Research Writing Process (Book)

Johnny Johnson

Ms. Doe

English 12 – Period 1

11 March 2010

SAMPLE OUTLINE #2

Education: Why does it seem everyone is against it?

Thesis Statement: Poverty, segregation of minorities, and changes in  

federal funding policies negatively affect education.

I. The schools from low-income communities lack the revenues to provide

   students with equal opportunities.

     A. Schools in low-income areas usually have limited resources, which

         makes it difficult to provide students with quality education.

          1. Those schools usually have under-qualified teachers.

          2. Those low-income communities supporting the school do not

              bring in enough revenue to provide the schools with proper

              curriculum, supplies, and extra curricular programs.

     B. Students from schools in low-income communities have less of an

         opportunity to get a decent job later in life.

          1. When students are not equally educated, the economy suffers

              due to a lack of competition in the job market.

          2. Those students from under-funded schools are usually born into

               the bottom of the economy and are not given the proper

               opportunities to better themselves.

II. The majority of the population of poverty stricken schools consists of minorities.

     A. In most urban centers, minorities are the majority

          1. Urban school serving minorities contain the greatest number of

              teachers teaching outside of their training.

          2. Many of the minority students attending these schools believe

              society does not care to give them the resources they need to

              succeed.

     B. The achievement gap between white students and minorities is

          large.

III. The quality of education suffers due to changes in policies, such as

the addition of the “No Child Left Behind Act.”

     A. The “No Child Left Behind Act” usually forces schools to make

          choices to lower standards in order to avoid sanctions and

          retain funding.

               1. Many times teachers are forced to abandon the normal

                   curriculum in order to focus on teaching the students what

                   the government decides is most important.

                2. NCLB has caused much controversy among educational

                    systems.

     B. Standards established by the “No Child Left Behind Act” are hard to

         develop and enforce because curriculum differs all over the

         country.

          1. The government should not be responsible for developing the

              standards because they are not the trained educators.

          2. Standardized tests are not a fair or accurate way of measuring

              how much children are learning due to the variation of curriculum

              throughout the country.

     C. The “No Child Left Behind Act” does not work properly because it is

          not adequately funded by the federal government.

           1. The government provides only two-thirds of the money originally

               promised making states responsible for the rest.

           2. The federal government often cuts money for education                      

                funding.