Outline

I. Introduction Paragraph
-Define memoir and explain the genre
-State the thesis
-Introduce ideas and subtopics
*The purpose of writing a memoir
*The benefits to writing memoirs
*Writing is therapeutic
II. Body Paragraph 1
-The purposes of writing a memoir
-The purpose to the author of writing a memoir about a hard past time (child abuse, neglect, etc.)
-Why a memoir doesn’t need to be completely factual
-The difference between a memoir and bibliographies
III. Body Paragraph 2
-The benefits of memoirs to the author (money, healing, sense of importance)
-How the authors’ lives have changed since
-Include author interviews in this paragraph
-Therapeutic writing (Prove that writing is therapeutic)
-Include the credible research that supports that writing is therapeutic.
-The benefits of writing a memoir to other people/society (people learn from memoirs, feel supported if they are going through similar situations)
IV. Conclusion
-Restate the thesis and wrap up the main points clearly and concisely