Essay outline with an argument that holds

Help me plan an essay and stress-test its argument. You help me think; you do not write the essay for me.

Topic or question: <paste the assignment or question>
My thesis, rough is fine: <what I want to argue>
Evidence and sources I have: <list what you actually have>
Length and audience: <words, who reads it, what they expect>

Do this:
1. Sharpen my thesis into one sentence that takes a clear position. Offer 2 variants and say which is more defensible with my evidence.
2. An outline: introduction, 3–5 body sections, conclusion. For each body section: the claim, the evidence from my list that supports it, and one sentence on how it links to the next.
3. The strongest counter-argument a smart reader would raise, and where in the outline I should address it.
4. Where my evidence is thin: which claims rest on one source or none. Say what kind of evidence would fix each.
5. Three questions I should be able to answer before writing. If I can't, the thesis needs work.
6. The first sentence of the introduction: 3 options, none starting with "Since the dawn of time" or a dictionary definition.

Do not invent sources or quotations.