Select a pre-loaded, multilevel-list template in your word processing software program. In a multilevel list, there are numbered sections that identify general concepts; numbered or lettered sub-sections indented underneath are used to explain the general ideas in greater detail.
Outline the introductory paragraph of your essay in the first section of your multilevel list. Include at least three sections in the introductory portion of your outline: one bullet that identifies the problem in general terms, one bullet that identifies your proposed solution and one bullet that explains why your proposed solution should be favored. Include additional bullet points or subsections if you wish to add greater detail. Remember that the body paragraphs of your essay will serve to defend your proposed solution, so it's not necessary to go into minute detail in your introduction.
Outline the body paragraphs of your essay next. Dedicate at least three main sections of your outline to the body paragraphs -- each section corresponds with one paragraph. In at least two of the body-paragraph sections of your outline, identify reasons why your proposed solution is the best alternative. The section heading for each of these body-paragraph outlines should be a topic sentence, or a fragment summarizing your topic sentence, for each paragraph. Use the subsections underneath the section heading to jot down supporting details that strengthen your argument.
Dedicate at least one body paragraph of your outline to a concession. A concession is when the writer of a persuasive essay acknowledges a strength that an alternative solution or idea possesses that the writer's solution does not. Making a concession in a problem-and-solution essay -- also known as playing devil's advocate -- can strengthen your essay, because it gives you an opportunity to describe how your solution is still better than the alternative in spite of the other solution's strengths. Write a topic sentence or fragment that identifies the alternative solution's strength as the heading of the concession section of your outline. Use the subsections to describe the advantages afforded by this strength, and finish the section with the reasons why your proposed solution is still the better alternative.
Outline your concluding paragraph last. Your conclusion should contain the same information included in your introduction. Paraphrase your introduction to construct your conclusion's outline. A useful strategy is paraphrasing the introduction in reverse -- begin your concluding paragraph with your thesis statement, and end with an anecdote or information that contextualizes your essay within a greater framework. It's also useful to remember that introductions are formulated to progress from general information to specifics. Concluding paragraphs do the opposite -- they include specific information in the beginning sentences, and proceed to treat more general ideas to end the essay on a broader and more worldly note.