Writing an essay is not a difficult task if you know the format well. When written as per an outline format, it not only looks good but also provides the readers with relevant information that they were looking for. An outline is basically a framework of your ideas that will help you to write an outstanding essay. How Should the Outline Format be? Introduction An essay is usually started off with the introduction. However, you can have a brief preface before the introduction if you wish. The introduction should give the readers an insight of what they can expect. You should not make the introduction paragraph too long. It should be to the point and should have a few lines on the main topic of discussion. It should end with the thesis statement which in turn, actually contain the three important points which shall be discussed in detail in the main body of the essay. Main Body The main body is the largest and the most vital part of any essay. It generally has three paragraphs, though some big essays might have more. In the first paragraph, the writer should explain the first point mentioned by him in the thesis statement. The second and the third paragraphs should cover the explanation for the second and the third points mentioned in the thesis statement respectively. In the main body, the writer can freely express his thoughts on the topic. He should give relevant examples and life incidents to support the facts which he has mentioned. The writer should take pains to ensure that the facts which he has mentioned are correct and valid. The only way of ensuring this is by conducting a deep research by referring to various sources of information, such as, the Internet and informative books. In order to make the flow of the essay systematic, the way in which the writer narrates the events is very important. For example, if someone is writing an essay on how an electronic appliance works, then he should write it in a step wise manner and explain each step completely for proper understanding of the concepts. If it is on an argumentative or a debatable topic, then the writer should explain both the sides of the story in a well drafted form. Conclusion Another important part of the format is the conclusion. It should not be too long, but the writer should summarize the essay in it. This could be summarizing the three important statements in the main body. Further, in the conclusion, the writer can state also the values which the readers can learn from. And finally, one last statement that suggests to the reader that the essay has come to an end. Though the format is not that difficult to understand, you should also remember that writing in a grammatically correct way, keeping a sync in the transitions of the paragraphs, and crisp language is going to hold the reader's attention for long. We hope this article was helpful in getting your doubts cleared. All the best for the writing adventure!