Content Outline

The Big Picture

In this post I'm going to be giving a rough outline of my project, highlighting all of the major points and providing evidence for each part.

The Outline

Opening Section:

Here I plan on introducing the argument and the idea that school lunches are healthier than homemade lunches. To grab the reader's attention in the introduction I need to find a shocking statistic that catches the eye of the reader. Hopefully this will get the reader to keep reading. Another way to grab the reader's attention is to introduce a study from an easily recognizable institution or school (like Virginia Tech), to establish a bit of credibility in this essay.

Body Paragraph 1:

The main idea here is to establish facts about obesity rates in America, and to stay semi-general in this section. This is where I plan on putting in the facts, for later elaboration in other paragraphs.

Evidence - Obesity rates have been climbing tremendously over the past 50 years (1/3 children are obese).

• This proves that school lunches could possibly be one of the factors of why children are at unhealthy weights in current times.

• This is important because these high weights and unhealthy body fat can lead to diseases in adulthood for the children.

Evidence - School lunches average less calories than brought from home lunches.

• This proves that school lunches are calorically healthier than at home lunches.

• This is important because at the end of the day the amount of calories put in your system normally determine weight gain.

Body Paragraph 2: 

The main idea of this body paragraph is to go off of the facts in BP1 to go in depth and talk about how this is affecting the kids across the United States.

Evidence - The social development of overweight children has a negative impact on their lives (social anxiety and self-consciousness increase heavily).

• This evidence proves that there needs to be an emphasis on child development through health in the United States.

• This is important because the future of America relies on what how we make changes now, rather than later

Evidence - The lunches from home lack the same nutritional value of school lunches.

• This Evidence proves that the best option for kids is to eat the school provided lunches.

• This is important because this directly correlates to what the bodies of students are getting as far as nutritionally, which goes into how much energy and what diseases they could potentially develop.

Body Paragraph 3:

The last body paragraph will explain that the school lunches are both economical and healthy, in general and not case to case.

Evidence - School lunches cost significantly cheaper than your average home prepped lunch.

• This proves that not only are school lunches healthier, but they also save the parents time and money as well.

• This is important because an extra 15 minutes in the morning can be precious and an extra 10-15 bucks at the end of the week can go a long ways for some families.

Evidence - School lunches provide all of the major food groups needed for a growing child.

• This proves that schools are making an effort to give children the necessary food to live a healthy lifestyle. 

• This is important because it shows that schools aren't cutting ways around food, in terms of healthy options for the kids.

Closing Section:

Here I plan to recap all of the point I've made and restate how important it is to do what is best for the kids. At the end of the day, the child is affected here, not the parent. To explain to the audience the larger meaning, I can emphasize the facts once again. I can reference studies here, and give cold, hard data to prove anyone wrong who doesn't believe in it. Secondly, I plan on leaving off in a sentimental note. I'll use a personal experience to describe the tough upbringing of being obese, and how packed lunches contributed to this upbringing.