Read the essay below. Then outline it on a separate sheet of paper. Write out the thesis statement and topic sentences, and list the three major points that fit under each topic sentence.

Question

Escape Reading

Everyone needs to escape from a dull routine. Escape can sometimes be dangerous—if a person turns to alcohol or drugs, for instance. But escaping into a sport or hobby can be a healthy way to turn off the daily pressures. My escape hatch is reading books that carry me to other times and places.
I often escape, first of all, into spy stories. These books are usually set in exotic lands I’m sure I will never actually see. Spies, for example, pass information to each other in a market in Tokyo, a cafe in Venice, or an airport in Mumbai. In addition, spy novels are filled with fascinating marvels of technology. James Bond has his Lotus car equipped with smokescreen and machine gun controls, of course, but even less-glamorous spies use hidden Web cams and microphones that pick up conversations miles away. The intricate, twisted plots of spy stories also aid the sensation of total escape. Keeping up with the secret agents, the counterspies, and the double crosses occupies my mind completely. I don’t worry about whether my car will pass inspection when I’m trying to figure out which British agent is really working for the enemy.
A second kind of escape reading I enjoy is the Western. A book by Zane Grey or Louis L’Amour is filled with the atmosphere of a long-ago era. I can live for a time in a town like Dodge City; I can almost see the dusty main street, the raised wooden sidewalks, and the women wearing calico sunbonnets. The Western also helps me escape by providing plenty of action. Almost every page puts me in the midst of a cattle roundup, a gunfight, or a galloping posse. The non-stop action won’t allow my mind to wander back to the real world until I turn the last page. Finally, a Western tempts me to escape into it because the story usually describes a simpler, less confusing world than my own. The characters are either good guys or bad guys, and it is easy to tell the difference. In the Old West, justice always triumphs in the end.
The final and most enjoyable escape I know is reading horror stories. For one thing, such stories keep me interested because the authors create fascinating imaginary monsters. A story about a slimy creature that emerges from a graveyard or a huge, hundred-pound rat that lives in a basement is a story that blanks out reality. Horror stories introduce me to imaginary places as well. A horror tale can be set in a series of tunnels beneath the Himalayas or in another dimension that exists only in a spooky old house. Pure shock, however, is what makes horror stories sure-fire escapes. The problems I have at work could never be as bad, for example, as the horrible situations Stephen King’s characters endure. As I read about a woman being chased by a rabid St. Bernard, or a little boy being pursued by an insane and murderous father, I forget the outside world completely.
The members of my family have learned to leave me in peace when I escape into my books. They know that giving me such time means that I will be easier to live with. After I have returned from a dangerous spy mission, a Western shoot-out, or a house of horror, I can deal more calmly with everyday crises at home.

Answer 1

Thesis statement: My escape hatch is reading books that carry me to other times and places.

Topic sentence 1: I often escape, first of all, into spy stories.
Specific supporting evidence:
1. Set in exotic lands
2. Fascinating technology
3. Intricate plots

Topic sentence 2: A second kind of escape reading I enjoy is the Western.
Specific supporting evidence:
1. Atmosphere of long-ago era
2. Plenty of action
3. Simpler, less confusing world

Topic sentence 3: The final and most enjoyable escape I know is reading horror stories.
Specific supporting evidence:
1. Fascinating monsters
2. Imaginary places
3. Pure shock