Writing an outline

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Writing an outline

Outlining is a useful skill to learn because it can be used in both your reading and your writing.

What an outline is

Basically, an outline is an organized list of related items or ideas.

It is a methodof grouping together things that are similar in some selected way, then presenting them in a simplified manner that clearly illustrates the relationship within each group ad among all of the groups.

Preparing an outline is essentially a problem of classifying and organizing. It is necessary to understand in what ways objects, facts, or ideas are related to each other.

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What an outline is for

An outline is useful in planning the organization of writing. An outline is also useful in uncovering the organization of writing.

An outline has two purposes:1) in writing, to organize and present your ideas effectively, and 2) in reading, to analyze the organization and relationship of ideas.

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How an outline is written

An outline is usually written in one or two forms, depending on its purpose and its subject:

1)A topic outline

2)A sentence outline

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The topic outline

They are listing of topics, arranged according to some useful and logical organization. Here is example of a topic outline. Notice that the grammatical form of each topic is parallel( similar grammatical structure). It is useful to begin topic with a capital letter. Each topic of the same rank should be expressed in the same grammatical form. Each topic of the same rank should be inented the same distance from the margin, and also should follow the same system of numbers or letters.

 

The plays of Shakespeare

Macbeth

The Comedy of Errors

Othello

Henry V

The Merchant of Venice

Romeo and Juliet

Love’s Labor’s Lost

Richard IIt

Henry IV, part I

Hamlet

 

The plays of Shakespeare

I. Tragedies

A. Macbeth

B. Othello

C. Romeo and Juliet

D. Hamlet

II. Comedies

A. The Comedy of Errors

B. Love’s Labor’s Lost

C. The Merchant of Venice

III. Histories

A. Richard II

B. Henry IV, part I

C. Henry V

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The sentence outline

The form of a sentence outline is the same as that of a topic outline. The same system of indenting, numbering, and lettering is used. The only difference is that each idea is expressed and punctuated as a complete sentence. A sentence outline is usually more detailed, and it indicates more clearly the stricture and organization. For this purpose, the sentences should be short and to the point.

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Notices

First notice that an outline usually starts with the largest or most important idea and then progresses down to smaller or less important ideas. To indicate the comparative importance of ideas, numbers and letters are used.

Second notice how each heading is indented. Heading of equal rank are indented an equal distance from the margin.
Third, notice I.B. above. If a heading runs from one line to the next, it is indented so that it starts directly below the first word of the preceding line. The purpose of indention is to make each heading stand out clearly, so that you can see it quickly and see how it is related to what is before and after it.
Fourth, notice that no punctuation is needed at the end of the topics in a topic outline. Punctuation in a sentence outline follows regular sentence practice. Finally, notice that periods are used after numbers and letters. For fifth and lower ranks, parentheses are used instead of a period.