Lost Tools of Writing Outline

LTW Outline for Abraham Lincoln

Lost Tools of Writing Essay 8 Outline

I.  Introduction

A. (Exordium) “A house divided cannot stand” a quote by Abraham Lincoln

B. (Naratio)

1. (Setting 1) One of Lincoln’s Speeches

     a. (Who) Lincoln and Booth

b. (Where) Outside Lincoln’s window

c. (When) After the Civil War Ended

d. (Action) Booth changed his plan from capturing Lincoln to killing Lincoln

2. (Setting 2) Booth’s hotel room

a. (Who) Booth

b. (Where) Booth’s hotel room

c. (When) Booth was leaving to kill Lincoln

d. (Action) Left many clues including a gun

C. Division

1. (Agreement) Booth left a lot of clues in his hotel room

2. (Disagreement)

a. (Thesis) Booth should have left all those clues

b. (Counter-thesis) Booth should not have left all those clues

3. Distribution

a. (Thesis) Booth should have left all those clues

b. (Enumeration) for three reasons

c. (Exposition)

1. (Proof 1) He was in a hurry and had no time to waste

2. (Proof 2) He wanted everyone to know he was the hero who killed Lincoln

3. (Proof 3) Believed he was doing the right thing and protecting his rights

II.  Proofs

A. (Proof 1) He was in a hurry and had no time to waste

1. He had to plan it perfectly

2. He only had a couple minutes where he could shoot Lincoln

3. His escape plan only worked if he was on time

B. (Proof 2) He wanted everyone to know he was the hero who killed Lincoln

1. If he made it easy for people to track him he would be the famous hero

2. He wanted to be important

3. He thought the south would praise him because they could keep their slaves

C. (Proof 3) He believed he was doing the right thing

1. He believed he needed to save America from Lincoln

2. He believed he was doing America a favor

3. He believed that this was worth dying for

III. Refutation

A. (Counter-thesis) Booth should not have left all those clues

B. (Counter-proof) Killing the President would cause more chaos

1. No slave problem would be resolved by killing the president and all the people who liked Lincoln would be angry

2. This is inadequate because Booth wasn’t trying to be a hero for the North he was only trying for the South.

C. (Counter-proof) He needed to flee quickly and cleanly.

1. If he left clues then he would be found in no time and He had so many associates that it would be easy to track him if he left clues it would be obvious.

2.  This is inadequate because He wanted the Southerners to know it was he who was the hero.

VI.  Conclusion

A. (Thesis) Booth should have left all those clues

B. (Summery of proof)

1. He was in a hurry and had no time to waste

2. He wanted everyone to know he was the hero who killed Lincoln

3. he believed he was doing the right thing by protecting his rights

C. (Amplification)

1. This matters to the police

2. Because they would need to find the clues to catch Booth

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