RESEARCH PAPER: WORKING OUTLINE SAMPLE 9

Research Paper: Working Outline Sample

A working outline is crafted after all of your preliminary research is done. It is a solid tool to organize all of the concepts you will address in your research paper and can easily be converted into a final draft of your actual paper.

Use standard outlining format (see below), with your thesis statement above the first Roman numeral entry; it will become the foundation for your introductory paragraph (which in APA style is never preceded by a heading titled “introduction”):

Thesis statement

All of your primary issues will be enumerated as Roman numerals (I, II, III). These should be left-justified, in standard outline format. They will later become your Level 1 headings (see page 62 of your APA manual). Include some bullets or phrases to support each, with citations in proper APA format for the resources in your reference list. Complete sentences are not necessary in an outline.

The supporting (secondary) issues for each primary issue will be labeled with capital letters (A, B, C). These should be indented ½”, in standard outline format. They will later become your Level 2 headings.

Any tertiary issues that support your secondary issues will be labeled with Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3). These should be indented 1”, in standard outline format. They will become your Level 3 headings.

Subheadings under the tertiary issues would be labeled with lowercase letters (a, b, c).

These would be indented 1-1/2”, in standard outline format. They would become your Level 4 headings.

The last possible level would be issues supporting the Level 4 headings, which would be labeled with lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii). These would be indented 2”. They would become Level 5 headings.

Conclusion.

As with all outlines and papers, there must be at least two divisions for each level used, if any. Outlines cannot have a “I” without a “II” or an “A” without a “B,” for example. Likewise, APA papers cannot have just one Level 2 heading under a Level 1 heading; there must be at least two Level 2 headings under that Level 1 heading, or no Level 2 headings there at all. In other words, if you don’t plan to divide the larger section into two or more smaller sections, do not divide it at all. Each new larger section starts anew. It is possible to have five Roman numerals, with capital letters under just the fourth one; others may have capital letter divisions under every Roman numeral.

Also note that the information included under each section should NOT be in complete sentences. Phrases should be short and direct. A standard title page and reference page are also required, as required in all APA assignments. Sample working outline follows on the next page.

Research Paper: Working Outline Sample

Student Name

School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University

Author Note

Student Name

I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to

Student Name

Email: Student Email

Research Paper: Working Outline Sample

Thesis: God designed and created man with an internal yearning to have close interpersonal relationships and attachment to Him and others, thus behavioral issues resulting from attachment disorders have spiritual implications.
I. The Core Causations of Reactive Attachment Disorder:
A. Attachment Theory and Development of Attachment Styles
1. John Bowlby; Jane Ainsworth.
2. Anxious/ambivalent, avoidant, or secure (Besharat, 2011, p. 475).
a. 16% = anxious/ ambivalent;
b. 21% = avoidant;
c. 63% = secure (Levy et al., 2011, p. 193).
3. Childhood attachment styles develop into lifelong patterns.
B. Pathways to Depravity:
1. RAD develops during the first three years of a child’s life;
2. Due to lack of adequate and appropriate caretaker;
3. RAD = lack of empathy; research = confirmed link between compromised levels of empathy and antisocial behaviors (Thompson & Gullone, 2008, p. 123).
C. Statistics:
1. United States:
a. 38-40% of foster children;
b. 195,000.
2. International:
a. 1% of all children worldwide;
b. 22,000,000 (Hall & Geher, 2003, p. 149).

II. Correlations Between One’s Attachment to Others and Corresponding Attachment to God
A. Attachment to Others:
1. People = flesh-and-bone correlation of God’s design.
2. By definition = children with RAD shun true intimacy with everyone/God.
B. God Image and Attachment:
1. Scriptural correlations:
a. “Man is designed to relate to God and the human brain is [in fact] ‘wired for God’” (Fayard et al., 2009, p. 167).
b. Jesus Christ = “living water” (John 4:10, 13).
c. Bible = replete with imagery of God as a compassionate, caring, involved, devoted and doting father to His children
d. God’s own example = emotional intimacy, bonding, secure attachment
2. Impact of personal religiosity on attachment:
a. Parents with higher levels of personal religiosity = “stronger authoritative parenting skills … and report less parent-child conflict” (Pickering & Vazsonyi, 2010, p. 98).
b. Children with a genuine relationship with God = stronger resilience in navigating the adolescent years (Pickering & Vazsonyi, 2010, p. 111- 112).
C. Spiritual Implications:
1. RAD = spiritual implications because it necessarily interferes with the person’s ability to relate to God;
2. It interferes with a person’s ability to relate to others.
III. Conclusion

References
Besharat, M. (2011). Development and validation of adult attachment inventory. Procedia –
Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 475–479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.093
Fayard, C., Pereau, M., & Ciovica, A. (2009). ‘Love the Lord with all your mind’: Explorations
on a possible neurobiology of the experience of god and some implications for the
practice of psychotherapy. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 28(2), 167-181.
Hall, S., & Geher, G. (2003). Behavioral and personality characteristics of children with reactive
attachment disorder. The Journal of Psychology, 137(2), 145-162.
Levy, K., Ellison, W., Scott, L. & Bernecker, S. (2011). Attachment style. Journal of Clinical
Psychology: In Session, 67(2), 193-203. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20756
Pickering, L., & Vazsonyi, A. (2010). Does family process mediate the effect of religiosity on
adolescent deviance?: Revisiting the notion of spuriousness. Criminal Justice and
Behavior, 37, 97-118. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854809347813
Thompson, K., & Gullone, E. (2008). Prosocial and antisocial behaviors in adolescents: An
investigation into associations with attachment and empathy. Anthrozoos, 21(2), 123-137. https://doi.org/10.2752/175303708X305774