Introduction: (thesis) Although beauty is truly defined by oneself, creating infinite definitions of beauty, beauty to me means elements of nature, the emotions one feels from these elements, and the overall message received from this.
“Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder” (Armstrong).
“…The sense drive which lives in the moment and seeks immediate gratification…craves contact and possession” (Armstrong).
“…The form drive [is] the inner demand for coherence over time, for abstract understanding and rational order” (Armstrong).
Body 1: (claim) Beauty can be found and experienced through nature and the process of being outdoors.
Quotes from podcasts from John, Taylor F, and Taylor M’s group.
Body 2: (claim) An important part of something that is considered beautiful are the emotions that it causes one to experience.
“When we recognise beauty in a piece of music, or the graciousness of someone’s conduct, we see things that we know we have neglected or betrayed, and we feel an astonishing combination of anguish and delight” (Armstrong).
Quote from John’s podcast about taking time out of a stressful day to appreciate the moment in which he just enjoyed what the tree was showing him. Quote about the experience of really being in a place.
Quote from Taylor F’s podcast about the emotions of new beginnings.
Body 3: (claim) An essential element of the understanding of beauty is recognizing the deeper meaning that is being conveyed when one is in this moment of exposure.
“If we want to understand beauty, we can’t just talk about the things we find beautiful. We have to talk about our lives” (Armstrong).
“More importantly, these experiences of beauty teach us how we should be” (Armstrong).
“It was nice to be reminded of the simple things—that it brings a lot of joy just to be outside” (My chosen article).
“And he came to the unnerving – but perhaps correct – conviction that ambitious social reform would always be frustrated until a much larger number of people had reached a higher level of inner development of the sort enabled by beauty” (Armstrong).
Quote from Taylor’s podcast about looking at life in general now more and never taking the time to look around and notice people and places until now.
Counter: (claim) I recognize the many ways people can experience something beautiful and understand that there is not one single definition of beauty.
“We have all had the mysterious experience of finding something beautiful” (Armstrong).
Conclusion: (claim) If one can understand beauty and develop their own definition, the experience will truly be rewarding.
*I will make sure to reference my community thoroughly within my paper; I know it is not included much in this outline.
Although I’ve already commented on your free draft, I have to say that you made the most out of this exercise. Great job!