Whenever you work on an assignment that is completely new to you, it’s generally a good idea to first try to get your hands on an example before starting on your own work. When it comes to writing a descriptive essay you might want to check out a few outlines to ensure you know how to effectively structure your argument. Here are some places for finding free outline examples:
- The Online Community
- Writing Resource Guides
- Downloading from Web
- Your Writing Instructor
The first place to check for a free example is with the online community. There are several really good academic chatrooms and forums where you should be able to get the help you seek. Post a new discussion thread and request for people to submit sample outlines. Even if you only get a few responses you should be able to have a really good template from you can create your own outline correctly. Just be sure to check for responses frequently, since you are always likely to get a better copy with the more time you allow for others to get back to you.
Head down to your local library and see if you can find a few writing resource guides with samples to help you construct your own outline. It would be wise to find an MLA guide since this kind of assignment generally is written following those rules. If you don’t know exactly what you should be looking for speak with the reference librarian who should be able to help with your search.
You’re already familiar with this popular method where you simply do a key word search and receive hundreds of results. While it is easy you should be aware that a lot of samples you may find on any particular website might be incorrect. The best thing to would be to download several examples to review and compare. The more similar they are in terms of structure, the more you can be sure that they will be helpful to you.
And finally, don’t forget that you can simply ask your writing instructor for some help. The person who has given you the assignment will want you to have as many resources as you need to ensure that you learn how to complete it correctly. The moment after you get your assignment prompt ask to review a couple of examples. It’s highly likely that the instructor will already have handouts ready specifically for this purpose.