Essay planning

AI Essay Outline Generator — Structure Your Papers

Create essay outlines in seconds with AI — argumentative, analytical, or research. Enter your topic and get a complete outline with thesis and evidence.

Explore study tools

Free to start · No credit card · Works for any essay type

Used by 170,000+ learners and professionals worldwide
How it works

From topic to outline in three steps

Give the AI your prompt and get a structured, ready-to-write outline in seconds.

01

Step 1: Enter Topic

Provide your essay topic, assignment requirements, or upload your research materials.

02

Step 2: AI Creates Outline

Our AI generates a complete outline with introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion structure.

03

Step 3: Write Your Essay

Use your outline as a roadmap. Export to Word, Google Docs, or expand it into a full essay with AI assistance.

Try it now

Build your essay outline

Enter a topic or pick another writing tool below. Your outline is ready in seconds.

Essay OutlineResearch PaperWriting CoachCitations

Upload Your Document

Upload any document, image, audio, or video file to convert it into interactive flashcards. You can also drag and drop a file here. You will be redirected to register.

Your files are securely processed by Scholarly's advanced AI.

Why Scholarly

Everything you need to plan a paper

More than a skeleton — a real plan with a thesis, supporting arguments, and evidence to fill in.

Instant outline generation

Type a topic and get a full introduction, body, and conclusion structure in seconds — no blank-page paralysis.

Multiple essay types

The AI adapts the structure for argumentative, analytical, expository, and research essays.

Thesis statements

Get a clear, defensible thesis you can refine, so the whole paper has a single guiding argument.

Topic sentences

Each body section comes with a topic sentence and supporting points, so every paragraph has a job.

Export options

Send your outline to Word or Google Docs, or expand it into a full draft with AI assistance.

No account required

Start outlining right away — create a free account only when you want to save and revisit your work.

Why it works

Why outline before you write

The hardest part of any essay is the blank page. An outline turns one big, intimidating task into a sequence of small, clear ones — write the thesis, then each topic sentence, then fill in the evidence.

A good outline keeps your argument on track. With the thesis and topic sentences set first, every paragraph earns its place and the paper reads as one connected argument instead of a pile of facts.

Scholarly's generator gives you a starting structure in seconds, but you stay in control. Edit the thesis, reorder the sections, or swap an argument — the AI gives you momentum, not a rigid template.

When the structure is solid, the writing goes faster. Export the outline to Word or Google Docs and expand each point, or let the AI help draft from the plan you just shaped.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How do I create an essay outline?

Simply enter your essay topic and assignment requirements into Scholarly. Our AI will generate a complete outline with introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion structure.

What types of essays can I create outlines for?

Our tool works for argumentative, analytical, research papers, and other essay types. The AI adapts the structure based on your topic and requirements.

Keep exploring

More Scholarly study tools

AI Study Guide Generator

Turn your research into a full study guide.

AI Cheat Sheet Maker

Quick reference sheet for any subject.

Research Paper Analyzer

Extract key findings from papers.

Citation Generator

Generate accurate citations in any style.

Academic Writing Coach

AI feedback on your draft.

Study Notes Generator

Organized study notes from any source.

Get started

Sign Up to Generate Essay Outlines

Use AI to plan clearer essay outlines. You can start for free, and go Premium for higher AI creation limits and more.

Explore study tools

Free

See what it does with one of your own sources.

$0

/month

Free forever

No card required.

  • 3 lifetime AI Chat messages

  • 1 free AI creation total

  • 2-minute podcasts and video lectures

  • 1 free file upload total (8MB)

  • 5 lifetime quiz questions

  • 1 completed practice exam total

  • 15 lifetime voice minutes

  • 32-page PDF to flashcards

  • 500 lifetime autocomplete words

Use it to generate flashcards, improve a deck, or create a podcast, video lecture, slides, infographic, mind map, study guide, worksheet, spreadsheet, story book, timeline, SOP, flowchart, lesson plan, or outline — or run Deep Research or turn a recording into AI Meeting Notes.

Premium

Most Popular

Steady weekly output from the material you already have.

$12

/month

Billed yearly at $144 · save $216

  • Everything in Free, plus:

  • 10 AI creations per week

  • Unlimited AI chat & autocomplete

  • Podcasts up to 60 minutes, videos up to 45 minutes

  • Unlimited file uploads (up to 300MB)

  • Unlimited study sessions

  • Unlimited exams & quizzes

  • 1000-page PDF to flashcards

  • Export to Anki

  • Priority support

Laureate

For work where being right matters more than the price.

$99

/month

billed monthly · cancel anytime

For frontier models & 8x more AI Creations

Our most advanced and most expensive tier.

  • Everything in Premium, plus:

  • 80 weighted AI creation credits every week

  • 80 AI creations per week

  • Podcasts up to 60 minutes, videos up to 45 minutes

  • Unlimited uploads up to 1 GB, plus 3,000-page PDFs

  • 12 hours of voice mode per day

  • Priority support and early access to new Frontier models

Pricing shown in USD. Local currency may be available for Premium in app.

Compare plans

AI chat

Premium and Laureate include unlimited AI chat. GPT 5.6 Sol and Claude Opus 5 are reserved for credit-metered AI creations.

Free
3 total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

AI creations

AI creations share one credit balance across every creation tool. Standard models use 1 credit; Frontier models Sol and Opus use 3.

Free
1 total
Premium
10/week
Laureate
80/week

Podcast length

Free episodes are fixed at 2 minutes. Paid plans can set a target length up to 60 minutes.

Free
2 minutes
Premium
Up to 60 minutes
Laureate
Up to 60 minutes

Video lecture length

Free lectures with a length control are fixed at 2 minutes. Paid plans can set a target up to 45 minutes. Short uses its own short video format.

Free
2 minutes
Premium
Up to 45 minutes
Laureate
Up to 45 minutes

File uploads

Free
1 total (8MB)
Premium
Unlimited (300MB)
Laureate
Unlimited (1 GB each)

PDF to flashcards

Free
32 pages
Premium
1000 pages
Laureate
3000 pages

Practice questions

Free
5 total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Practice exams

Free
1 total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Voice mode

Free
15 min total
Premium
2 hr/day
Laureate
12 hr/day

Autocomplete

Free
500 words total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Export to Anki

Free
—
Premium
Included
Laureate
Included

Support

Free
Standard
Premium
Priority
Laureate
Priority

What customers say

Scholarly has enhanced the quality of notes and questions I administer to my tutees. Insightful, to the point.

TD Georgas

TD Georgas

Tutor

I have very good experience with Scholarly it summarize me scientific text in hovel academic level with citation. I use this for any therapeutic area . It is great and useful tool.

Diana

Diana

Scholarly user

Scholarly has been a valuable tool for my studies. The AI-generated flashcards and intuitive features make organizing and retaining information much easier.

Briana

Briana

Scholarly user

This app is great for studying for big test. Drop your PDF's in the system and it'll do the trick. You can organize it specifically for your needs.

Kelvin

Kelvin

Scholarly user

Your questions, answered

Is Scholarly free to use?

Yes! The free plan includes core study tools with lifetime allowances: 3 AI Chat messages, 500 autocomplete words, 5 quiz questions, 15 voice minutes, 1 practice exam, one free AI creation total, and 1 file upload. These allowances do not reset. Upgrade to Premium for 10 AI creations per week and unlimited uploads.

What uses my free AI creations?

Generating flashcards, improving a flashcard deck, making a podcast, creating a video lecture or infographic, building slides, a spreadsheet, or a story book, making a mind map, study guide, or worksheet, having an AI Agent create a timeline, SOP, flowchart, lesson plan, or outline, running Deep Research, or processing a recording uses your free AI creation. It is a lifetime free credit and does not reset. AI Chat, autocomplete, quiz practice, voice, exams, and file uploads have separate lifetime allowances.

Can I cancel anytime?

Absolutely. There are no contracts or commitments. You can cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings, and you'll keep access until the end of your billing period.

What payment methods do you accept?

We accept all major credit and debit cards through Stripe. Pricing is displayed in USD by default, but local currency is available in the app.

Can I use Scholarly with a class or school?

Yes. For a school or organization-wide rollout, contact us at hello@scholarly.so and we'll help you find the right setup.

What happens when I hit a free plan limit?

You'll see a prompt to upgrade. Your existing work is never lost — limits only apply to new actions. Free-plan allowances are lifetime credits and do not reset. Premium includes 10 AI creations per week, podcasts up to 60 minutes, video lectures up to 45 minutes, unlimited uploads, chat, autocomplete, quizzes, and exams, plus more daily voice time.