Senior Project Formal Outline Template
Name: Muhammad Sulaiman Topic: Effects Of Sports On Motor Skills, Academic Performance,
And Self-Perception
I. Introduction:
A. Hook: Many young boys and girls struggle with motor skills and academic success and organized sports
may be the answer to solving these issues.
B. Thesis statement: Studies have shown that organized sports programs have a significant impact on the
physical and mental health of students, leading to improved motor skills, academic performance, and a positive
outlook on self-image.
C. Background information: Organized sports have been shown to have many physical and mental health
benefits for adolescents and young adults. Emerging research is now beginning to explore the effects of
participation in sports, measured through daily or weekly physical activity interventions in teenagers’ weekly
schedules, on motor skills. Research is also exploring how participation in sports helps with aspects not directly
linked to physical activity, like academic success and one’s self-image. Motor skills are specific movements of
the body’s muscles that allow us to perform certain tasks such as writing, running, and riding a bicycle
(Lehman, 2021). Body coordination is the movement of multiple body parts to act such as walking and playing
sports (Coordination Exercises, 2022). Academic performance can be defined as how well students can
understand school material and how well they perform in the assessments of their understanding, like in exams.
Self-image is the view a person has of themselves and is related directly to self-esteem and confidence.
C1. Reference to Body Paragraph #1: Emerging research is now beginning to explore the effects of
participation in sports, measured through daily or weekly physical activity interventions in teenagers’ weekly
schedules, on motor skills.
C2. Reference to Body Paragraph #2: Academic performance can be defined as how well students can
understand school material and how well they perform in the assessments of their understanding, like in exams.
C3. Reference to Body Paragraph #3: Research is also exploring how participation in sports helps with
aspects not directly linked to physical activity, like academic success and one’s self-image. Self-image is the
view a person has of themselves and is related directly to self-esteem and confidence.
II. Body Paragraph #1:
A. Topic Sentence: Many studies have shown improved motor skills and coordination with increased physical
activity and intervention of daily tasks with sports.
B1. Research (with citation): However, recent intervention studies have shown a positive correlation between
sports and motor skills. These studies indicated that “motor skill proficiency measured in middle childhood is
Senior Project Formal Outline Template
associated with higher physical activity levels in middle childhood and predictive of adolescent physical activity
levels” (Field & Temple, 2017).
C1. Support (your own words): This means that motor skill proficiency is not just associated with greater
sports participation, but is also able to predict physical activity levels among middle school students. This is
because enhanced motor skills are associated with greater physical activity, so increased motor skill proficiency
can be an indicator of increased physical activity.
B2. Research (with citation): Other studies have measured the effect of exercise in general on motor
performance. The result of high-intensity (long-term) exercise intervention among young adults was better
motor performance in terms of how well tasks were completed (Raab et al., 2016).
C2. Support: Additionally, the subjects involved in the experiment were able to retain the motor tasks after
over a day, which indicates that more intense exercise not just enhances motor skills but also increases memory
retention over time and how well motor skills are learned. This is because physical activity affects the way the
brain is physically structured when new motor skills are learned, which helps remember them better and
perform them better (Raab et al., 2016).
III. Body Paragraph #2:
A. Topic Sentence (with transition word): In addition to motor skills, sports have a positive effect on
academic performance.
B1. Research (with citation): A two-year study was conducted among 7th-grade students to assess the link
between participation in sports and academic performance (Ishihara et al., 2020).
C1. Support (your own words): The result of the study showed that students who participated in sports
activities had an increase in academic success in their school years. In contrast, students who quit sports
activities within two years saw a trend of lowered academic performance (Ishihara et al., 2020).
B2. Research (with citation): In this experiment, grades and sports activities were directly linked and also had
an indirect link. The indirect link related physical activity to increased cardiorespiratory fitness, which in turn
was linked to an increase in academic performance (Ishihara et al., 2020).
C2. Support: This study and these general results provide evidence of the importance of participation in
sports, especially for students who are looking to excel in their studies. There is an obvious link between
participation in sports and academic performance, which adds to the list of sports benefits.
IV. Body Paragraph #3:
Senior Project Formal Outline Template
A. Topic Sentence (with transition word): In addition to physical and cognitive benefits, participation in sports
also leads to positive mental health benefits. One way that mental health improves through sports activity is by
enhancing self-perception and how young adolescents view themselves.
B1. Research (with citation): One correlational study involved participants answering multiple questionnaires
regarding their physical activity, self-esteem, and body image. This study was conducted on a sample size of
300 participants of various backgrounds and ages (Zamani Sani et al., 2016).
C1. Support (your own words): The results show that physical activity had a positive association with
people’s self-esteem through the measurement of body image perception and body mass index.
B2. Research (with citation): Another correlational study conducted in China by Ouyang et al. was more
specific to correlating body image perception to sports participation, rather than physical activity in general.
One thousand participants were given questionnaires to answer regarding their degree of sports participation,
self-esteem, body image, and self-efficacy.
C2. Support: These results indicate that good sports participation increased students’ positive view of
themself and body, which increased their self-esteem. Increased self-esteem then encourages students to
participate in sports even more, creating a positive feedback effect.
V. Conclusion:
A. Restate your thesis: In conclusion, sports participation has shown to have positive effects on motor skills,
academic performance, and self-esteem.
B. Summary/Reflection: Strengthening the body is also very important in Islam and from a religious
perspective, it is highly encouraged for Muslims to do so. Sports participation has many positive effects and
therefore, all students should be encouraged to join a sports team.
