Creating an Outline A quick how-to guide to an important paper writing skill

Why an Outline? Aids in the process of writing Helps you organize your ideas Presents your material in a logical form Shows the relationships among ideas in your writing Constructs an ordered overview of your writing Defines boundaries and groups

Before the Outline Determine the purpose of your paper Determine the audience of your paper Develop the thesis of your paper

Creating an Outline Brainstorm: List all the ideas that you want to include in your paper. Organize: Group related ideas together. Order: Arrange material in subsections from general to specific or from abstract to concrete. Label: Create main and sub headings.

Four Main Components for Effective Outlines Parallelism Coordination Subordination Division

1. Parallelism Each heading and subheading should preserve parallel structure. If the first heading is a verb, the second heading should also be a verb.

1. Parallelism Example: THE COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS [Topic] I. CHOOSE DESIRED COLLEGES [Heading 1] II. PREPARE APPLICATION [Heading 2] III. COMPILE RESUME [Heading 3]

2. Coordination All the information contained in Heading 1 should have the same significance as the information contained in Heading 2. The same goes for the subheadings (which should be less significant than the headings).

2. Coordination Example: THE COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS I. CHOOSE DESIRED COLLEGES [Main idea] A. Visit and evaluate college campuses [Supporting details] B. Visit and evaluate college websites II. PREPARE APPLICATION [Main idea] A. Write personal statement [Supporting details] B. Revise personal statement III. COMPILE RESUME [Main idea] A. List relevant coursework [Supporting details] B. List work experience C. List volunteer experience

3. Subordination The information in the headings should be more general, while the information in the subheadings should be more specific.

3. Subordination Example: THE COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS I. CHOOSE DESIRED COLLEGES [More general] A. Visit and evaluate college campuses [More specific] B. Visit and evaluate college websites II. PREPARE APPLICATION [More general] A. Write personal statement [More specific] B. Revise personal statement III. COMPILE RESUME[More general] A. List relevant coursework [More specific] B. List work experience C. List volunteer experience

4. Division Each heading should be divided into two or more parts. A heading or subheading cannot have only one subdivision beneath it. In other words, every “A” must have at least a corresponding “B,” every “1” must have at least a corresponding “2,” etc. Technically, there is no limit to the number of subdivisions for your headings; however, if you seem to have a lot, it may be useful to see if some of the parts can be combined.

4. Division Example: I. CHOOSE DESIRED COLLEGES A. Visit and evaluate college campuses B. Visit and evaluate college websites 1. Look for interesting classes 2. Note important statistics II. PREPARE APPLICATION A. Write personal statement 1. Choose interesting topic 2. Include important personal details B. Revise personal statement III. COMPILE RESUME A. List relevant coursework B. List work experience C. List volunteer experience 1. Tutor at foreign language summer camp 2. Counselor for suicide prevention hotline

Types of Outlines Basic alphanumeric Full-sentence alphanumeric Decimal

Types of Outlines Basic alphanumeric First level heading: Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, etc.) Second level heading: Uppercase letters (A, B, C, D, etc.) Third level heading: Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) Fourth level heading: Lowercase letters (a, b, c, d, etc.) I. CHOOSE DESIRED COLLEGES A. Visit and evaluate college campuses B. Visit and evaluate college websites 1. Look for interesting classes 2. Note important statistics I. CHOOSE DESIRED COLLEGES A. Visit and evaluate college campuses B. Visit and evaluate college websites 1. Look for interesting classes 2. Note important statistics

Types of Outlines Basic alphanumeric Full-sentence alphanumeric I. Man-made pollution is the primary cause of global warming. A. Greenhouse gas emissions are widely identified by the scientific community to be harmful. 1. The burning of coal and fossil fuels are the primary releasers of hazardous greenhouse gases. I. Man-made pollution is the primary cause of global warming. A. Greenhouse gas emissions are widely identified by the scientific community to be harmful. 1. The burning of coal and fossil fuels are the primary releasers of hazardous greenhouse gases.

Types of Outlines Basic alphanumeric Full-sentence alphanumeric Decimal 1.0 Choose Desired College 1.1 Visit and evaluate college campuses 1.2 Visit and evaluate college websites Look for interesting classes Note important statistics 1.0 Choose Desired College 1.1 Visit and evaluate college campuses 1.2 Visit and evaluate college websites Look for interesting classes Note important statistics

Reverse Outline Written after the first draft of the paper is completed Used to check a paper’s logic, structure & organization Can be used in place of or in conjunction with traditional outline How to create and use a reverse outline: Reread paper draft one paragraph at a time Summarize main point of each paragraph in the paper margin Create a list of bullet points from these paragraph summaries Shorten/split paragraphs that have more than one main point; clarify/delete paragraphs that have no main point Determine whether each paragraph supports paper’s thesis Determine whether paragraphs are in logical sequence

For Further Information Purdue Online Writing Lab: Duke Divinity School’s Center for Theological Writing: (Office located on lower level of Westbrook building; appointments made through Sakai website) Duke’s Thompson Writing Program online resources: writing/revising writing/revising