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For example, you may need to find more sources about drug use in the 1970s or critical articles about On the Road. Your research should be very efficient at this stage because you'll be able to see quickly what is relevant to your thesis and what is not.

6. Identify 3-5 (depending on the required length of your essay) arguments in support of your thesis. In other words, if you had to prove your thesis in court, what would you use to back up your claim? If you've researched sufficiently, you should be able to identify these arguments from your accumulated notes. If you can't find at least 3 arguments, you probably need to go back and research your essay further. If you've got a lot of research but still can't find at least 3 arguments, you may need to reconsider your point of view and/or topic. It's possible that the reason you can't find 3 arguments is that your thesis is wrong or unprovable. Once you have 3-5 arguments, put them on a piece of paper underneath your thesis statement. Congratulations! You have the beginnings of an outline!

7. Build your outline. It can help to think of an outline as a series of layers. To keep your paper balanced, you need to have roughly the same number of layers to each argument. Look at each argument you have on your sheet of paper and think of at least two pieces of proof for each argument. If you can't provide at least two pieces of proof, then chances are that your argument isn't particularly sound and needs to be changed. Depending on how complex your topic is, you may need to go to a second layer of proof (essentially offering proof for your proofs) or even a third. Go as deeply as you need to make your point, but be sure to keep balance across your essay. Everything doesn't have to be exactly equal, but you don't want five layers in one section of your outline and only one in another. Here's an example of a basic outline for one argument in our imaginary On the Road essay: 1) Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas mirrors On the Road; a) Both books feature drug use without obvious consequences; b)Both books feature road trips in which the participants experience a "high" while driving that is similar to drug euphoria. This is a segment with just one additional layer, but you would add at least one additional layer, offering at least an excerpt from each novel in support of points a and b. And, if necessary, you would add even more points and levels.

8. Once your level is fully developed and balanced,

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