Brainstorm ideas you may want to include in the essay. Write a list of everything that comes to mind. Organize your list by grouping related ideas together and arranging each idea in sections of general and specific.
Research information to include in a list of your essay's main and sub points. Use credible sources from encyclopedias, journals or Internet sources ending in .gov, .edu or .org.
Include important information such as the "what" and "why" of the essay, as well as a tentative thesis providing focus for the essay.
Label the head of each paragraph by the main point and create a list of sub-points to support the main idea. Repeat this for each paragraph in the essay.
Write a tentative summary of the essay in the conclusion paragraph outline. List possible ways to end the essay, such as with facts, quotes or a call to action.