Howtowriteanoutline

HowtowriteanoutlinePart1of2:PlanningYourOutline1Chooseatopic.Whetheryourworkwillbereflective,persuasive,informative,research-based,orsomecombinationthereof,youmustchooseageneralfocustohelpkeepyourthoughtsontrack.[1]Atthisstageit'sokaytohaveabroadtopicinsteadoftryingtonarrowitdowntoyourspecificthesisstatement.Forexample,whenyou'rejuststartingout,insteadofnarrowingyourtopicdownrightawaytotheattitudesoftheFrenchtowardstheMaquisresistancefightersinWWIIyoumightlookatFrenchlifeduringtheGermanoccupationingeneral.Youcanalsomakeanoutlineforacreativepiece,likeanovel.Youwillstillwanttofocusonatopic(steampunkreimaginingofHamlet).Youwon'thaveathesis,andtheoutlinewillfollowthestructureofthenovel(importantevents,forexample).2Determinethelargerpurposeofyourwork.Choosinganendgoalwillnotonlygiveyourtopicdirection,butalsohelpyoustructureyourpaperlogically.Ifyou’rewritingaformalessay,writeathesisstatementthatfulfillsthispurpose,otherwiseyou'llneedtodeterminewhatyou'retryingtoaccomplishwithyourwork.Youcouldcompareandcontrasttwothings,whichmeansthatyou'llbemakingconnections,andusingcriticalthinkingtoengageinanalysisofthetwo(usually)pieces.Thiswillneedtogobeyondsimplysummarizing,butusuallywon'trequiremuchoutsideresearch.[2]Presentcauseandeffect.Showwhysomethinghappened(particularlygoodforhistoricalessays,becauseyoucanlookatsomethingthathappenedinhistoryandtheeffectithadonevents).Defineoranalyzeaparticularaspectorconcept.Forexample,youmighttalkaboutfeminismandtalkaboutthehistoryoftheterm,thedifferenttypesoffeminism,andwhatitmeanstodifferentgroups.Presentonesideofanargument(youshouldalsoprovide,oratleastaddress,thecounter-argument).Provideevidenceanddrawaconclusion.Youshouldalways,whenwritinganessay,backupyourconclusionsandyourthesisstatementwithspecificevidence,evenifyou'rewritingapersonalessay,apersuasiveessay(especiallywhenwritingapersuasiveessay),oracreativeessay.3Gathersupportingmaterials.Thesemightbequotes,statistics,theories,images,plotpoints,orpersonalreflectionsdependingonthenatureofyourwork.Makesurethatthesethingssupportwhatyou'rewriting,orthatifyoudofindconflictingevidenceorideas,youaddresswhythesearewrong,insteadofsimplyignoringthem.Expanduponyourassertionswithevidence,warrantsandexamples.Includeproofinyouroutlinetostrengthenthebonesofyourpaper,andidentifypotentialholesinyourresearch.Ifyou'relookingspecificallyforsupportinginformationforanovel(sinceitisalittledifferentthananacademicstyleoutline),it'sgreattogetinformationonsetting,characters,clothing,foodetc.Youwantyourstorytobeasbelievableaspossible.Makesurethatwhenyou'renotingdowninformationforyouroutlinethatyounotedownpagenumbersforbooks,andwhereyoufoundthatinformation.Thatwillmakeiteasierwhenyou'regoingbackthroughandsettinguptheoutlineitself.4Pickyourtypeofoutlines.Atopicoutlineusesshort,generalphrasesandcanbeusefulifyouroutlineisveryflexible;asentenceoutlineusescompletesentencesandaddressescomplexityanddetail.[3]Considerstartingyouroutlineasatopicoutlinewithstructuralflexibilityandthenconvertingittoasentenceoutlineasyougo.Thereisn'tmuchdifferencebetweenthetwoexceptthatyoucanusethesentencesfromthelatterdirectlyinyourpaperorpresentation.Part2of2:WritingYourOutline1Decidehowtogenerallyorderyoursupportingevidence.Youwanttomakesurethatitsupportsyourlargerpurpose.You'llwanttomakesurethatyou'reorderingitinthemosteffectivemanner.Thatmeans,startingoffwithyourstrongestpiecesofevidence,aswellasmakingsurethatyourpiecesofevidencenaturallyflowintooneanother.[4]Forexample:ifyouarepresentinganhistoricaloverview,youmaywanttoorderthingschronologically;ifyouarguingforaliteraryinterpretation,youmaywanttoorderthingsbytheme;ifyouareweighingtwosidesofanargumentbeforetakingastance,presenttheevidencethatcontradictsyourstancefirst,andthendispelitwiththecounterevidencetoendonapersuasivenote.2Identifyyourmaincategories.Basedonboththelargerpurposeoftheworkandthenatureofthesupportingmaterialyouhavefound,determinehowbesttobreakyourlargertopicdownintologicalcategories.Thesewillformthefirstlevelofyouroutline,whichistraditionallylabeledwithRomannumerals(I,II,III,IV,etc.).Whenwritingessays,itisverycommontodevoteonecategorytoeachparagraph:I.wouldbetheintroparagraph,II.wouldbethefirstbodyparagraph,andsoon.Forexample:Ifpresentingahistoricaloverviewofthecar,eachcategorymightcoveramajorerainthecar’shistory.3Thinkofatleasttwopointsforeachcategory.Selectthesesub-pointsbasedonboththepurposeofyourpaperandthelistofsupportingmaterialsyougatheredearlier.Thesewillformthesecondlevelofyouroutline,whichistraditionallylabeledinlettersoftheEnglishalphabet(A,B,C,D,etc.).Indentthesecondlevelofyouroutline0.5to1inchpastthefirstlevel.Forexample:Ifpresentingahistoricaloverviewofthecar,eachpointmightcoveratypicalenginemodelduringthatera.4Expanduponyourpointswithsub-pointsifnecessary.Thiswillmaximizethelogicalgroundingofyouressaywork.Puttheseinthethirdlevelofyouroutline,whichistraditionallylabeledinnumbers(1,2,3,4,etc.).Shouldyouneedtogoanotherlayerdeeperintoyouroutline,uselowercaseRomannumerals(i,ii,iii,iv,