Outlines
Have 2 Jobs:
1. to organize the structure of a paragraph
2. To help you take notes
Now that you can find the topic sentence in a
paragraph, you’re ready to organize an entire
paragraph into essential points of the main
topic and supporting details!
Outlines
for some paragraphs you may not need to fill in all the
detail lines. For others, you may need to add more lines.
I.___________________________________
(Topic Sentence – shortened to main idea)
A. ________________________________________
(supporting detail)
B. ________________________________________
(supporting detail)
C. ________________________________________
(supporting detail)
D. ________________________________________
(supporting detail)
Example 1: Read the paragraph
below.
indent
Worker bees are tremendously busy. They
gather nectar from the flower. They build the
honeycombs. They feed and clean the queen
bee. They also protect the hive.
Notice how the topic is repeatedly used?
Worker bees are tremendously busy.
They gather nectar from the flower. They
build the honeycombs. They feed and clean
the queen bee. They also protect the hive.
• What is the topic sentence?
• Hint: when taking notes, you don’t write
the whole topic sentence. You reduce it to
as few words as possible. For example,
the sentence Worker bees are
tremendously busy could be written as
Busy worker bees.
Worker bees are tremendously busy.
They gather nectar from the flower. They
build the honeycombs. They feed and clean
the queen bee. They also protect the hive.
• Main topic: Busy worker bees
• Next, find the sentences in the paragraph
that give details or support the main topic.
Ask yourself a question, such as “What do
the worker bees do? Then record your
answer in the fewest possible words:
Worker bees are tremendously busy.
They gather nectar from the flower. They
build the honeycombs. They feed and clean
the queen bee. They also protect the hive.
• Main topic: Busy worker bees
• Supporting Details: Gather nectar
Build honeycombs
Feed and clean queen
Protect hive
Worker bees are tremendously busy.
They gather nectar from the flower. They
build the honeycombs. They feed and clean
the queen bee. They also protect the hive.
I. Busy worker bees
A. Gather nectar
B. Build honeycombs
C. Feed and clean queen
D. Protect hive
Example 2: Read the paragraph
indent
and write an outline.
Even though the tugboat is a small
vessel, it has big jobs to perform. It helps
to push and pull huge freighters and ocean
liners in and out of city harbors. It helps
maneuver large ships into their docks. It
pulls barges in and out of the harbor along
the coast. It helps to lay telephone and
television cable.
Remember to reduce!
Is yours similar to mine?
I. Small tugboats perform big jobs
A. Push and pull huge ships
B. Maneuver ships into docks
C. Pull barges
D. Lay communication cables
Now work backwards. Use the
outline to write a good paragraph.
I. Humpback whales
A. Mammals
B. Length, 45 feet
C. Tail flukes, 12 feet wide
D. Throat, 30 expanding grooves
E. Twin blowholes, breathing Remember:
1. Indent
F. Leap, high in air
2. Repeat your topic.
3. Use transition
phrases
Is yours similar to mine?
Humpback whales are among the
magnificent giants of the sea. These
mammals average 45 feet in length. Just as
amazing, their tail flukes are 12 feet wide.
The humpback has about 30 throat grooves
that allow its throat to expand. The
humpback breathes through twin blowholes
on top of its head. It seems playful as it
leaps high into the air.
Find: the indention, the repeated topic, and the transitions.
Supporting sentences clarify the
topic sentence of a paragraph by…
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•
•
•
•
•
•
Giving examples in enumerative order
Telling a story or incident in sequential order
Showing events in chronological order
Describing using spatial order
Shows the effects or results of something that
happened in cause/effect order
Compares or contrasts
Describes something using the senses
So, in other words
There are 7 types of paragraphs
• enumerative
• sequential
• chronological
• spatial
• cause/effect
• Compare/contrast
• Descriptive
Today you are going to write a
paragraph in enumerative order
•
Giving examples in enumerative order
•
•
•
•
Telling a story or incident in sequential order
Showing events in chronological order
Describing using spatial order
Shows the effects or results of something that
happened in cause/effect order
Compares or contrasts
Describes something using the senses
•
•
Enumerative Paragraphs
• The writer develops the paragraph by
using examples.
• The specific focus of the paragraph is
stated in the topic sentence and is
followed by several supporting examples.
• Signal words, such as for example, first,
furthermore, and also tell the reader that
another example is coming up in the
paragraph.
Enumerative Order Signal Words
Enumerative signal words:
For example
First
Also
Another
Second
Furthermore
In addition
Some
Others
Too
Likewise
A few
As well as
indent
Example of an Enumerative
Paragraph
Walls are built for different
purposes. For example,
Hadrian’s Wall was built in 125
A.D. across the neck of Scotland
to keep the northern Picts out of
newly acquired Roman territory
in England. Another example is
a pasture wall, built to keep
livestock safe and protected. A
third kind of wall is a memorial
wall. The Vietnam Veterans
Memorial wall was completed in
1982 and displays the names of
that war’s dead and missing.
Finally, the most common use of
walls, of course, is in housing to
separate rooms and to support
roofs.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Enumerative signal words:
For example
First
Also
Another
Second
Furthermore
In addition
Some
Others
Too
Likewise
A few
As well as
Example of an Enumerative Paragraph
indent
Walls are built for different purposes. For
example, Hadrian’s Wall was built in 125 A.D.
across the neck of Scotland to keep the northern
Picts out of newly acquired Roman territory in
England. Another example is a pasture wall,
built to keep livestock safe and protected. A
third kind of wall is a memorial wall. The
Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall was completed
in 1982 and displays the names of that war’s
dead and missing. Finally, the most common
use of walls, of course, is in housing to separate
rooms and to support roofs.
Outline this Enumerative
Paragraph
Walls are built for different purposes. For
example, Hadrian’s Wall was built in 125 A.D.
across the neck of Scotland to keep the northern
Picts out of newly acquired Roman territory in
England. Another example is a pasture wall,
built to keep livestock safe and protected. A
third kind of wall is a memorial wall. The
Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall was completed
in 1982 and displays the names of that war’s
dead and missing. Finally, the most common
use of walls, of course, is in housing to separate
rooms and to support roofs.
Is yours similar to mine?
I. Purposes of walls
A. Defense – Hadrian’s Wall
B. Protection – pasture wall
C. Memorial – Vietnam Veterans Memorial
D. Support – house walls
Homework Paragraph
• Make an Enumerative Outline for the
different kinds of students in this room.
• Then write an Enumerative Paragraph
from your outline.
– Remember to indent
– Remember to repeat your topic
– Remember to use transitions