Monday 9 December 2013

HOW TO WRITE AN OUTLINE ---BY. MWL. JAPHET MASATU.

How to Write an Outline

Edited by Tom Viren, Ben Rubenstein, Mary Anne C., Lily A and 99 others

An outline is a great way to organize your thoughts and research if you’re preparing a speech, an essay, a novel, or even a study guide. To write an outline, follow these guidelines.

EditSample Outlines

Sample Compare and Contrast Outline

Sample Literature Outline

Sample Research Outline

EditWriting Your Outline

1
Choose a topic. Whether your work will be reflective, persuasive, informative, research-based, or some combination thereof, you must choose a general focus to help keep your thoughts on track.
2
Determine the larger purpose of your work. Choosing an end goal will not only give your topic direction, but also help you structure your paper logically. (If you’re writing a formal essay, write a thesis statement that summarizes this purpose.) You might, for example, want to:
- Compare and contrast two things.
- Present cause and effect.
- Define or analyze a particular aspect.
- Present one side of an argument or both.
- Provide evidence and draw a conclusion.
- Present a problem, then provide a solution.
3
Gather supporting materials. These might be quotes, statistics, theories, images, plot points, or personal reflections depending on the nature of your work.
4
Decide how to generally order your supporting evidence so that it supports your larger purpose. For example: if you are presenting a historical overview, you may want to order things chronologically; if you arguing for a literary interpretation, you may want to order things by theme; if you are weighing two sides of an argument before taking a stance, present the evidence that contradicts your stance first, then dispel it with the counter evidence to end on a persuasive note.
5
Decide whether to write a topic outline or a sentence outline. A topic outline uses short, general phrases and can be useful if your outline is very flexible; a sentence outline uses complete sentences and addresses complexity and detail.
- Consider starting your outline as a topic outline with structural flexibility and then converting it to a sentence outline as you go.
6
Identify your main categories. Based on both the larger purpose of the work and the nature of the supporting material you have found, determine how best to break your larger topic down into logical categories. These will form the first level of your outline, which is traditionally labeled with Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, etc.).
- When writing essays, it is very common to devote one category to each paragraph: I. would be the intro paragraph, II. would be the first body paragraph, and so on.
- Ex. If presenting a historical overview of the car, each category might cover a major era in the car’s history.
7
Think of at least two points for each category. Select these subpoints based on both the purpose of your paper and the list of supporting materials you gathered earlier. These will form the second level of your outline, which is traditionally labeled in letters of the English alphabet (A, B, C, D, etc.).
- Indent the second level of your outline 0.5 to 1 inch past the first level.
- Ex. If presenting a historical overview of the car, each point might cover a typical engine model during that era.
8
Expand upon your points with subpoints if necessary. This will maximize the logical grounding of your essay work. Put these in the third level of your outline, which is traditionally labeled in numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.).
- Should you need to go another layer deeper into your outline, use lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.), then lowercase letters (a, b, c, d, etc.) and then finally switch to numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.).
- It is unlikely you will need to have more than 4 layers in your outline. Consider combining points if this is the case.
- Ex. If presenting a historical overview of the car, each sub-point might address a technological innovation for that engine model.
9
Present your material in outline form. Order your categories, points, and subpoints so as to lay out your larger purpose for the reader, using indented levels of Roman numerals and regular numbers as demonstrated below.
- Make sure your outline is internally consistent; if you’re writing a compare and contrast, for example, make sure that you compare the same aspects of each item for a true side-by-side comparison.

Edit Tips

Expand upon your assertions with evidence, warrants and examples. Include proof in your outline to strengthen the bones of your paper, and identify potential holes in your research.
Be concise and straightforward in your outline. This doesn't have to be perfectly polished writing; it just has to get your point across.
Indent each level of your outline 0.5 to 1 inch past the previous level.
Don't be afraid to eliminate irrelevant information as you conduct more research about your topic and narrow the area you want your writing to focus on.
Use a computer. Many provide outline tools. It's quick to add, delete, or rearrange information.
Use outlines as a memorization tool. Choose concise words to trigger a concept.
Increase the indent by the same increment for each level; do not indent .5 inches, then 1 inch, then .75 inches, etc.
When you start creating an outline in Microsoft Word, it has an automatic indentation feature that it imposes on your outline. If you prefer to work with your own indentation system, read How to Make Outline Text in Word.

Edit Warnings

Take your outline seriously, and it will go a long way in helping you logically construct your paper. Many essays fail because their general structure and organization is weak.
Generally, you should avoid only having one point or sub-point on any outline level. If there is an A, you probably also need a B to add complexity.
Your outline should not be your essay in a different form. Make sure that you are only writing the major assertions of your piece down, or referencing specific details/examples with taglines. Your outline should be concise.