Page 7 Step Three: Pre-write: Organize Your Research

I. A small action triggers a big reaction. It is possible for a small domino to topple the tallest high rise.             
Thesis: A small event can topple a dictator. But over time a revolution loses momentum and fails to make a difference because of corruption.

II. The revolution begins with small events. 

1. Farmer Jones is so lazy he forgets to feed his animals.

A. An item such as a pulley can change the direction of a force. A clock is wound. Time seems to be reversed. 

1. Old Major (a pig) makes a prediction.

B. A farm that has been going downhill for some time, makes an instant change. 

1. Napoleon and Wellington, two pigs, lead an animal uprising against Farmer Jones. 
2. Their goal is to eliminate the inequities of the farm. 
3. Therefore, they create seven commandments on which to run the farm. 
4. One of the rules is “Four legs good; two legs bad.” 
5. This new direction is reflected in the new name of the farm: Animal Farm.

III. In Animal Farm, like falling weights of a clock which release energy slowly, the revolution loses momentum. 

A. Ideas of the rebellion are corrupted and forgotten over time. Memory is short. 

1. The Major dies. 
2. The Pigs take milk and apples for themselves and explain some animals are more equal than others. 
3. The pigs argue they do more thinking and need more energy. 

a. “The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised others. With their superior knowledge, it was natural that they should assume leadership.” 

4. The other animals accept this explanation because of repetition and misinformation. 

B. The rules become needlessly complex. 

1. The pigs use vague language. 

a. “[W]ork was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half.” 

2. The animals are confused. 

IV. Time winds down: the revolution fails. 

A. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

1. The pigs rule by fear.

a. They control attack dogs. 
b. Napoleon forces the brilliant inventor Snowball to leave the farm.       

2. The pigs move into the farmhouse. 

a. A farmer who visits says, “He believed that he was right in saying that the lower animals on Animal Farm did more work and received less food than any animals in the county.”

3. The pigs become human. 

a. “Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."

Conclusion 
V. The corruption starts off small. 

The leaders change the food division between the animals. 
Then the changes grow bigger, and more drastic, ending up with pigs acting like humans. 
The story begins with absolute power and corruption and ends the same way. A small minority uses language, repetition, and misinformation to create a chain reaction to ensure their power over the majority. Time reveals all.

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In this outline, the main ideas of the topic (Revolution Begins, Revolution Falters, Revolution Fails) are indicated by Roman Numerals (I, II, III, IV, V etc.). Each main idea is a paragraph or section within the report. The shortest paragraph will discuss how the revolution begins; the longest paragraph will discuss how the revolution falters. 

Subtopics within each paragraph are indented and indicated by capital letters (A., B., C., etc.). They are divided into subsections (such as the plot details) indicated by Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3…). Details that are more specific (quotations from the story) are indicated by lowercase letters.