Organizing Ideas I’ve got this pile of note cards, so now what do I do?

Rationale A good paper has a logical sense of flow (coherence). Imagine driving to a place that you’ve never visited before-how would you prepare for that trip? Stop along the way and ask people for directions… OR Get on-line or to a store and get a map…

The Answer is Get a Map Just as a map gives driving directions, outlines give your paper “driving directions.” Beginning research often takes us in unintended directions. Beginning research often leads us to ask previously unthought-of questions. Beginning research sometimes makes us realize a lack of or gap in information.

Why Outline? It forces you to think about the logical progression of information in your paper. It draws attention to gaps or conflicts. It keeps you from driving into uncharted territory. Here there be monsters.

How to Outline You started your research with a few questions: What makes this happen? Why is this good/bad? What is the consequence of this action? Your research has given you some answers and probably given you more questions.

How to Outline— A Rough Draft (where you wanted to go when you started) Write down your working thesis statement Jot down, in outline form, your main ideas, conflicts, terminologies Under each main thought, jot down a few supporting examples Jot down the conclusion—a call for action, a question, a restatement

How to Outline Consider your note cards and your rough outline. Match up the note cards to the points in your rough. Make new points for the important ideas your research has added. Set aside (don’t throw away) note cards that just don’t quite “fit”.

How to Outline Like choosing a route on a map, consider the information on the note cards and the rough outline: Is this the most direct route I can go? (does the evidence support the thesis?) What type of vehicle would best suit my drive? (narration, description, definition compare/contrast) Where are the “must-see” tourist attractions on my route? (the main examples) Are there any speed traps or road construction areas on my route? (things that are unclear and that will slow down the reader) Depending upon your paper, there are several different paradigms to use (See Organizational Paradigms ppt)

How to Outline— A Final Draft Now that you’ve clarified your route, thought about the sights along the way, and avoided the cops and construction, you can begin to finalize your trip. Parallelism Coordination Subordination Division (see Organizing Your Writing ppt) Information on the next four slides created by Jennifer Duncan. It can be found at:

Parallelism Put your words in the same grammatical order. If your first heading is “Researching the Topic” (verb, noun), then your next should be: Generating the Ideas Idea Generation Don’t be too rigid about this as sometimes it won’t make sense to do it. If you chose “Generating the Ideas”, you were correct. It has the same verb, noun structure.

Coordination

Subordination

Division Separating the kinds of points you make. There are several options—LATCH (see lecture) Be consistent by using only one basis of division at each point. Make the basis of division distinct. Information created by Jennifer Duncan. It can be found at:

The Final Draft Using standard symbols (I, A, 1., a), create the outline with key words, evidence and facts I. Introduction A. Attention grabber (see Intro and Conclusion ppt) B. Thesis (highlight or label as thesis) II. Body A. Major point that supports thesis B. Major point that supports thesis 1. Fact/example 2. Fact/example C. Major point that supports thesis 1. Fact/example a. sub statement III. Conclusion A. Wrap up ideas in paper. B. Concluding thought (see Intro and Conclusion ppt) Use complete sentences in all areas! If you have a “1”, you must have a “2”. Likewise, if you have an “a”, must have a “b”. Use Roman numerals for 3 main sections Use capital letters. Use ordinal numbers here. Use small letters here.

Reminders Always organize within the essay or paper (remember LATCH). The supporting ideas are what make the paper worth reading. Expert opinions from research Real world examples (use a fictional character) Statistics and numbers Use the PIE or Quotation Sandwich within paragraphs!

How to Outline— A Final Draft Finally, you’ve written an outline. Directions are clear You know where additional support is needed. You know what is not important to the immediate paper. But wait, there’s one more step!

For each point, fact, or key word in your outline: Write a complete sentence. Some of this will be the “great” quotes you found during research. Some of these will serve as topic sentences for paragraphs. Use direct, concise language. Explain any technical terms in layman’s language.

Bon Voyage Remember that you are taking a trip, not running in the Indy 500. Take pictures of your trip. Call for reservations at hotels. Travel with someone you like. Pack for emergencies.