road map essay example

Writing Center

Strategic enrollment management and student success, creating a research roadmap, ... so your paper doesn't crash.

It’s easy to get daunted by the idea of starting a research project. Although “finding information” sounds pretty simple, many of us get overwhelmed when we starting thinking of all the things that go into finding what we need for a research project: figuring out where to look, understanding and determining what is important, deciding how to organize — not to mention incorporating all of this into the actual writing of your paper. Whew!

However, even though research can seem like an overwhelming task, if you are able to break “research” down into manageable chunks, you’ll find that it doesn’t have to be so bad. Research isn’t only finding information or facts; you will also find others’ viewpoints and interpretations of that information. And finally, you will add your interpretation to the mix so that your paper is not a report but a critical look at a topic.

Doing all of this, of course, takes some time and planning, so it can be helpful to think of doing research much like going on a road trip. You just don’t hop in the car and go; you also pack snacks, get directions, check your tire pressure, and find places to stop along the way. Research is the same way. Making a checklist and timeline of all the things you have to do will help you effectively reach your destination. Keep reading to find out how you can create a personal research roadmap that will help you reach your destination safely and without panic.

1) Creating a plan: Where you need to go

The first thing you need to do is make sure you understand the assignment . You don’t want to waste time doing work that won’t fit your project. If you’re not sure what you are supposed to be doing, consult classmates, your professor, or the Writing Center.

If you have the option to choose your topic for research, do this next. Keep in mind the parameters of the assignment, including date due, page length, and project objectives, so you don’t pick a topic that is too broad or narrow for the assignment.

Do some preliminary research on your topic. Consult general sources, such as class notes, textbooks, reference books, and the Internet. You won’t use this material in your final paper but it will give you general information to help you focus your topic choice.

Based on your preliminary research, figure out what types of material you will need to find for your paper. Remember that information consists of both facts and other peoples’ interpretations of those facts. Knowing what you need will make your research more focused, which will save you time.

Create a timeline for completing research. You should do Phase 1 very soon after receiving your assignment. Phase 2 and 3 will take the longest, so don't put them off to the last minute.

2) Doing the research: How to get there

Find keywords that get you into the topic. This may take some experimenting and the task can be frustrating, so use your preliminary research to help you figure out what terms are most relevant for your search.

You’ll probably be using mostly scholarly sources for your paper, so consult library books and electronic databases through the library’s website. (Google searches are not a good use of your time. Promise.) You can consult the help desk in the library or the Writing Center for help on searching.

Once you’ve done research, prioritize your sources . Start with more introductory material to learn the basic facts and then go for more evaluation and interpretation. Don’t feel you have to read every single word of every single source—scan for relevant material and then read more carefully in more important sections.

Take notes as you read your sources. Write down important ideas, quotations, and your own analysis. Writing as you read (instead of waiting ‘til the end) will save you lots of time and energy. Look for the central ideas of sources and think about how they could be organized. Allow ideas to emerge through your research.

3) Incorporating research: What to do while there

Revisit your notes and key quotations from your sources. Identify key concepts, ideas, and points of debate within your subject.

Think about how you can organize your sources around major points of interpretation instead of general topics. Revisit your assignment sheet to make sure you’re still on the right track.

Write a first draft so you can get your ideas out on paper. Divide your paper into smaller chunks so you can work on one chunk at a time. You don’t need to worry about getting everything perfect, but you do want to push your thinking to be analytical and critical. Skip writing the introduction for now. You’ll have a better idea of what to say after you write a draft.

Read your draft and determine if you need to fill holes in your research . Sometimes you won’t realize you need certain things until you start writing, so it helps to set aside some time to go back and do a bit more focused research.

Write a second draft . The value of a second draft can’t be emphasized enough. A second draft is a lot more than just a proofread first draft — it is a refining of your ideas. As you write, you’ll discover your ideas in the first draft; in the second, you’ll make them understandable to outside readers. (Psst—it’s easier to focus your ideas if you start with a blank document instead of trying to directly change your first draft.)

Use the timeline below to divide your research into 3 phases. The length of each phase will be determined by your deadline.

Jerz's Literacy Weblog (est. 1999)

Blueprinting: using the thesis paragraph to plan your essay.

The blueprint, typically found in the thesis paragraph, is a list of the topics you plan to cover in oder to prove your thesis. A useful blueprint will preview the relationship between all sub-points (or at least list the points) in the order they will appear in the body of your paper, before the paper launches into details about the first sub-point.

Including a good blueprint will not only help your reader follow your argument, it will help your writing. It’s easier to add a room, move a hallway, or redesign a whole wing at the blueprinting stage, rather than tearing down sections of a partially-built house.

	This paper will explore the , , and messages in Huckleberry Finn in order to argue [your goes here].

	The Great Depression’s lasting impact on the , the and the explain why [your goes here]”.
Note that — a good reasoning blueprint explains the thesis, so you need a good thesis in order to have a good blueprint. See “ .”)

	The biography challenges the Western genre’s stereotype of the “savage Indian” through .
A reader who encounters the list “attention to cultural detail, use of Indian words, and direct quotes from Black Elk” will expect your paper to treat each of those subjects, in that order. A five-paragraph paper might have an introduction, one supporting paragraph on each topic, and a conclusion. A longer paper might devote several pages to each supporting point.

If your paper begins with a rambling introduction that serves up chunks that you recall from lectures and random web pages, the reader will have a hard time picking out your main point (because you don’t really have one).

The Great Depression was an important time in our nation’s history. Unemployment, urban decay, and a sense of hopelessness filled almost every part of human life. People tried many different ways to relieve their tensions, from religious revivals, to Jazz music, to membership in the Communist party. Average people who were suffering in their daily lives often looked for things that would help them deal with the consequences of living in the industrial age. They often sought escapist entertainment in the form of movies. One such movie was Charlie Chaplin’s . In that film, “The Little Tramp” symbolizes the simple human values that are threatened by industrialism.

The author of the above passage not only wastes time composing five sentences before getting to her thesis (the very last sentence), she also clouds the issue by bringing up topics (religion, music, and Communism) that she has no intention of ever mentioning again. The following revision introduces just the three main points that drive the rest of the paper.

	In Charlie Chaplin’s , his character “The Little Tramp” symbolizes the simple human values that are threatened by industrialism: .
The above revision is simply the [slightly edited] last sentence of the original wordy and vague paragraph. This clear, direct thesis statement helps the student and reader focus on the task at hand. The blueprint is very short — just a list of three terms; but even that is enough to communicate how the rest of the paper will work.

Serial Organization (weak integration)

Sticking to one idea or per paragraph often leads to summary.

If I have to plough read all the details about the subject of the yellow paragraph before I see even the first mention of the topics of the blue and pink paragraphs, I will have no idea where your argument is going.

A stronger introduction would at least mention how your paper will connect the dots.

Revision: Some Attempt to Organize

Before we see all the gory details of the gold paragraph, we are introduced to the blue and pink topics. The black sentence in the first paragraph comes right out and states, in brief, the conclusion that you will develop in the final paragraph.

An academic paper is not a mystery novel. Don’t save your best stuff for last. Give it away in your thesis statement, and use the body of your paper to prove your claim.

A clear intro would synthesize these multiple points into a coherent argument, rather than just offering a list of “things to talk about.”

For more details about organizing, see .

The list of topics you plan to address in the body of your paper is important, but I’m using letters so that you can focus more closely on the structures that link those ideas.

	This paper A, B, and C.
Yes, this is a clear list of three points, but an academic author has do more than “talk about” a string of sub-topics. A strong reasoning blueprint will knit those topics together in order to on a topic.

	X than Y.
That’s kind of stark; this paper has a purpose, but the thesis statement doesn’t offer a reasoning blueprint. Or, to use a different metaphor, the paper doesn’t point out the landmarks we will use as we navigate our way from our starting point to our destination.

Examples of thesis statements with a reasoning blueprint:

Note that the reasoning blueprint introduces subpoints that the reader will expect you to cover in the same order.

	For , X is better than Y.
	X is better than Y, for .
For a short paper (1 or 2 pages), with a simple argument that fits the small space well, the above blueprint is probably fine.

Personal essays and reflection papers may require no sources other than the author’s opinions and personal experiences, but a college research paper will require deep engagement with outside sources. For the next example, we’ll assume your instructor accepts Smith as a credible source for this paper.

, Smith’s plan X will not actually deliver all the benefits that Smith promises when he rejects Y.

The reader will expect a section on P and Q, a section on why Smith says he rejected Y and preferred X, and then a section on why Smith was wrong. (Did he exaggerate? rely on outdated data? overgeneralize?) If this student simply started listing accurate details — “talking about” problems P and Q — then it would be confusing and frustrating for the reader to encounter, at the top of page 3, a critique of Smith’s promises about plan X.

	Although Jones is right to point out that does , in community P, incidents of problem A are so rare that , because only Y will help us avoid (which are more common than usual in community P).
The above example makes a complex claim. If you want to make this argument, but you start your paper “talking about” X and then “talking about” Y, your reader may miss the whole point — which is that, despite the fact Jones is right about why X is good, community P would be better served by Y.

Below is an even more complex argument, which demonstrates a college-level ability to sift through ideas from multiple sources.

	While experts Smith, Jones, Brown, and Lee all , their research fails to account for special case W, which would cause if exposed to X, and which will provide huge if exposed to Y. Although X is still a good option in most cases, no solution will be complete unless people affected by W have the freedom to choose Y.
The above is a very complex blueprint; as you can see, the idea here is so complex that the author has split the thesis statement and the reasoning blueprint up into separate sentences. That’s perfectly fine.

Use “Thesis Reminders” for Transitions

No matter how good your thesis, your writing is worth little if it does not cohere (hold together) and demonstrate to the reader how each new point advances the main idea . You can accomplish both goals by providing your reader with thesis reminders.

A thesis reminder is a direct echo of the thesis statement , used as a transition between supporting points.

	The next point I want to talk about is…
Not a good transition, because it does nothing to help the reader understand how the supporting points fit into the master plan of your paper.

A good thesis sentence has three main parts: the limited subject (what your paper is about), the precise opinion (what you’re trying to say about that subject), and the blueprint (what this web page is about). (See: “ Thesis Statements “)

Here are two examples of using the thesis and the blueprint to maintain coherence.

Thesis: Restoring old houses is rewarding because it is exciting , relaxing , and satisfying .

Part of the lies in the of discovering the original interior.

Not only is there in , but working with one’s hands is .

However you may be when you have finished , nothing beats the found in viewing the completed project.

Thesis: Becoming a ski patroller turned out to be harder than I thought because of the studying, the skiing , and the time demands .

The first was the amount of the medical terms, symptoms and signs, and treatments.

to pass the first aid and CPR exams; a also has to train for and demonstrate on the slope.

Studying and ski training are both very , yet, even after pass all the exams, they still themselves to skiing many hours regardless of the weather or snow conditions.

You Don’t Need Exactly Three Points!

If you are writing a more complex essay, you may use a different format, but you still must include blueprints and reminders.

For example, a critical essay may have a thesis, antithesis, and a synthesis. The antithesis presents all the arguments against your thesis, and a synthesis is a kind of compromise, in which you attempt to prove that, whatever points your opponents might have in their favor, your thesis still stands.

Each of these sections may have 3 or more points, which are united by local blueprints and local reminders, capped off by local conclusions, and worked into by the tapestry of the whole argument.

Varieties of Blueprints

These are all acceptable ways to blueprint in a thesis statement.

	Renting a new apartment during college is exciting because it .
separating each blueprint item.

	Taking Professor Jerz’s Technical writing course is a wise choice.
This example is okay but a bit choppy — here, having a is pretty much a waste of words. (But see revision, below.)

Taking Professor Jerz’s Technical writing course is a wise choice. It focuses on one of Jerz’s favorite things: . It amplifies textbook knowledge by providing students with valuable . And it forces students to learn — a skill that many college students lack.

This example is a bit more complex — the sentences which introduce the blueprint items are actually delivering some of the paper’s argument; hence, .A student who has nothing more to say about a point than, for instance, “time management is a skill that many college students lack” is not going to want to give away that one idea in the blueprint; instead, he or she will try to create an entire paragraph around that one idea.

The result will be wordy and boring. By contrast, a student who can slip an interesting observation into the blueprint, and then follow up with even moreintelligent and insightful things in the body of the paper, is demonstrating much more advanced writing skill.

Use Good Structure

The order of the points in the blueprint should perfectly parallel the points in the essay. If you say you are going to talk about “ships, shoes, and sealing wax,” but your essay starts with “sealing wax,” then your blueprint is distorted.

Here is an example of a different kind of distortion — faulty parallelism .

	Taking Professor Jerz’s Technical Writing course is a wise choice because it focuses on correct grammar and allowing students to gain experience in the outside world. Students are also permitted to budget their time.
What is wrong with this example? How could it be fixed?

Note : A thesis statement amounts to nothing if the paper is not completely focused on that main point. Proper blueprinting facilitates the coherency of the thesis throughout the rest of the essay.

Jordan and Jerz

A thesis statement is the main idea that your essay supports. The thesis statement has 3 main parts: the , the , and the .Hochstein, Jordan, and Jerz

A thesis reminder is a direct echo of the thesis statement. In a short paper, the topic sentence of each paragraph should repeat words or phrases from the thesis statement.

8 thoughts on “ Blueprinting: Using the Thesis Paragraph to Plan Your Essay ”

Pingback: Academic Argument: an evidence-based defense of a non-obvious position on a complex issue. | Jerz's Literacy Weblog (est. 1999)

Pingback: how to essay | sarah med

in what essay type do we use blue printing?

Other writing teachers may have a different name for the overview, road map, list of supporting points, abstract, etc., but I would say any kind of complex persuasive or informative essay would benefit from a blueprint.

this topic is incredibly helpful.

Pingback: Consultations – Seminar in Thinking and Writing (LA101)

yes this blue print is not difficult, u can also use in the conclusion the clincher and the reminder of the thesis .

How many more must die? The issue of child abuse is of utmost importance because children cannot speak for themselves. Child abuse is when a parent or guardian causes or allows a child to suffer neglect, physical, sexual and emotional harm.Child abuse creates a sense of hopelessness,high crime rate and a breakdown in society. who is to blame? Parents or the lack of protective laws and legislation.

Making Connections between Sections of your Argument: Road Maps and Signposts

About the slc.

Our Mission and Core Values

Making Connections between Sections of your Argument

You are driving from a small town outside Boston to San Francisco. It's a long, somewhat complicated trip, especially because you'd like to visit your friend in New York and stop at a few tourist attractions throughout the country. You want to make good time--a smooth, error-free trip.

You need a road map of the US so you don't get lost. You'll probably want to highlight your route on the map so that you can get a "big picture" of your whole trip, all the twists and turns .

But, it is still fairly easy to get lost--you're on a busy freeway, people are driving quickly, and you miss your turn because your exit was poorly marked. It is great to have a big picture of your trip, but if there are no signposts (road signs) along the way, you'll encounter quite a bit of difficulty navigating the roads, the individual twists and turns, even the major freeway exchanges .

Fine, but how does all this relate to writing? Put your reader in the driver's seat.

It is your job to help the reader get "the big picture" of your argument --how it will develop or unfold, what different sections your argument will have (one section per major point), all its twists and turns. To achieve this big picture, you will need to provide a road map of your overall argument , usually toward the beginning of the paper right after you announce what the main point is that you will argue in the paper or report (thesis/hypothesis). Some writers refer to this set of sentences as the "plan of attack," but I prefer to equate skillful writing with skillful driving, not an act of war...

Now, it would be cruel to send your reader off with this map and not post any road signs throughout your paper. How can you be sure your reader will anticipate curves and turns? You don't want your reader cruising along and then come screeching to a halt in the middle of the road because your argument is shifting lanes to the right and the reader's in the left lane driving right past the exit which takes him to your next point. The reader expects and thus needs signposts . You need to include headings or transitional sentences between major sections of your paper or report to cue your reader that you have finished one section and are moving on to another. And, to help the reader keep a constant speed throughout your paper, with no screeching halts, you'll want to include smaller signs within sections-- transitional words, phrases, or sentences between paragraphs to show how the next paragraph builds on the previous one.

When reading over your draft, ask yourself, "where have I given my reader a map to my essay, and where have I helped my reader to follow that map?"

See samples below and drive, I mean write, smoothly.

A sample plan of attack

This paper summarizes the issues involved in implementing alternative assessment. The authors list issues that arise in three major educational settings, categorize them, and address each from the perspective of teachers, learners, and administrators. The paper ends with potential plans of action based on the analysis of alternative assessment use in different teaching contexts.

A sample between-sections transition

The Illusion: Luck and the Lottery

The state focuses nearly all its publicity effort on merchandising a get-rich-quick fantasy, one that will come true for only a handful of people, while encouraging millions of others to think of success as a product of luck, not honest work.

-----Several paragraphs of evidence and analysis of this position-----

The following header and sentence set up a contrasting view for the next section of the paper:

Lottery Loot: Inner City Schools and Infrastructure

While the shortcomings of the state lottery system are numerous, there are sound arguments for allowing state lotteries to continue and spread....

A sample between-paragraphs transition

. . . as seen in such puns as "mint," "Angell," and "plate" (Taylor 390). These puns express not only Taylor's desire to get to Heaven ("let me Thy Angell bee"), but also his sense of the great value of being remade or reborn--of being re"minted" by God. He wants to be the heavenly equivalent of earthly money, heaven's wealth and riches. We see then in these examples from "Meditation 6" and "Meditation 8" that Taylor's metaphors often take earthly, material values that the Puritans eschew and turn these "profane" values to a "sacred" purpose.

Not only do Taylor's metaphors turn conventional Puritan values upside down, but so do his puns. Taylor uses puns to . . .

At the end of a paragraph about Taylor's use of metaphors, the writing does not end with the final examples, but summarize and synthesizes the point of the paragraph. The next paragraph repeats the point and then states a new topic sentence.

Student Learning Center, University of California, Berkeley

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

The requested URL was rejected.

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

Knowledge Base
How to write an essay outline | Guidelines & examples

How to Write an Essay Outline | Guidelines & Examples

Published on August 14, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An essay outline is a way of planning the structure of your essay before you start writing. It involves writing quick summary sentences or phrases for every point you will cover in each paragraph , giving you a picture of how your argument will unfold.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Organizing your material, presentation of the outline, examples of essay outlines, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about essay outlines.

At the stage where you’re writing an essay outline, your ideas are probably still not fully formed. You should know your topic and have already done some preliminary research to find relevant sources , but now you need to shape your ideas into a structured argument.

Creating categories

Look over any information, quotes and ideas you’ve noted down from your research and consider the central point you want to make in the essay—this will be the basis of your thesis statement . Once you have an idea of your overall argument, you can begin to organize your material in a way that serves that argument.

Try to arrange your material into categories related to different aspects of your argument. If you’re writing about a literary text, you might group your ideas into themes; in a history essay, it might be several key trends or turning points from the period you’re discussing.

Three main themes or subjects is a common structure for essays. Depending on the length of the essay, you could split the themes into three body paragraphs, or three longer sections with several paragraphs covering each theme.

As you create the outline, look critically at your categories and points: Are any of them irrelevant or redundant? Make sure every topic you cover is clearly related to your thesis statement.

Order of information

When you have your material organized into several categories, consider what order they should appear in.

Your essay will always begin and end with an introduction and conclusion , but the organization of the body is up to you.

Consider these questions to order your material:

Is there an obvious starting point for your argument?
Is there one subject that provides an easy transition into another?
Do some points need to be set up by discussing other points first?

Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services

Discover proofreading & editing

Within each paragraph, you’ll discuss a single idea related to your overall topic or argument, using several points of evidence or analysis to do so.

In your outline, you present these points as a few short numbered sentences or phrases.They can be split into sub-points when more detail is needed.

The template below shows how you might structure an outline for a five-paragraph essay.

Thesis statement
First piece of evidence
Second piece of evidence
Summary/synthesis
Importance of topic
Strong closing statement

You can choose whether to write your outline in full sentences or short phrases. Be consistent in your choice; don’t randomly write some points as full sentences and others as short phrases.

Examples of outlines for different types of essays are presented below: an argumentative, expository, and literary analysis essay.

Argumentative essay outline

This outline is for a short argumentative essay evaluating the internet’s impact on education. It uses short phrases to summarize each point.

Its body is split into three paragraphs, each presenting arguments about a different aspect of the internet’s effects on education.

Importance of the internet
Concerns about internet use
Thesis statement: Internet use a net positive
Data exploring this effect
Analysis indicating it is overstated
Students’ reading levels over time
Why this data is questionable
Video media
Interactive media
Speed and simplicity of online research
Questions about reliability (transitioning into next topic)
Evidence indicating its ubiquity
Claims that it discourages engagement with academic writing
Evidence that Wikipedia warns students not to cite it
Argument that it introduces students to citation
Summary of key points
Value of digital education for students
Need for optimism to embrace advantages of the internet

Expository essay outline

This is the outline for an expository essay describing how the invention of the printing press affected life and politics in Europe.

The paragraphs are still summarized in short phrases here, but individual points are described with full sentences.

Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages.
Provide background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press.
Present the thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.
Discuss the very high levels of illiteracy in medieval Europe.
Describe how literacy and thus knowledge and education were mainly the domain of religious and political elites.
Indicate how this discouraged political and religious change.
Describe the invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg.
Show the implications of the new technology for book production.
Describe the rapid spread of the technology and the printing of the Gutenberg Bible.
Link to the Reformation.
Discuss the trend for translating the Bible into vernacular languages during the years following the printing press’s invention.
Describe Luther’s own translation of the Bible during the Reformation.
Sketch out the large-scale effects the Reformation would have on religion and politics.
Summarize the history described.
Stress the significance of the printing press to the events of this period.

Literary analysis essay outline

The literary analysis essay outlined below discusses the role of theater in Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park .

The body of the essay is divided into three different themes, each of which is explored through examples from the book.

Describe the theatricality of Austen’s works
Outline the role theater plays in Mansfield Park
Introduce the research question : How does Austen use theater to express the characters’ morality in Mansfield Park ?
Discuss Austen’s depiction of the performance at the end of the first volume
Discuss how Sir Bertram reacts to the acting scheme
Introduce Austen’s use of stage direction–like details during dialogue
Explore how these are deployed to show the characters’ self-absorption
Discuss Austen’s description of Maria and Julia’s relationship as polite but affectionless
Compare Mrs. Norris’s self-conceit as charitable despite her idleness
Summarize the three themes: The acting scheme, stage directions, and the performance of morals
Answer the research question
Indicate areas for further study

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

Ad hominem fallacy
Post hoc fallacy
Appeal to authority fallacy
False cause fallacy
Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

Choosing Essay Topic
Write a College Essay
Write a Diversity Essay
College Essay Format & Structure
Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

(AI) Tools

Grammar Checker
Paraphrasing Tool
Text Summarizer
AI Detector
Plagiarism Checker
Citation Generator

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

Academic style
Vague sentences
Style consistency

See an example

You will sometimes be asked to hand in an essay outline before you start writing your essay . Your supervisor wants to see that you have a clear idea of your structure so that writing will go smoothly.

Even when you do not have to hand it in, writing an essay outline is an important part of the writing process . It’s a good idea to write one (as informally as you like) to clarify your structure for yourself whenever you are working on an essay.

If you have to hand in your essay outline , you may be given specific guidelines stating whether you have to use full sentences. If you’re not sure, ask your supervisor.

When writing an essay outline for yourself, the choice is yours. Some students find it helpful to write out their ideas in full sentences, while others prefer to summarize them in short phrases.

You should try to follow your outline as you write your essay . However, if your ideas change or it becomes clear that your structure could be better, it’s okay to depart from your essay outline . Just make sure you know why you’re doing so.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). How to Write an Essay Outline | Guidelines & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 12, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/essay-outline/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, how to create a structured research paper outline | example, a step-by-step guide to the writing process, how to write an argumentative essay | examples & tips, "i thought ai proofreading was useless but..".

I've been using Scribbr for years now and I know it's a service that won't disappoint. It does a good job spotting mistakes”

U.S. Locations
UMGC Europe
Learn Online
Find Answers
855-655-8682
Current Students

Essay Introductions

Explore more of umgc.

Writing Resources

Contact The Effective Writing Center

E-mail: writingcenter@umgc.edu

Write an introduction that interests the reader and effectively outlines your arguments.

Every essay or assignment you write must begin with an introduction. It might be helpful to think of the introduction as an inverted pyramid. In such a pyramid, you begin by presenting a broad introduction to the topic and end by making a more focused point about that topic in your thesis statement. The introduction has three essential parts, each of which serves a particular purpose.

The first part is the "attention-grabber." You need to interest your reader in your topic so that they will want to continue reading. You also want to do that in a way that is fresh and original. For example, although it may be tempting to begin your essay with a dictionary definition, this technique is stale because it has been widely overused. Instead, you might try one of the following techniques:

Offer a surprising statistic that conveys something about the problem to be addressed in the paper.

Perhaps you can find an interesting quote that nicely sums up your argument.

Use rhetorical questions that place your readers in a different situation in order to get them thinking about your topic in a new way.

If you have a personal connection to the topic, you might use an anecdote or story to get your readers emotionally involved.

For example, if you were writing a paper about drunk drivers, you might begin with a compelling story about someone whose life was forever altered by a drunk driver: "At eighteen, Michelle had a lifetime of promise in front of her. Attending college on a track scholarship, she was earning good grades and making lots of friends. Then one night her life was forever altered…"

From this attention grabbing opener, you would need to move to the next part of the introduction, in which you offer some relevant background on the specific purpose of the essay. This section helps the reader see why you are focusing on this topic and makes the transition to the main point of your paper. For this reason, this is sometimes called the "transitional" part of the introduction.

In the example above, the anecdote about Michelle might capture the reader's attention, but the essay is not really about Michelle. The attention grabber might get the reader thinking about how drunk driving can destroy people's lives, but it doesn't introduce the topic of the need for stricter drunk driving penalties (or whatever the real focus of the paper might be).

Therefore, you need to bridge the gap between your attention-grabber and your thesis with some transitional discussion. In this part of your introduction, you narrow your focus of the topic and explain why the attention-grabber is relevant to the specific area you will be discussing. You should introduce your specific topic and provide any necessary background information that the reader would need in order to understand the problem that you are presenting in the paper. You can also define any key terms the reader might not know.

Continuing with the example above, we might move from the narrative about Michelle to a short discussion of the scope of the problem of drunk drivers. We might say, for example: "Michelle's story is not isolated. Each year XX (number) of lives are lost due to drunk-driving accidents." You could follow this with a short discussion of how serious the problem is and why the reader should care about this problem. This effectively moves the reader from the story about Michelle to your real topic, which might be the need for stricter penalties for drinking and driving.

Finally, the introduction must conclude with a clear statement of the overall point you want to make in the paper. This is called your "thesis statement." It is the narrowest part of your inverted pyramid, and it states exactly what your essay will be arguing.

In this scenario, your thesis would be the point you are trying to make about drunk driving. You might be arguing for better enforcement of existing laws, enactment of stricter penalties, or funding for education about drinking and driving. Whatever the case, your thesis would clearly state the main point your paper is trying to make. Here's an example: "Drunk driving laws need to include stricter penalties for those convicted of drinking under the influence of alcohol." Your essay would then go on to support this thesis with the reasons why stricter penalties are needed.

In addition to your thesis, your introduction can often include a "road map" that explains how you will defend your thesis. This gives the reader a general sense of how you will organize the different points that follow throughout the essay. Sometimes the "map" is incorporated right into the thesis statement, and sometimes it is a separate sentence. Below is an example of a thesis with a "map."

"Because drunk driving can result in unnecessary and premature deaths, permanent injury for survivors, and billions of dollars spent on medical expenses, drunk drivers should face stricter penalties for driving under the influence." The underlined words here are the "map" that show your reader the main points of support you will present in the essay. They also serve to set up the paper's arrangement because they tell the order in which you will present these topics.

In constructing an introduction, make sure the introduction clearly reflects the goal or purpose of the assignment and that the thesis presents not only the topic to be discussed but also states a clear position about that topic that you will support and develop throughout the paper. In shorter papers, the introduction is usually only one or two paragraphs, but it can be several paragraphs in a longer paper.

For Longer Papers

Although for short essays the introduction is usually just one paragraph, longer argument or research papers may require a more substantial introduction. The first paragraph might consist of just the attention grabber and some narrative about the problem. Then you might have one or more paragraphs that provide background on the main topics of the paper and present the overall argument, concluding with your thesis statement.

Below is a sample of an introduction that is less effective because it doesn't apply the principles discussed above.

An Ineffective Introduction

Everyone uses math during their entire lives. Some people use math on the job as adults, and others used math when they were kids. The topic I have chosen to write about for this paper is how I use math in my life both as a child and as an adult. I use math to balance my checkbook and to budget my monthly expenses as an adult. When I was a child, I used math to run a lemonade stand. I will be talking more about these things in my paper.

In the introduction above, the opening line does not serve to grab the reader's attention. Instead, it is a statement of an obvious and mundane fact. The second sentence is also not very specific. A more effective attention grabber may point out a specific, and perhaps surprising, instance when adults use math in their daily lives, in order to show the reader why this is such as important topic to consider.

Next the writer "announces" her topic by stating, "The topic I have chosen to write about…" Although it is necessary to introduce your specific topic, you want to avoid making generic announcements that reference your assignment. What you have chosen to write about will be evident as your reader moves through the writing. Instead, you might try to make the reader see why this is such an important topic to discuss.

Finally, this sample introduction is lacking a clear thesis statement. The writer concludes with a vague statement: "I will be talking more about these things in my paper." This kind of statement may be referred to as a "purpose statement," in which the writer states the topics that will be discussed. However, it is not yet working as a thesis statement because it fails to make an argument or claim about those topics. A thesis statement for this essay would clearly tell the reader what "things" you will be discussing and what point you will make about them.

Now let's look at how the above principles can be incorporated more effectively into an introduction.

A More Effective Introduction

"A penny saved is a penny earned," the well-known quote by Ben Franklin, is an expression I have never quite understood, because to me it seems that any penny—whether saved or spent—is still earned no matter what is done with it. My earliest memories of earning and spending money are when I was ten years old when I would sell Dixie cups of too-sweet lemonade and bags of salty popcorn to the neighborhood kids. From that early age, I learned the importance of money management and the math skills involved. I learned that there were four quarters in a dollar, and if I bought a non-food item—like a handful of balloons—that I was going to need to come up with six cents for every dollar I spent. I also knew that Kool-Aid packets were 25 cents each or that I could save money and get five of them for a dollar. Today, however, money management involves knowing more than which combinations of 10-cent, five-cent, and one-penny candies I can get for a dollar. Proper money management today involves knowing interest rates, balancing checkbooks, paying taxes, estimating my paycheck, and budgeting to make ends meet from month-to-month.

In the first line the writer uses a well-known quotation to introduce her topic.

The writer follows this "attention-grabber" with specific examples of earning and spending money. Compare how the specific details of the second example paint a better picture for the reader about what the writer learned about money as a child, rather than this general statement: "As a child, I used math to run a lemonade stand." In the first introduction, this statement leaves the reader to guess how the writer used math, but in the second introduction we can actually see what the child did and what she learned.

Notice, too, how the reader makes the transition from the lessons of childhood to the real focus of her paper in this sentence: "Today, however, money management involves knowing…."

This transition sentence effectively connects the opening narrative to the main point of the essay, her thesis: "Proper money management today involves knowing interest rates, balancing checkbooks, paying taxes, estimating my paycheck, and budgeting to make ends meet from month-to-month ." This thesis also maps out for the reader the main points (underlined here) that will be discussed in the essay.

Our helpful admissions advisors can help you choose an academic program to fit your career goals, estimate your transfer credits, and develop a plan for your education costs that fits your budget. If you’re a current UMGC student, please visit the Help Center .

Personal Information

Contact information, additional information.

By submitting this form, you acknowledge that you intend to sign this form electronically and that your electronic signature is the equivalent of a handwritten signature, with all the same legal and binding effect. You are giving your express written consent without obligation for UMGC to contact you regarding our educational programs and services using e-mail, phone, or text, including automated technology for calls and/or texts to the mobile number(s) provided. For more details, including how to opt out, read our privacy policy or contact an admissions advisor .

Please wait, your form is being submitted.

By using our website you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more about how we use cookies by reading our Privacy Policy .

Road Map Essays

How can the advanced practice nurse facilitate and develop a road map for change, popular essay topics.

American Dream
Artificial Intelligence
Black Lives Matter
Bullying Essay
Career Goals Essay
Causes of the Civil War
Child Abusing
Civil Rights Movement
Community Service
Cultural Identity
Cyber Bullying
Death Penalty
Depression Essay
Domestic Violence
Freedom of Speech
Global Warming
Gun Control
Human Trafficking
I Believe Essay
Immigration
Importance of Education
Israel and Palestine Conflict
Leadership Essay
Legalizing Marijuanas
Mental Health
National Honor Society
Police Brutality
Pollution Essay
Racism Essay
Romeo and Juliet
Same Sex Marriages
Social Media
The Great Gatsby
The Yellow Wallpaper
Time Management
To Kill a Mockingbird
Violent Video Games
What Makes You Unique
Why I Want to Be a Nurse
Send us an e-mail

Office Timeline Pro is here!

Create impressive Swimlane slides and Roadmaps with the Pro add-in.

Roadmap: Definition, Tools, Examples

A thorough guide to effectively building and using a roadmap through definitions, examples, tools and tutorials.

Getting Started with Roadmaps

Strategic planning is an essential part of managing projects or activities of any kind, and it's especially important in implementing your business vision. A simple visual like a roadmap provides a clear overview of your strategic tasks and milestones and helps you define a long-term plan for reaching your goals .

We've put together some resources to make it easier for you to create and manage your project or product roadmap. Here, you'll find all you need to know, from what a roadmap is to useful examples, friendly tools and free roadmap templates so you don't have to build them yourself. Let's get started!

What Is a Roadmap in Project Management?

Simply put, a roadmap is a strategic planning technique that places a project's goals and major deliverables (tasks, milestones) on a timeline , all grouped in a single visual representation or graphic. You should always remember that a roadmap planner differs from a regular project plan in that it doesn't contain all the details of a project; instead, it's a high-level, easy-to-understand, strategic tool.

Characteristics of a Roadmap

Defining an overall goal along with the major steps needed to reach it, a roadmap helps articulate the why behind the desired outcome and the plan for getting there within all kinds of strategic initiatives.

To better understand the role of a roadmap, let us review what this strategic tool is and is not.

What a roadmap is

A high-level plan that states an overarching objective and captures the major steps to achieve it – a valid roadmap makes a persuasive case for undertaking any specific action towards the main objective and paints a clear picture of how these underlying activities interconnect to bring the desired outcome.

A communication tool that conveys a product’s/project’s strategy – when using a concise and convincing rationale for taking a certain step/including a specific feature, a roadmap proves essential to the effective coordination of cross-functional teams around a common goal, and for gaining the approval from company leadership, partners, and customers.

What a roadmap is not

Difference between a roadmap and a backlog – a backlog is a to-do list consisting of all the tasks required to carry out a strategic initiative, usually arranged based on their priority; meanwhile, a roadmap translates a collection of backlog tasks and ideas into a high-level strategic vision.

Difference between a roadmap and a project management tracker – a project management tracker is a compilation of all the tasks and associated details (the individual assignments, the staff responsible for each task, planned meetings to discuss major milestones, deadlines for each critical phase, etc.) that are related to the completion of an initiative; in contrast, a roadmap summarizes the main efforts that need to be undertaken in order to achieve the planned results.

Difference between a roadmap and a list of features – when it comes to product development and management, many managers mistakenly confuse a list of features with a roadmap, but a list of features doesn’t articulate the strategic thinking that supports building a product in a specific way, whereas a roadmap shows how all those features come together and yield a product that meets specific company goals.

Why Do You Need a Roadmap?

Creating a well-thought-out roadmap helps businesses and project/product managers judiciously decide to what they choose to commit. Aligning each work item to the overall objective, roadmaps ensure that time and efforts are invested wisely and provide a strong foundation in terms of:

Clarity – by answering the question “what are you working towards and why?”, a roadmap clarifies strategic goals and how the involved work is linked to the overall strategy.

Communication – sharing the strategy of an initiative, a roadmap shows direction, visualizes timing, and helps drive conversations with key parties around challenges in a transparent manner.

Coordination – in large or complex projects, a roadmap enhances collaboration between multiple participants within an organization as it can help track dependencies and identify bottlenecks.

Accountability – sharing what needs to be delivered and when, a roadmap makes it easier for everyone to follow through on the plan.

Alignment – clearly stating the vision and the objectives of a project, a roadmap aligns teams, portfolios, or areas of the same business.

Impact – highlighting how each area of investment ties to a high-level goal, roadmaps easily illustrate the impact of a team’s progress.

Prioritization – focusing on what is most important, roadmaps help project/product managers make tradeoff decisions and prioritize the work that brings the greatest benefits more easily.

Showing the why behind a planned initiative, a roadmap benefits any type of business because:

It clarifies business strategy .

It communicates company-wide initiatives to internal teams.

It links department goals to those of the business.

It shares general plans with external audiences such as partners and advisory boards.

It tracks organizational performance .

Serving as the reference point for everything a team will focus on, a visual roadmap is extremely useful for product/project managers in high-level meetings with clients and executives because it helps you:

Illustrate how business strategy ties to company goals.

Translate product goals and initiatives into features and requirements.

Communicate with leadership, cross-functional teammates, and customers.

Prioritize new functionalities and enhancements.

Report progress and status as the project is moving along.

Roadmap Examples

The structure of a roadmap may vary from one project to another, but there are some key elements you should include in all your roadmaps. These are:

Goals and initiatives – defining the value that your product or project brings and how it delivers on business objectives.

Releases and milestones – stating when work will start and be delivered.

Features – showing the efforts that are prioritized based on their overall value.

Dependencies – highlighting interrelated work that might impact delivery.

To briefly recap, no matter the type of initiative it illustrates, a roadmap needs to tie together your strategy (the “why”), the actions that you need to take to achieve your goals (the “what”), and a timeline for completion (the “when”).

Take a look at the sample roadmap visual below to explore these key elements.

Roadmaps have a flexible format for presenting strategic information, so there's no industry standard we should follow. Each strategic initiative - from Marketing to HR, Operations, or IT - can adopt a different approach, but over time we've seen that most professionals use a roadmap creator to build one of the popular types of roadmaps below.

To help you save time, you can download these examples for free (we've built them using PowerPoint and the Office Timeline add-in) so you can get started right away.

E-commerce program roadmap

High-level roadmap with an overview of project, teams, and activities for an e-commerce program.

Clinical trial roadmap

Simple roadmap showing the trial phases and key milestones in a drug approval process.

Product development roadmap

A colorful roadmap with key milestones and sprint schedule for better planning a SaaS product.

Platform roadmap

Roadmap slide with swimlanes and project details for effective management of a platform development process.

OPEN GALLERY

DOWNLOAD SLIDE

There are many ways you can use these roadmap examples to make better decisions around your strategic initiatives. Explore the roadmap templates page to discover which one fits you best, then download and customize them as you like.

How to Create a Roadmap

Here are the main five steps to building an effective roadmap:

Define your strategy – this step requires you to outline the overall vision, goals, and initiatives. In-depth research into buying personas, product positioning and competitive analysis helps create critical context and the foundation for your strategy.

Review and assess potential features – use a scoring mechanism to weigh potential features and decide which of them bring the most value to your initiative.

Prioritize and determine requirements – break down the activities that best support your strategy into smaller units of work.

Organize work into phases – group your ranked list of features or major efforts into major releases or stages and define their duration.

Choose your roadmap view – decide the level of detail and manner in which you want to illustrate all of the above over a specific time frame. For example, you might want to highlight specific features or cross-functional dependencies that influence the course of your plan.

Once you have covered all the steps above, you can then proceed to actually building your visual either by using a roadmap template or a dedicated roadmap tool .

For comprehensive demonstrations on how to make a roadmap using various office tools, check out our collection of step-by-step tutorials.

Roadmap Templates

What Is a Roadmap Template?

A roadmap template is a pre-built roadmap sample that can be easily updated with custom data to fit your needs. It provides an already-done framework to specific cases, helping you save time and effort in creating such a visual.

Why Use a Roadmap Template?

Using a roadmap template makes it easier for you to capture and communicate your product/project plans as it offers a pre-made structure to your own data . Available in a professionally designed format, roadmap templates help you to quickly build a timeline on which you concisely illustrate your goals and initiatives, the efforts that support your strategy and the due dates for work completion. Moreover, you can easily update them as often as necessary and even re-use them for future initiatives without having to start from scratch all over again.

Start building your first roadmap with our free downloadable roadmap templates that you can easily tailor to your requirements. While some of them allow you to share high-level business goals, others are more suitable for conveying a more detailed view of your initiatives. You can also find examples designed for certain types of industries or organizations.

Simply download your preferred model, input your project/product data, and enjoy a presentation-ready roadmap.

Ready-Made Roadmap Templates

A variety of professional, stand-alone templates that you can instantly customize into your own beautiful roadmap.

EXPLORE TEMPLATES

Roadmap Tools

Whether you are starting a business, launching a new product, or coordinating a cross-functional project, a roadmap will enable you to visualize your strategic plan and turn it into reality . It represents the output of your planning process and will serve as the main tool to communicate your initiative to stakeholders in a compelling manner.

This is why it is crucial to use purpose-built roadmap software that will allow you to easily develop and customize high-level visuals that you can effortlessly share with important audiences (executives, team members, other groups in your organization, and clients).

One such dedicated roadmap maker is the PowerPoint add-in called Office Timeline . This intuitive tool helps you automatically generate clear, stylish roadmaps as PowerPoint slides that you can quickly update as often as necessary and share or present in meetings.

CREATE YOUR OWN ROADMAP

How to Choose a Roadmap Tool

With so much at stake when it comes to creating your roadmap, it's no wonder that deciding which roadmap tool to use proves to be such a challenging task. To make it easier for you to choose a roadmap software, here are the top 5 things to consider when you review the many roadmap tools available on the market today:

Time-saving . Does the roadmap app make it easy for you to create and update your project visual? You may have very little time to prepare your presentation for an important meeting with a client or a manager. That's why you need an agile roadmap maker that helps you automate your work with just a few clicks.

Customization . Each project is different, so is it a good idea to use the same colors and shapes for all of them? Certainly not. Go with an agile roadmap software that allows you to customize every detail: colors, shapes, fonts, date formats, etc. and lets you style your roadmap to make it unique and distinctive.

User-friendly . Most work is collaborative nowadays and you're always in close contact with a client or team. Therefore, you'll need a roadmap tool that works the way your clients and colleagues do, and the resulting roadmaps are easy to view, edit, download, or share by anyone, with their usual office tools.

Integrations . If you use popular project tools like MS Project or Wrike, you'll want to choose a roadmap creator that integrates smoothly with your usual project management software so you can build roadmaps straight from your data. A Refresh function that helps you update your roadmap every time there are changes in your documentation may be very useful, too.

Visuals . We can't stress this enough: you need simple, clear visuals that your audience can understand. So, choose a software that makes roadmaps that have the right blend of professionalism and beauty to help you stand out and impress your clients or managers.

Need more guidance in choosing a roadmap tool? Check out our dedicated section on roadmap tools .

Best Practices for Roadmaps

To serve the purpose for which it was created, a roadmap needs to be:

actionable,

up-to-date,

relevant and easy-to-understand for the intended audience,

and visually compelling.

So here are a series of guidelines on how to effectively update, share and present impactful roadmaps that convey relevant information in a quick and clear manner.

Tips on How to Share or Present a Roadmap

For product/project managers to efficiently present and share their roadmap, they need to consider their audience – who they are, what they need to know and why. This way, they can adjust the structure and level of detail of their visual so that the right information be conveyed to the right people in a visually appealing way.

Here are the elements that make for an impactful roadmap presentation :

Audience-awareness – customize your roadmap according to your intended public and outcome. Depending on the audience, you will establish what to highlight during your presentation. For example, when you present to executive or advisory boards, your roadmap should focus on timelines of major bodies of work, whereas an engineering or IT team audience will be interested on details about features, requirements, and release dates. A customer-facing roadmap presentation, on the other hand, might show only a general description of features and approximate release dates.

Agenda – once you determine to whom you will present your roadmap, set an appropriate agenda of what core aspects you will capture and discuss. This gives your audience the right expectation for what they will see along the way.

Purpose – a good roadmap presentation needs a goal. To build an informative and well-received presentation from a goal-first approach, answer the questions “why is this information shared with this particular audience?”, “what should be the intended takeway?”, “what feedback would be useful?”

Vision – include information about the product’s business model, goals, personas, and competitors to place your strategic plans in the context of the broader product strategy and direction.

Feedback – presenting a roadmap creates the perfect opportunity for a product/project manager to get valuable insight from both internal and external audiences. Make sure to allot time for questions, answers, and comments.

Shareability – the value of your roadmap goes beyond its presentation as it may act as a reference point for any decisions going forward. As such, it is important to allow the appropriate access permissions and expectations for how frequently it would be updated.

Tips on How to Use or Update a Roadmap

As a high-level plan that describes the work required to achieve a goal along with a corresponding schedule, your roadmap should include a series of visual elements to be successfully used:

Timeframe – include a timeline to highlight the upcoming work within a relevant time period. If your initiative is planned to happen over a three-month interval, it doesn’t make sense to use a year-long timeframe. For easier comprehension, this timeline is usually presented at the top of the roadmap.

Hierarchy – when working with complex initiatives, take the time to logically organize and break down the work into smaller units that you can then display according to start and end dates, status, priority or that you can group by categories.

Progress – indicate the status of different work items and the overall progress towards goals by using shaded bars, colors, checkmarks or % percent complete indicators.

Colors – assign different colors to different work components (by team or owner, for instance) to better differentiate stages of your initiative and communicate them visually.

Symbols – subtly convey extra details with shapes, arrows, and other custom elements. For example, you can use a diamond to indicate important milestones or an arrow/line/connector to highlight task dependencies. Whatever symbols you choose, make sure they are consistent so that your audience can decode them.

Since plans change and new opportunities or challenges may arise along the way, you will want to create a flexible and dynamic roadmap that you can effortlessly update when such instances occur, not only quarterly or according to release status. To this end, choose an interactive dedicated tool that will allow you to:

quickly reflect ongoing transformations and evolution on your roadmap visuals;

swiftly integrate with other systems used in your organization;

easily share it at a company-wide level;

customize and style relevant details into unique visuals.

Frequently Asked Questions about Roadmaps

Here are the answers to the most frequently asked question about roadmaps.

What is a roadmap?

A roadmap is the high-level, visual representation of the lifecycle of a business initiative , complete with the end goal, steps to take and milestones to reach along the way. The roadmap is primarily used for the strategic planning of projects and the development of new products.

What is a project roadmap?

A project roadmap is a strategic overview of a company-wide operation . It can define the scope, deliverables, high-level scheduling, milestones, challenges, and risk factors. Project roadmaps are slightly less detail-oriented than project timelines. The primary concern is respecting the original deadlines and adjusting deliverables to meet them, when required.

What does a roadmap include?

A typical project roadmap should cover the following elements:

Long- and short-term objectives;

Tasks, milestones, and dependencies;

Resources required and their allocation strategy;

Timeline of the project’s lifecycle;

Risk factors and challenges.

Why is a roadmap important?

Roadmaps allow all involved parties to evaluate the competitiveness of a strategy, raise issues and reveal gaps, correctly prioritize resource allocation, and set realistic targets based on market data. They provide the framework for interdepartmental collaboration . Without roadmaps, every venture is a journey into the unknown and the risk of project failure grows higher.

How do you create a roadmap?

Starting off with a specialized roadmap maker application like Office Timeline can save you hours of work, allowing you to focus on the project specifics rather than graphic design. Here are the basic steps for creating a roadmap:

Define the timeline and project phases.

List the tasks, milestones, and dependencies.

Break down the workstream using logical containers like swimlanes.

Keep updating the roadmap with new developments.

FAQs about Roadmaps

Roadmaps made easy

Office Timeline helps you quickly turn complex project data into clear PowerPoint roadmaps that are easy to follow, but hard to forget.

START MAKING ROADMAPS NOW

The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Thesis Statements

What this handout is about.

This handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis statements work in your writing, and how you can craft or refine one for your draft.

Introduction

Writing in college often takes the form of persuasion—convincing others that you have an interesting, logical point of view on the subject you are studying. Persuasion is a skill you practice regularly in your daily life. You persuade your roommate to clean up, your parents to let you borrow the car, your friend to vote for your favorite candidate or policy. In college, course assignments often ask you to make a persuasive case in writing. You are asked to convince your reader of your point of view. This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This sentence is the thesis statement, and it serves as a summary of the argument you’ll make in the rest of your paper.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement:

tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.
makes a claim that others might dispute.
is usually a single sentence near the beginning of your paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph) that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively. (Check out our handout on understanding assignments for more information.)

How do I create a thesis?

A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a “working thesis” that presents a basic or main idea and an argument that you think you can support with evidence. Both the argument and your thesis are likely to need adjustment along the way.

Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement. For more ideas on how to get started, see our handout on brainstorming .

How do I know if my thesis is strong?

If there’s time, run it by your instructor or make an appointment at the Writing Center to get some feedback. Even if you do not have time to get advice elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following :

Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question. If the prompt isn’t phrased as a question, try to rephrase it. For example, “Discuss the effect of X on Y” can be rephrased as “What is the effect of X on Y?”
Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.
Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis contains words like “good” or “successful,” see if you could be more specific: why is something “good”; what specifically makes something “successful”?
Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is likely to be “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.
Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. It’s okay to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.
Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning.

Suppose you are taking a course on contemporary communication, and the instructor hands out the following essay assignment: “Discuss the impact of social media on public awareness.” Looking back at your notes, you might start with this working thesis:

Social media impacts public awareness in both positive and negative ways.

You can use the questions above to help you revise this general statement into a stronger thesis.

Do I answer the question? You can analyze this if you rephrase “discuss the impact” as “what is the impact?” This way, you can see that you’ve answered the question only very generally with the vague “positive and negative ways.”
Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not likely. Only people who maintain that social media has a solely positive or solely negative impact could disagree.
Is my thesis statement specific enough? No. What are the positive effects? What are the negative effects?
Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? No. Why are they positive? How are they positive? What are their causes? Why are they negative? How are they negative? What are their causes?
Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? No. Why should anyone care about the positive and/or negative impact of social media?

After thinking about your answers to these questions, you decide to focus on the one impact you feel strongly about and have strong evidence for:

Because not every voice on social media is reliable, people have become much more critical consumers of information, and thus, more informed voters.

This version is a much stronger thesis! It answers the question, takes a specific position that others can challenge, and it gives a sense of why it matters.

Let’s try another. Suppose your literature professor hands out the following assignment in a class on the American novel: Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn. “This will be easy,” you think. “I loved Huckleberry Finn!” You grab a pad of paper and write:

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.

You begin to analyze your thesis:

Do I answer the question? No. The prompt asks you to analyze some aspect of the novel. Your working thesis is a statement of general appreciation for the entire novel.

Think about aspects of the novel that are important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children. Now you write:

In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.

Do I answer the question? Yes!
Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not really. This contrast is well-known and accepted.
Is my thesis statement specific enough? It’s getting there–you have highlighted an important aspect of the novel for investigation. However, it’s still not clear what your analysis will reveal.
Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? Not yet. Compare scenes from the book and see what you discover. Free write, make lists, jot down Huck’s actions and reactions and anything else that seems interesting.
Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? What’s the point of this contrast? What does it signify?”

After examining the evidence and considering your own insights, you write:

Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers , 6th ed. New York: Longman.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. 2018. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing , 8th ed. New York: Pearson.

Ruszkiewicz, John J., Christy Friend, Daniel Seward, and Maxine Hairston. 2010. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers , 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

Skip navigation

World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience

5 prioritization methods in ux roadmapping.

November 14, 2021 2021-11-14

Email article
Share on LinkedIn
Share on Twitter

Prioritizing work into a roadmap can be daunting for UX practitioners. Prioritization methods base these important decisions on objective, relevant criteria instead of subjective opinions.

This article outlines 5 methods for prioritizing work into a UX roadmap :

Impact–effort matrix
Feasibility, desirability, and viability scorecard
RICE method
MoSCoW analysis

These prioritization methods can be used to prioritize a variety of “items,” ranging from research questions, user segments, and features to ideas, and tasks. This article focuses on using these methods within the context of roadmapping—prioritizing problems that need to be solved into a strategic timeline.

Quick wins include low-effort, high-impact items that are worth pursuing.
Big bets include high-effort, high-value items; they should be carefully planned and prototyped, and, if executed, are likely to be differentiators against competitors.
Money pit includes low-impact, high-effort items that are not worth the business investment; there are better places to spend time and resources.
Fill-ins comprise low-effort, low-impact items that may be easy to implement but may not be worth the effort as their value is minimal.

A comparative matrix is a malleable tool. While we discuss impact–effort matrices in this article, you can easily replace each axis with other criteria or use multiple matrices to assess more than two criteria. When setting up multiple matrices, set up your axes so that the Quick Wins (or whatever the equivalent best-outcome quadrant is) is positioned in the same spot (for example, always in the bottom left position), in order to easily compare several matrices and identify the items that consistently fall in best-outcome quadrant.

1.B. Criteria

This prioritization method uses two primary criteria to rank features that are considered for implementation: the impact that the feature will have on the end user and the effort required to implement that feature.

Impact is the value the item will bring to the end user. The level of impact an item will have on end users depends on the users’ need, their alternatives, and the severity of the pain point the item solves.
Effort is the amount of labor and resources required to solve the problem. The more technically complex the item, the higher effort it will require.

1.C. Process

Items are gathered on a whiteboard and their relative scores on the impact and effort dimensions are established through voting. Team members are given colored dots (one color per dimension) to vote for those items that they consider to rate highly on one or both dimensions.

A general rule of thumb is that the number of votes per person is half the number of items being prioritized. It’s also possible that certain team members vote on a single dimension, according to their expertise — for example, UX professionals may rank impact, while developers may rank implementation effort.

The result of each team member voting is a heat map.

After team members have silently voted on items, the items can be placed collaboratively on an effort–impact matrix (the x-axis represents effort, while the y-axis represents impact) according to the number of impact and effort votes received.

Once everything is placed onto the chart, discuss the results and compare items, prioritizing those in the quick-wins and big-bets quadrants. Feel free to use the artifact as a platform for negotiation — throughout discussion with the team, it’s okay to collaboratively move items. However, at the end, there should be agreement on the final placement and the artifact should be documented and saved so it can easily be referenced in the future.

1.D. Best for Quick, Collaborative Prioritization

An impact–effort matrix is best suited for quick, collaborative prioritizations. The method has a few advantages:

The output is a shared visual that aligns mental models and builds common ground .
It is democratic — each person can express their own opinion through a vote.
It can be done relatively quickly due to its simplicity.

2.A. Overview

This method was developed by IDEO in the early 2000s. It ranks items based on a sum of individual scores across three criteria: feasibility, desirability, and viability.

A table with items in each row and the criteria in each column. Totals are calculated for each item.

2.B. Criteria

This prioritization method uses three criteria to rank items (i.e., features to be implemented):

Feasibility : the degree to which the item can be technically built. Does the skillset and expertise exist to create this solution?
Desirability : how much users want the item. What unique value proposition does it provide? Is the solution fundamentally needed, or are users otherwise able to accomplish their goals?
Viability : if the item is functionally attainable for the business. Does pursuing the item benefit the business? What are the costs to the business and is the solution sustainable over time?

2.C. Process

Create a table, with one row for each possible item, and columns for the 3 criteria — feasibility, desirability, and viability. Then, determine a numeric scoring scale for each criterion. In the example above, we used a numeric scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being a low score.

Next, give each item a score across each criterion. Scoring should be as informed as possible — aim to include team members who have complementary expertise. Once each item is scored across each criterion, calculate its total score and force a rank. Sort the table from highest to lowest total score, then discuss the results with your team.

2.D. Best for Customized Criteria

This scorecard format is highly customizable. You can add columns to reflect criteria specific to your organization’s context and goals. You can also replace the criteria with others relevant to you. For example, the NUF Test , created by Dave Gray, uses the same scorecard format, but with New , Useful , Feasible as the criteria set.

Another common modification is assigning weights to the different criteria — with those that are very important weighing more heavily in the final score.

3.A. Overview

RICE is a prioritization framework developed by Intercom . It takes into account four factors: reach, impact, confidence, and effort to prioritize which features to implement.

The RICE method stands for reach, impact, confidence, and effort.

3.B. Criteria

This RICE method is based on scoring each item on 4 different dimensions:

Reach : the number of users the item affects within a given time period
Impact : the value added to users
Confidence : how confident you are in your estimates of the other criteria (for example, highly confident if multiple data sources support your evaluation)
Effort : the amount of work necessary to implement the item

3.C. Process

Using the RICE method is straightforward. Separate scores are assigned for each criterion, then an overall score is calculated.

A reach score is often estimated by looking at the number of users per time period (e.g., week, year); ideally, this number is pulled from digital analytics or frequency metrics .
The impact score should reflect how much the item will increase delight or alleviate friction; it is hard to precisely calculate, and, thus, it’s usually assigned a score (for example, through voting, like in the previous methods) often on a scale from .25 (low) to 3 (high).
The confidence score is a percentage that represents how much you and your team trust the reach and impact scores. 100% represents high confidence, while 25% represents wild guesses.
The effort score is calculated as “person-months” — the amount of time it will take all team members to complete the item. For example, an item is 6 person-months if it would require 3 months of work from a designer and 1 month from 3 separate developers.

Once you have each of the 4 criterion scores, use the formula to calculate the final score for each item: multiply the reach, impact, and confidence scores and divide the result by the effort score. Then compare, discuss, and reevaluate all the items’ scores with your team.

3.D. Best for Technical-Oriented Teams

The RICE method works well for organizations that are more technical in nature (for example, when stakeholders are comfortable with equations or spreadsheets). The RICE method also works well when there are many items that need to be prioritized. Consider including peers with diverse domains of expertise in the RICE process and assign them the task of calculating the score for the criterion that relates to their expertise.

4.A. Overview

MoSCoW analysis is a method for clustering items into four primary groups: Must Have , Should Have , Could Have , and Will Not Have . It was created by Dai Clegg and is used in many Agile frameworks.

MoSCoW uses 4 categories (Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, and Will Not Have) to group and prioritize items.

4.B. Criteria

This prioritization approach groups items into four buckets:

Must have : items that are vital to the product or project. Think of these as required for anything else to happen. If these items aren’t delivered, there is no point in delivering the solution at all. Without them the product won’t work, a law will be broken, or the project becomes useless.
Should have: items that are important to the project or context, but not absolutely mandatory. These items support core functionality (that will be painful to leave out), but the project or product will still work without them.
Could haves : items that are not essential, but wanted and nice to have. They have a small impact if left out.
Will not have: items that are not needed. They don’t present enough value and can be deprioritized or dropped.

4.C. Process

MoSCoW analysis can be applied to an entire project (start to finish) or to a project increment (a sprint or specific time horizon).

Begin by identifying the scope you are prioritizing items for. If your goal is to create a UX roadmap, you’ll usually have to prioritize for the first three time horizons: now (work occurring in the next 2 months), next (work occurring in the next 6 months), and future (work occurring in the next year).

Compile the items being prioritized and give each team member 3 weighted voting dots, (one dot with a 1 on it, the next with a 2 on it, and so forth). Ask team members to assign their dots to the items they believe most important, with 3 being weighed most heavily.

Each team member places weighted votes, resulting in scores for each item.

Add up each item’s score based on the ranked votes (3 = 3 points and so forth). Identify the items with the highest scores and make sure that everybody in the group agrees on their importance.

As each item is discussed and agreed upon as a Must Have , move it to a new dedicated space. Repeat this process for lower-priority items and assign them to the Should Have, Could Have , and Will Not Have groups based on their scores.

Once you have assigned each item to one of the four groups, establish the resources and bandwidth required for each group, starting with the Must Haves . Keep track of the total bandwidth and resources at your disposal, distributing and allocating your total amount across Must Haves (which should get the most resources), Should Haves (with the second most resources), and finally Could Haves (with few resources).

There is not a clear threshold for how many items should be in each group. To determine this number, return to the goal of the prioritization activity. For example, if you are prioritizing items in a backlog, there is only time for so many tasks to be achieved in one sprint. In this scenario, all Must Haves should be easily achieved within one sprint; this constraint will limit how many items cannot be placed within this group.

Items with top votes should be placed in a Must Have category.

4.D. Best for Teams with Clear Time Boxes

MoSCoW is a good prioritization method for teams looking for a simplified approach (given the relatively vague prioritization criteria set) and with a clear time box identified for the work. Without a clearly scoped timeline for completing the work, teams run the risk of overloading the Must Haves (of course, everything will feel like a Must Have if the timeline is the next two years!).

5.A. Overview

The Kano model was published by Dr. Noriaki Kano in 1984 and is a primary prioritization method in the Six Sigma framework. Items are grouped into four categories according to user satisfaction and functionality and plotted on a 2D graph.

Kano model is a graph with 4 trajectories based on functionality and customer satisfaction.

5.B. Criteria

This prioritization method uses two primary criterions to rank items: functionality and satisfaction.

None (-2) : the solution cannot be implemented
Some (-1) : the solution can be partly implemented
Basic (0) : the solution’s primary functions can be implemented, but nothing more
Good (1) : the solution can be implemented to an acceptable degree
Best (2) : the solution can be implemented to its full potential
Frustrated (-2) : the solution causes additional hardship for the user
Dissatisfied (-1) : the solution does not meet users’ expectations
Neutral (0)
Satisfied (1) : the solution meets users’ expectations
Delighted (2) : the solution exceeds users’ expectations

5.C. Process

Each item is first assigned a satisfaction score and a functionality score. The satisfaction score should be based on user data — for example, on existing user research or on a top-task user survey asking users to rate the importance of each feature; the functionality score can be rooted in the collective expertise of the team.

These scores are then used to plot items onto a 2D-graph, with the x-axis corresponding to functionality and the y-axis to satisfaction. Each axis goes from -2 to 2.

Each score maps back to a Kano category.

Based on their placement on their scores, items fall into one of four categories:

The Attractive category (often called Excitement ) are items that are likely to bring a considerable increase in user delight. A characteristic of this category is the disproportionate increase in satisfaction to functionality. Your users may not even notice their absence (because they weren’t expectations in the first place), but with good-enough implementation, user excitement can grow exponentially. The items in the Attractive are those with a satisfaction score of 0 or better. These items appear above the blue Attractive line in the Kano illustration above.
The Performance category contains items that are utilitarian. Unlike other categories, this group grows proportionately. The more you invest in items within this category, the more customer satisfaction they are likely to prompt. The items in the Performance category have equal satisfaction and performance scores and fall on the green line in the Kano illustration above.
The Indifferent category contains items that users feel neutral towards — satisfaction does not significantly increase or decrease with their functionality and is always 0. Regardless of the amount of investment put into these items, users won’t care. These items are all placed on the dark blue Indifference line (which overlaps with the x-axis).
The Must-be category are basic items that are expected by users. Users assume these capabilities exist. They are unlikely to make customers more satisfied, but without them, customers will be disproportionately dissatisfied. Items fall into the Must-be category when their satisfaction score is 0 or worse. These are the items in the purple area of the Kano diagram, below the purple Must Be line.

Once items are assigned to groups, make sure that everybody in the team agrees with the assignment. Items with scores of (0,0), (-2,0) and (+2,0) may initially belong to two groups. In these cases, discuss the item and ask yourself if user value will grow proportionately with your team’s investment. If the answer is yes, group the item with Performance . In cases this is false, group the item with Indifferent .

Move items as needed, then prioritize items into your roadmap. Items in the Performance category should have the highest priority, followed by Must be , Attractive , then Indifferent .

5.D. Best for Forcing a User-Centric Prioritization

The Kano model is a good approach for teams who have a hard time prioritizing based on the user — often due to politics or a traditional development-driven culture. The Kano model introduces user research directly into the prioritization process and mandates discussion around user expectations.

There are many more prioritization methods, aside from the five mentioned in this article. (It’s also easy to imagine variations on these 5.) One method is not better than another. Consider your project’s context, team culture, and success criteria when choosing a prioritization approach.

Once you find an approach that works, don’t be afraid to iterate — adjust and adapt it to fit to your needs or appeal to your team. Involve others in this process. The best prioritization methods are ones that everyone on your team, including stakeholders, buy into.

McBride, S. (2018). RICE: Simple prioritization for product managers. Intercom. https://www.intercom.com/blog/rice-simple-prioritization-for-product-managers/

What is the Kano Model? ProductPlan. https://www.productplan.com/glossary/kano-model/

Related Courses

Facilitating ux workshops.

Lead goal-based group activities to make decisions and establish alignment

Discovery: Building the Right Thing

Conduct successful discovery phases to ensure you build the best solution

UX Roadmaps

Set a strategic, practical plan to align, prioritize, and communicate UX work.

Learn More:

Please accept marketing cookies to view the embedded video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gklsUyD6RPE

UX Design Prioritization Methods

Using a CSD Matrix in Discovery

Anna Kaley · 3 min

The Goldilocks Principle for Prototyping

Megan Brown · 3 min

Problem Space and Solution Space Research

Maria Rosala · 2 min

Derailed Design Critiques: Tactics for Getting Back on Track

Rachel Krause · 6 min

Facilitating UX Workshops: Study Guide

Kate Kaplan · 5 min

How to Get Stakeholders to Sketch: A Magic Formula

Kate Kaplan · 8 min

Journey Mapping for Remote Teams: A Digital Template

Sarah Gibbons · 4 min

A Guide to Service-Blueprinting Workshops

Alita Joyce · 8 min

The Diverge-and-Converge Technique for UX Workshops

Therese Fessenden · 6 min

Relationships

A Roadmap For Writing An Essay

A road map is required if you want to produce an excellent essay. You must have a thesis statement, often known as a topic sentence, and it must be strong and specific. It should also provide an answer to the inquiry. This section of your essay should provide your reader with a sense of what to expect from the remainder of the essay.

A good thesis statement is like a GPS

If you’re writing an essay about a specific topic, a good thesis statement will help you stay on track. An excellent thesis statement in an argumentative essay, for example, might demonstrate that you are aware of opposing viewpoints and have taken the time to analyze a subject. A thesis statement that focuses on the issue is more powerful when creating a persuasive essay. A strong thesis statement should also provide the reader with a good notion of what to expect from your article. A thesis statement, whether basic or complex, should offer the reader an indication of what to expect from the rest of the article.

It should be clear

Making an outline is a critical first step in the writing process. It helps you avoid getting off track by organizing your thoughts into a clear path. Many teachers will need an outline of your work to verify you’re on track and understand what you’re writing about.

An essay should have a basic format that includes an introduction that summarizes the main points of your argument and a conclusion that brings everything together. Writing the opening is easier once you know what you’re going to say. Next, decide how many paragraphs you’ll need and how sophisticated your argument will be. Academic paragraphs are typically longer than you might imagine.

The opening should have three paragraphs and a thesis statement. The thesis statement, which should be at least one or two sentences lengthy, is research proposal writing help and the fundamental idea of the essay. It should be specific and arguable and should offer the reader a clear picture of what the essay will discuss. Details that support the thesis statement should be included in the body of the essay.

It should answer the question

A road map for writing an essay should provide a solution to a query. It should be a short paragraph with a quick thesis statement and an answer to the reader’s question. The thesis statement should not supply fresh knowledge to the reader, but rather answer a question about which they can argue.

The topic sentence informs the reader about the topic of the essay and helps them focus their attention. A thesis statement should have three basic components: a focused topic, a specific opinion, and a set of reasons. It must also meet the instructor’s specifications. The thesis statement serves as the introduction to the body of the essay.

It should be specific

To produce an effective essay, you must have a clear plan to follow. This route map should be specific to the topic of your writing. A road map for an argumentative essay, for example, should have a clear thesis statement. This statement’s objective is to help your readers comprehend what you’re going to say and why they should read your essay.

The main step is to choose a theme. A broad topic announcement may be ineffective because it may divert readers’ attention away from the core aim of your essay. A specialized topic announcement should address the reader’s interest in the topic. It is better to pick a topic that you are interested in and then focus it on down to a few key elements.

It should be concise

Making a succinct essay is essential for making it flow properly. This means that the reader will not be overwhelmed as they follow the writer’s thoughts. Break up parts into tiny chunks that can act as topic sentences to do this. These topic phrases might direct the reader to the sections of the essay that pique their interest.

Remember the time you tried to assemble that IKEA shelf without the manual? Neither do we. That’s because we know the value of a good guide. And in the world of product management, that guide is our beloved product roadmap .

A product roadmap is like your North Star in the vast universe of product development. It’s a visual representation of your product’s direction, priorities, and progress over time.

We’re going to focus on product roadmaps in this article. But, we’ll discuss and show examples of other roadmap types, too.

We’ll also explain how to build and use a roadmap. These principles apply to many types of roadmaps, not just the product ones. We’ll also explore product roadmap software that makes managing roadmaps a breeze.

Let’s dive deep into the world of roadmaps and break it all down.

What is a roadmap?

A roadmap is like a plan that shows how to build a product step by step. It helps everyone involved understand what we are making and when things will happen. This plan lists all the important tasks and when they need to be finished. It helps keep everyone on the same page and focused on what is most important right now.

A roadmap is very useful because it makes sure that the team works together well. It points out the main steps we need to take, which helps us use our time and resources wisely. It also shows which tasks are the most important, so we can do those first. Prioritization helps determine that.

There are lots of different types of roadmaps:

Product roadmap
Marketing roadmap
Technology roadmap
Innovation roadmap
And more

We’ll cover them later in this article.

Why do you need a roadmap?

Here are a few reasons to start building a product roadmap.

Strategic alignment

It ensures everyone’s paddling in the same direction.

Sales teams won’t promise some features that PMs aren’t even aware of
Marketing won’t build campaigns for features that aren’t in the works
Design won’t create wireframes for low-priority features

You get the idea.

Stakeholder communication

A roadmap is like a translator between you and your key stakeholders. There will always be people who want certain features shipped yesterday. How can you effectively communicate your current priorities? With a product roadmap, of course!

Resource planning

Knowing what you’re building will help determine which resources you need. You’ll also know when you need them, in what quantities, and how crucial they are. Planning simplifies everything! If you plan properly, you won’t end up with too many or too few resources.

Now that we know why roadmaps are so crucial, let’s talk about who’s involved.

Who should create the roadmap?

Navigating the vast seas of product development requires a clear map and a skilled crew. For example:

Product managers (PMs)

That’s us! The captains of the ship. As a product manager or a product owner, you’re at the heart of the product’s journey. You understand the product vision, the users, and the market. Your role is to ensure that the product’s direction aligns with the business goals and user needs. You’re setting the course, deciding which ports (features) to visit, and ensuring the crew (development team) knows the route.

Project managers

The vigilant navigators. While a PM sets the course, a project manager ensures smooth sailing. They have a keen eye on the timeline, resources, and potential obstacles. Project management helps us avoid hitting icebergs or getting caught in storms. We call them “unexpected challenges”.

Project managers work closely with the product team to ensure the roadmap is feasible. They also help coordinate the division of work and see projects to completion.

You might not have a large team yet. In this case, you likely have someone else in charge of the roadmap. If you’re operating a startup, founders likely own the roadmap. If you’re a startup founder trying to navigate the world of roadmaps, you’re in the right place!

Similar to the point above, sometimes other team members manage the roadmap before a dedicated product owner comes on board. Engineers and product developers have deep insights into the inner workings of the product. So they’re well suited to manage the product roadmap.

C-level executives

They are the admirals looking at the bigger picture. They might not be involved in the day-to-day plotting of the course, but their vision is still crucial. They have a bird’s-eye view of the entire fleet (company). They also ensure that our ship (product) aligns with the broader fleet’s direction. They get insights from market trends, company and product strategy, and financial factors. These insights can significantly impact the roadmap’s primary goals.

While the product manager might be the primary cartographer of the roadmap, it’s a collaborative effort. Each role brings a unique perspective, ensuring that the roadmap is not only visionary, but also grounded in reality. After all, a map is only as good as the team that uses it!

Speaking of roadmap users – let’s discuss them next.

Who uses the roadmap?

Don’t let your product roadmap become another file lost in your Google Drive! It’s a living, breathing guide that serves multiple audiences. So encourage people to use it! Let’s explore who can benefit from this invaluable tool.

Internal team

Why? So the devs don’t go rogue on you.

Internal teams are the engine room of our product ship. This includes developers, designers, and QA testers. They turn the roadmap’s vision into reality. And they all need a holistic view of where the product is headed. It helps them understand the context of their tasks.

They also learn the priority of new features. Plus, they discover the interdependencies between different components. This clarity reduces the chances of misalignment or “wildcard” features that haven’t been accounted for. It’s like giving them a compass to make sure they’re always sailing in the right direction.

External stakeholders

Why? To keep them in the loop.

External stakeholders include investors, partners, and board members. They might not be involved in the daily grind but are still vested in the product’s success.

The roadmap is a snapshot of the product’s strategy, progress, and future direction. By sharing it with them, we’re fostering trust, setting expectations, and ensuring they’re always informed. It’s like sending them a postcard from our journey, letting them know we’re on the right track.

These stakeholders care where their money is going. If they have a way to always check in on your progress, they’ll have much more trust in you. Raising more funds will get easier!

Why? Transparency is the best policy.

In some industries, especially in the SaaS world, companies choose to share their roadmaps with their customers . When done right, this strategy can foster trust and set realistic expectations. This also creates an open communication stream. Customers can send you valuable feedback for future improvements.

They also appreciate being in the know. A public roadmap can make them feel valued and heard. It’s like inviting them on the journey with us, ensuring they know where we’re headed and why.

Curious to see how PMs build in public? Here are some of the best public roadmap examples .

Let’s talk about other types of roadmaps now.

Other types of roadmaps

Up until now, we’ve been focused on product roadmaps. There are also other types of roadmaps that you might find useful.

While product roadmaps are our bread and butter, the concept of roadmapping extends to various domains. Each type serves a unique purpose, catering to different audiences and objectives. Let’s delve deeper into these diverse roadmaps.

Technology roadmap

Purpose : navigate your tech projects

A technology roadmap shows the company’s plan to use new technology. This document helps the company connect its technology needs to its business goals. Your tech roadmap should align with your product roadmap. It lays the foundation your product is built on.

For the tech team, it’s like having a crystal ball that predicts the future of technology within the organization. Here’s what it might look like:

Software development roadmap

Purpose : “When’s the next update?”

This roadmap is tailored for software products. It details the upcoming features, improvements, and releases. It’s a timeline of developers’ work and when users can expect updates. It’s like a product release calendar, ensuring everyone knows when the next software “season” premieres.

Some companies use their product roadmaps as a software development roadmap. If your roadmap is focused just on engineering, it’s likely a software development roadmap. If it includes other team members (designers, product marketers, etc), it’s a product roadmap. However, the lines may blur.

Here’s what a software roadmap might look like.

Business roadmaps

Purpose : zoom out to the bigger picture

This roadmap shows the company’s strategic plans, goals, and priorities at a high level. It brings different departments together to work towards the same goals. Think of it as the company’s strategic blueprint.

Here’s an example of a business roadmap:

“Business” is a broad term. You can also separate a few other roadmaps.

Marketing roadmap

Purpose : to spread the word about your products

This roadmap shows the plans for marketing and promoting products or services. It’s the game plan for brand visibility, ensuring the right message reaches the right audience at the right time.

A product can be exceptional, but you need users to make it profitable. That’s why outlining your marketing initiatives is so crucial.

When your product is complex, it’s easy to get confused while trying to promote it.

A marketing roadmap can help. Here’s an example of a marketing roadmap.

Let’s explore more roadmaps to help you stay organized.

Innovation roadmap

Purpose: “What’s the next big thing?”

An innovation roadmap is all about staying ahead of the curve. It charts future innovations and R&D initiatives.

It’s hard to plan for innovation. But you can keep track of industry trends, watch the competition, and allow yourself to dream.

Blue Ocean strategy is a popular framework for innovation. It focuses on finding untapped markets and hidden opportunities within them.

“In blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought over. There is ample opportunity for growth that is both profitable and rapid.” W. Chan Kim , professor of strategy and management at INSEAD

To create an innovation roadmap, take your business roadmap as an example. Narrow it down only to innovative ideas that could help you break through the noise.

Innovative ideas can be groundbreaking for your business.

Project roadmap

Purpose : break down complex projects

This roadmap breaks down tasks, milestones, and deadlines. It’s the project manager’s bible, ensuring every task is on track and stakeholders are informed.

Some projects are straightforward. But, managing your product becomes tougher as it matures and gets more complex. That’s where a project roadmap can really help.

Here’s an example of a sample project roadmap.

Customer journey roadmap

Purpose : try on your customer’s shoes.

This visual representation maps out the customer’s experience with your product. You’ll know where to take your product next when you lay out the whole journey from awareness to advocacy.

It’s almost a brand empathy tool. It helps you experience the product the way your users do. Only then can you understand and cater to your customers’ needs at every touchpoint.

There are a few different ways to lay out your customer journey roadmap. Here’s one of them.

Policy/regulatory roadmap

Purpose : navigating the legal jungle.

This roadmap is great for industries with significant regulatory oversight. It outlines the necessary steps to achieve compliance. It’s the company’s legal guide, ensuring they stay on the right side of the law.

Educational/learning roadmap

Purpose : help you study effectively

This roadmap is tailored for learners. It outlines learning objectives, modules, and progression. This student’s guide ensures they know what to learn, when, and why.

Let’s say you’re studying product management. There’s so much to learn! Also, because this field is relatively new, there’s no single tried and tested learning path. There are so many options to choose from:

Traditional classes in colleges and universities
Online courses
Bootcamps and crash courses
And much more

A learning roadmap can really help you get organized. You’ll know exactly:

What you want to learn
Where you need to start
In what order you should approach the subject
Where you can find the necessary information
How to set and stick to deadlines
How to set and measure learning outcomes

This will set you up for a successful career in product management. And speaking of careers…

Career roadmap

Purpose : climbing the corporate ladder one step at a time

This personal development tool outlines the steps, skills, and milestones you need to achieve career goals. It’s the professional’s compass that can guide you through your career journey.

Every day new jobs pop up. Do you want to become a chief automations officer? Or maybe a gamification marketing expert?

You need a plan. And a career roadmap can help you get there.

With proper research, you can get your dream job or even create a new role for yourself.

While the format might differ, the core principle of roadmaps remains the same. They aim to provide clarity, direction, and alignment. Whether you’re a tech guru, marketer, or student, there’s a roadmap tailored to your journey.

Let’s talk about actually creating roadmaps.

How to create a roadmap: product roadmap planning

Before you start, remember: it’s not about cramming everything in. It’s about prioritizing what truly matters.

We’re going to focus on product roadmaps in this article. Many of the principles apply to other types of roadmaps too.

There are several things you want to include in your roadmap to make it functional and useful.

What to include

User feedback.

Your users are the lifeblood of your product. Their feedback provides invaluable insights into what’s working, what’s not, and what’s missing. When you incorporate customer feedback, your product will evolve in a way that appeals to its audience.

When your users can see your roadmap, they feel included in your product journey. They’ll know that their voice matters, and their ideas actually come to fruition.

A product feature is a tangible enhancement or addition to your product. Features are promises of value, solving specific user problems or needs. Clearly listing them ensures everyone knows what’s on the horizon .

Some features will come from ideas and requests from your users. Others will be a result of your research and brainstorming. And all these features should take the most prominent place on your roadmap.

We know: you don’t want to include bug reports in your roadmap. But…you should still have a place where you indicate the bugs you’re fixing.

This may seem daunting – announcing to the world that you have issues in your product. But who doesn’t?

If you’re transparent about having and fixing bugs, your users will trust you more. Admitting that you aren’t perfect but committed to improving is a very effective strategy.

Prioritization criteria

Not all features or ideas are created equal. To make sure the most important things get attention, we need clear criteria for prioritizing. This helps balance urgency and impact when allocating resources.

There are numerous ways to prioritize your features . At Canny, we use the weighted score model. And everyone who uses Canny can customize the weighted scoring formula to suit their needs. Here’s how we use it.

We took the factors that mattered the most to us and assigned a score to each of them (up to 100%). For example, we weigh more urgent items (priority) higher than design readiness.

We add these factors to our prioritization formula in Canny. It then scores ideas for us and tells us what the biggest priority should be. From there, it’s easy to add the winning ideas to the product roadmap and get to work.

Explicitly stating the priority level helps everyone know what to do first and what can wait. This goes beyond just the prioritization criteria we discussed above.

Vote counts can indicate the demand or popularity of a feature, ensuring user needs are front and center. This is especially true for user-driven roadmaps.

You can use votes as one of your prioritization factors.

Assigning ownership ensures accountability. It shows who is in charge of a task or feature, clarifying roles and responsibilities.

Displaying ownership publicly helps align all your teams.

Deadlines provide a timeframe for delivery. They set expectations and ensure timely progress, keeping the momentum going.

Clearly visible deadlines help with accountability.

Keeping track of the status of each task or feature provides a real-time snapshot of progress. It helps in managing resources and setting stakeholder expectations.

Estimating how much work a task needs helps assign resources and set realistic deadlines.

Part of building your roadmap is understanding how many resources you have. You also need to clarify what tasks the team can accomplish in a given time with that set of resources.

Milestones are significant achievements or phases in the product’s journey. They provide checkpoints to gauge progress and celebrate successes, keeping the team motivated.

You can showcase your milestones through statuses or changelog entries (when a new feature is shipped).

Here’s how statuses work in Canny.

Here’s how AgencyAnalytics uses Canny’s changelog to share their important milestones.

As mentioned above, this is a very long list. So avoid including everything just for the sake of it. Rather, review this as a list of potential ideas and pick the ones that make the most sense to your organization. Focus on items that help you achieve your OKRs and boost your KPIs.

What not to include

If an item doesn’t add value, clarity, or align with the product’s direction, it’s best left out. Overloading a roadmap can dilute its purpose and make it overwhelming.

For example, if your company isn’t public, you don’t want to share any financials on your public roadmap.

If you have a low-impact feature request that you likely won’t get to, also don’t include it on your roadmap. This will set the wrong expectations.

Building a roadmap from scratch feels like a lot of work. That’s why we created our free roadmap templates !

If you’re looking for a more sophisticated roadmap tool that can help you automate this process, keep reading.

Roadmap tools

Canny offers a streamlined approach to roadmapping. Our product roadmap tool pulls in user feedback and helps you prioritize each idea in one platform. It’s like having a GPS for your product journey, ensuring you’re always on the right path.

There are other roadmap tools out there. Many aren’t designed for roadmaps, but can be adapted. For example, companies like SocialBee use Trello for their roadmap.

We’ve gathered the best public roadmap examples here – take a look! Drawing inspiration from successful examples can give you new ideas.

Now that you’ve built a roadmap, let’s discuss how to use it.

How to use the product roadmap

An effective product roadmap relies on its implementation. It’s not just about creating it, but also about driving alignment, decision-making, and progress. Let’s delve deeper into how to make the most of your roadmap.

Communicate its value

It’s more than just a pretty visual. A roadmap is a strategic document that outlines a product’s vision, direction, and priorities. It is crucial to communicate its importance to all stakeholders, from developers to executives. So make sure everyone knows its purpose: to set expectations, clarify, and guide decisions. Refer to it frequently in meetings, presentations, and discussions to reinforce its importance.

Invite your users to review your roadmap if it is public . You should also provide them with the opportunity to submit ideas.

Stick to it

It can be tempting to pursue every new idea or piece of feedback. Still, try to follow the plans you initially outlined in the roadmap. After all, you prioritized those ideas for a reason. This sets a direction and provides a sense of stability. And that’s the whole point of a roadmap!

You still need to strike a balance between consistency and adaptability, though. Your product plan can change due to market shifts, user feedback, or technological advancements. Being too rigid can lead to missed opportunities or misalignment with current needs.

Our advice: use your best judgment. Try not to get too distracted, but also be ready to pivot.

Adjust as needed

The roadmap shouldn’t be set in stone. You may need to make changes as you collect more information, get feedback, or face unexpected obstacles.

Review your roadmap regularly. This way it’ll remain relevant and aligned with the product goal and market realities. Your roadmap will also evolve with the product, always pointing toward maximum value and impact.

A product roadmap is both a guide and a communication tool. Use it, reiterate its value, and stay consistent but flexible. And remember to make necessary adjustments. That’s how it can remain a dynamic tool that drives your product towards success.

Build better products with a roadmap

In the end, a roadmap is more than just a table. It’s your vision, strategy, and commitment to your product. So, grab that coffee, roll up your sleeves, and let’s build something amazing together!

Cheers to roadmaps and the clarity they bring! 🚀

Maria Vasserman

Maria loves all things creative – writing, photography, movies and beyond 🎥 When she's not creating content to tell the world about Canny, she's either photographing a wedding, jumping at a rock concert, camping, travelling, snowboarding, or walking her dog 🐕‍🦺

All Posts - Website · Twitter - Facebook - LinkedIn

why SaaS businesses need product roadmapping software

Last Updated on April 30, 2024

COMMENTS

Introductions, Thesis Statements, and Roadmaps
Introductions, Thesis Statements, and Roadmaps. The first paragraph or two of any paper should be constructed with care, creating a path for both the writer and reader to follow. However, it is very common to adjust the introduction more than once over the course of drafting and revising your document. In fact, it is normal (and often very ...
PDF The Thesis Statement and the Essay Map
The thesis statement contains two essential elements: (1) the narrow topic and (2) the writer's opinion or claim about that topic; i.e., it provides a specific focus for the reader. In our example, the narrow topic is increasing the state tax on cigarettes. The writer's opinion or claim is that it will adversely affect not only the nicotine ...
PDF (THIS IS WHAT YOUR ESSAY OUTLINE SHOULD LOOK LIKE.)
LINE SHOULD LOOK LIKE.)THE ESSAY ROADMAP (EXAMPLE) OUR ESSAY OUTLINE SHOULD LOOK LIKE.)Paragraph 1: Thesis Statement: Getting a college degree will help me build a better life for me and my children because I could get a better jo. parent, and feel better about myself.Paragraph 2:Support 1 Topic Sente. ore money and work one job, not ...
PDF Creating a Roadmap
Learn how to create a roadmap of your dissertation using different methods, such as lists, maps, nut-shells, outlines, and visuals. A roadmap can help you sort out your ideas, connect them, and clarify your thinking.
Creating a research roadmap
Learn how to plan, do, and write a research project with a roadmap analogy. Find tips on choosing a topic, finding sources, taking notes, and organizing your paper.
PDF Roadmapping
Roadmapping. When you "roadmap" an essay, you track its argument from the beginning of the essay to the end, paragraph by paragraph, in order to produce a condensed version of that argument. This version allows you to see the key claims of the argument as they are sequenced in the essay and to evaluate the logic of the sequence as a whole.
Blueprinting: Using the Thesis Paragraph to Plan Your Essay
For example, a critical essay may have a thesis, antithesis, and a synthesis. The antithesis presents all the arguments against your thesis, and a synthesis is a kind of compromise, in which you attempt to prove that, whatever points your opponents might have in their favor, your thesis still stands. ... road map, list of supporting points ...
Making Connections between Sections of your Argument: Road Maps and
You need a road map of the US so you don't get lost. ... "where have I given my reader a map to my essay, and where have I helped my reader to follow that map?" See samples below and drive, I mean write, smoothly. A sample plan of attack. This paper summarizes the issues involved in implementing alternative assessment. The authors list issues ...
PDF How to Prepare a Thesis 'Road Map'
Step Two: prepare a writing table. Pull out your latest thesis annual progress report - it should contain a chapter outline. If it doesn't, or it's out of date, you'll need to draft a new one. We want you to turn this chapter list into an actionable writing plan using the table format below.
How to Write an Essay Outline
Expository essay outline. Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages. Provide background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press. Present the thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.
PDF Essay Map
Essay Map Introduction: Write one or two sentences that introduce your topic, including a brief description of the main ideas. Main Ideas: List the main ideas about your topic that you will include in your essay. There can be important facts you'd like to describe, points you'd like to explain, or elements you'd like to define.
PDF Route Maps for University Essays
It is called Essay Route Maps. An Essay Route Map is a planning technique that is set out on a single A4 page making space for an introduction at the top, conclusion at the bottom, and however many sections you need in between. In each section you can write location notes to briefly record what you will say and where your information is coming ...
Essay Introductions
Every essay or assignment you write must begin with an introduction. It might be helpful to think of the introduction as an inverted pyramid. In such a pyramid, you begin by presenting a broad introduction to the topic and end by making a more focused point about that topic in your thesis statement. The introduction has three essential parts ...
PDF Writing a Strong Thesis Statement
ROAD MAP . 1) 2) 3) OR . SUBJECT DOMINANT IMPRESSION . can best be described as because . ROAD MAP . 1) 2) 3) Problem-Solution/Proposal Thesis • The proposal thesis introduces a problem and proposes a possible solution, suggesting or stating the specific parts of the solution to be discussed further in the body of the essay. Example:
How to Road Map Your Essay: Analyze Writing Assignments Like ...
The writing assignments that your teacher gives provide built-in clues to exactly what the teacher expects. Your number one goal when sitting down to write s...
Road Map Essay Examples
Introduction Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) are pioneers in offering public preventative care services and are frequently in charge of primary care (Zaccagnini & Pechacek, 2019). Therefore, they interact with all patients, from pediatric to adult populations. They are mandated to provide the best and appropriate medication and care for all ...
SAMPLE THESIS CHAPTER INTRODUCTION WITH ROADMAP
According to President Maduro, Venezuela's energy crisis, also referred to as an electricity crisis, derives primarily from two factors: "a drought caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon and repeated acts of sabotage."122 Again, similar to the food crisis, President Maduro blames the nation's energy crisis on external conspiratorial ...
Outlining
Outlining. A strong outline is like a road map for your research paper. Outlining can help you maintain a clear focus in your research essay because an outline helps you see your whole paper in a condensed form, which can help you create a good plan for how you'll organize your research and develop your ideas. Just as there are different ...
Roadmaps
Starting off with a specialized roadmap maker application like Office Timeline can save you hours of work, allowing you to focus on the project specifics rather than graphic design. Here are the basic steps for creating a roadmap: Define the timeline and project phases. List the tasks, milestones, and dependencies.
Thesis Statements
A thesis statement: tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself.
5 Prioritization Methods in UX Roadmapping
Prioritization methods base these important decisions on objective, relevant criteria instead of subjective opinions. This article outlines 5 methods for prioritizing work into a UX roadmap: Impact-effort matrix . Feasibility, desirability, and viability scorecard. RICE method. MoSCoW analysis . Kano model. These prioritization methods can be ...
A Roadmap For Writing An Essay
A road map for writing an essay should provide a solution to a query. It should be a short paragraph with a quick thesis statement and an answer to the reader's question. ... This route map should be specific to the topic of your writing. A road map for an argumentative essay, for example, should have a clear thesis statement. This statement ...
The complete guide to building effective roadmaps (with examples and
Technology roadmap. Purpose: navigate your tech projects. A technology roadmap shows the company's plan to use new technology. This document helps the company connect its technology needs to its business goals. Your tech roadmap should align with your product roadmap. It lays the foundation your product is built on.
Ad Analysis Essay Examples
Ad Analysis Essay Examples. Decent Essays. 1101 Words; 5 Pages; ... West describes this element as a voice over, which "provides a road map that knits together visual scenes" (20). In "We Can Be," Sanders' voice ties the images together as he talks about the different policy issues that he is focusing on in his campaign. The fact that ...
Russia's Massive Infrastructure Overhaul, in 5 Examples
The Rosavtodor federal road agency has cut costs by reducing the motorway's length from 119 kilometers to 80.5 kilometers, Vedomosti reported. Construction of a 14.5-kilometer stretch could ...

Writing Center

1) Creating a plan: Where you need to go

2) Doing the research: How to get there

3) Incorporating research: What to do while there

Jerz's Literacy Weblog (est. 1999)

Revision: Some Attempt to Organize

Examples of thesis statements with a reasoning blueprint:

Use “Thesis Reminders” for Transitions

You Don’t Need Exactly Three Points!

Varieties of Blueprints

Use Good Structure

8 thoughts on “ Blueprinting: Using the Thesis Paragraph to Plan Your Essay ”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Making Connections between Sections of your Argument: Road Maps and Signposts

Making Connections between Sections of your Argument

A sample plan of attack

A sample between-sections transition

A sample between-paragraphs transition

The requested URL was rejected.

Have a language expert improve your writing

How to Write an Essay Outline | Guidelines & Examples

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Table of contents

Creating categories

Order of information

Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services

Argumentative essay outline

Expository essay outline

Literary analysis essay outline

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Cite this Scribbr article

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Essay Introductions

Contact The Effective Writing Center

Write an introduction that interests the reader and effectively outlines your arguments.

For Longer Papers

An Ineffective Introduction

A More Effective Introduction

Personal Information

Road Map Essays

Roadmap: Definition, Tools, Examples

What Is a Roadmap in Project Management?

What a roadmap is

What a roadmap is not

E-commerce program roadmap

Clinical trial roadmap

Product development roadmap

Platform roadmap

Roadmap Templates

Ready-Made Roadmap Templates

Roadmap Tools

Best Practices for Roadmaps

Frequently Asked Questions about Roadmaps

What is a roadmap?

What is a project roadmap?

What does a roadmap include?

Why is a roadmap important?

How do you create a roadmap?

Roadmaps made easy

Thesis Statements

Introduction

What is a thesis statement?

How do I create a thesis?

How do I know if my thesis is strong?

Works consulted

World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience

In This Article:

1.B. Criteria

1.C. Process

1.D. Best for Quick, Collaborative Prioritization

2.A. Overview

2.B. Criteria

2.C. Process

2.D. Best for Customized Criteria

3.A. Overview

3.B. Criteria

3.C. Process

3.D. Best for Technical-Oriented Teams

4.A. Overview