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  • Outlining: Creating An Outline

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    Louise Meara Severo
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    This document discusses outlining as a tool used in the writing process to help organize ideas and structure a paper. An outline demonstrates the main argument, main points, and evidence that will be presented in the paper. It also clearly conveys the connection between the thesis and topic sentences. The document provides steps for creating an outline, including having a clear thesis, organizing ideas in an appropriate format, and allowing flexibility to adjust the outline. Types of outlines are also described, such as topic outlines for short essays and sentence outlines for longer papers. Finally, examples of outlining methods are given, such as traditional approaches that divide stories into parts and the "draft zero" method of writing without structure.

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    how to outline a text

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    Outlining

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    This document discusses outlining as a tool used in the writing process to help organize ideas and structure a paper. An outline demonstrates the main argument, main points, and evidence that will be presented in the paper. It also clearly conveys the connection between the thesis and topic sentences. The document provides steps for creating an outline, including having a clear thesis, organizing ideas in an appropriate format, and allowing flexibility to adjust the outline. Types of outlines are also described, such as topic outlines for short essays and sentence outlines for longer papers. Finally, examples of outlining methods are given, such as traditional approaches that divide stories into parts and the "draft zero" method of writing without structure.

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    51 views3 pages

    Outlining: Creating An Outline

    Uploaded by

    Louise Meara Severo
    This document discusses outlining as a tool used in the writing process to help organize ideas and structure a paper. An outline demonstrates the main argument, main points, and evidence that will be presented in the paper. It also clearly conveys the connection between the thesis and topic sentences. The document provides steps for creating an outline, including having a clear thesis, organizing ideas in an appropriate format, and allowing flexibility to adjust the outline. Types of outlines are also described, such as topic outlines for short essays and sentence outlines for longer papers. Finally, examples of outlining methods are given, such as traditional approaches that divide stories into parts and the "draft zero" method of writing without structure.

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    of 3

    OUTLINING

    Outlining is a tool used in the writing process to help you organize the ideas
    into a logical order, visualize your paper’s potential structure, and to further
    flesh out and develop points. It is a way for you to demonstrate the main
    argument (thesis), main points (topic sentences), and main pieces of
    evidence you are going to present in a paper before actually writing the
    paper. Additionally, one of the essential purposes of an outline is to clearly
    convey the connection between the thesis and each of the topic sentences.

    Creating an Outline
     Before you start creating an outline, you need to have a clear thesis
    statement, or clear purpose or arguments.

     Organize your outline in whatever format fits into the structure needed
    for the type of paper you are writing. One common outline format uses
    Roman numerals, letters, and numbers. Other outlines can use bullet
    points or other symbols.

     Outlines can be written using complete sentences or fragments or a


    mix of the two.

     After creating your outline, you may decide to reorganize your ideas by
    putting them in a different order. Furthermore, as you are writing you
    might make some discoveries and you can always adjust or deviate
    from the outline as needed.

    Steps in Outlining

    1. Generalizing -The first step is to look over each individual piece of


    information that you’ve written and assign it to a general category.

    2. Ordering - To begin, look at your most general categories. With your


    thesis in mind, try to find a way that the labels might be arranged in a
    sentence or two that supports your arguments.

    3. Putting it all Together - With the sentences you have established


    from the first two steps, you have essentially constructed an outline for
    your essay.

    Types of Outlining
    1. Topic Outline - In this outline, you list the main idea to be covered in
    your writing. These ideas are stated in words or phrases rather than in
    sentence. It is useful for short essays.

    2. Sentence Outline - Organizes your ideas using complete thoughts.


    This means you can include more information and details. These are
    typically used for longer reports and research papers.

    Examples of an Outline

    1. Traditional Approach - This method involves dividing your story up into


    smaller parts, and creating mini-summaries for each part. This is great for longer
    stories.

    2. The Synopsis - Focuses on creating a concise representation of your story


    that will help you, as the writer, remember the myriad details you ultimately
    want to include.

    3. The Snowflake Method - This method is more detailed format, it forces


    the writer to consider many different parts of the story.

    4. The Three-Act Structure - This is another method that involves organizing


    and expanding at the same time. This method helps to make sure that your
    story has a dynamic plot-structure, and follows the basic three-act structure.

    5. The Hero's Journey - This model aims at creating an exposition or


    introduction (setting the stage); rising action, or development of conflict; climax
    (where the conflict comes to boiling-over point); falling action (the response to
    this conflict); and denouement (the resolution and tying up of loose ends).

    6. The Freytag Model - This model is similar to the hero’s journey, and the
    three-act structure. It gives the writer some structure to guide their
    organization, but leaves the specifics up to the writer.

    7. Draft Zero - The draft before the draft. This is the anti-outline, and some
    people find it liberating, creatively engaging, and hectic.
    The point of this method is to just write. Ramble your story, and don’t worry
    about mistakes. They will be fixed later.While using this method, feel free to use
    symbols, cross-outs, drawings, notes, and whatever other short-hand devices you
    might know. The point is to just get the story onto paper.

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