that reflect fact language, which will be used in your research. If you can prove that your ground is fact via research, then you likely have a sound ground.)
• Ground/Reason #2
  • See note above
• Ground/ Reason #3
  • See note above

IMPORTANT NOTE: This outline precedes your research. This is why I do not require supporting quotes like we did for the Critical Analysis outline. Once this outline is approved by me, you will use it as a road map for your research in order to find supporting quotes you can appropriately use in your paper.

Other side notes: Remember that this is just an outline you will follow. The paper must include a full but short introduction and conclusion, and you must develop all body paragraphs per the Paragraph Development Checklist I provided you in “Notes on Writing and Argument.”

The topic is WHAT MAKES A CRIMINAL?