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Developing an Outline
Whether they are called mind
maps, concept maps, or just oldfashioned outlines, such tools help
the writer organize his/her material
logically by helping him/her sort and
classify the material systematically. A
secondary outcome of the process of
sorting and classification is the ability
to see the relationships that exist
between ideas in our writing. This
insight helps the writer develop an
organized plan for presenting the
material. Outlines, in all their forms,
serve four basic functions:
to present a logical, general
description,
to summarize schematically,
to reveal an organizational pattern,
and
to provide a visual and conceptual
design of the writing.
An outline reflects logical thinking and
correct classification.
Beginning an Outline
Before we begin to write an outline, we
must have progressed far enough into
our planning such that we know the at
least three things:
the purpose of our paper,
the thesis of our paper, and
our audience.
Then, we can brainstorm and list all
the ideas you want to include in this
writing, organize our work by grouping
ideas together that are related to each
other, order our work by dividing the
material into groups ranging from the
general to the specific, or from abstract
to concrete, and label the work by
creating main and subtopic headings
and writing coordinate levels in parallel
form.
An outline has a balanced structure
which uses the principles of
parallelism,
2. coordination,
3. subordination, and
4. division.
1. Parallelism
Whenever possible, in writing an
outline, coordinate heads should be
expressed in parallel form. That is,
nouns should be made parallel with
nouns, verb forms with verb forms,
adjectives with adjectives, and so on.
(Example: Nouns - computers,
programs, users; Verbs - to compute,
to program, to use; Adjectives - home
computers,
new
programs,
experienced users.) Although parallel
structure is desired, logical and clear
writing should not be sacrificed simply
to maintain parallelism (For example,
there are times when nouns and
gerunds used at the same level of an
outline
are
acceptable.)
Reasonableness and flexibility of form
is preferred to rigidity.
2. Coordination
In outlining, those items which are of
equal significance have comparable
numeral or letter designations; an A is
equal a B, a 1 to a 2, an a to a b, etc.
Coordinates should be seen as
"having the same importance."
Coordination is a principle that enables
the writer to maintain a coherent and
consistent document.
Correct coordination
A. Word processing programs
B. Database programs
C. Spreadsheet programs
Incorrect coordination
A. Word processing programs
B. Word
C. Excel
Word is a type of word-processing
program and should be treated as a
subdivision. Excel is a type of
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B.
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spreadsheet program. One way to
correct coordination would be:
Types of programs
Word
Excel
Evaluation of programs
Word
Excel
... such tools help the writer
organize his/her material logically
by helping him/her sort and
classify the material systematically
...
Subordination
To indicate relevance, that is levels of
significance, an outline uses major and
minor headings. Thus, in ordering
ideas you should organize material
from general to specific or from
abstract to concrete - the more general
or abstract the concept, the higher the
level or rank in the outline. This
principle allows your material to be
ordered in terms of logic and requires
a clear articulation of the relationship
between component parts used in the
outline. Subdivisions of a major
division should always have the same
relationship to the whole.
Correct subordination
Word processing programs
Word
WordPerfect
Presentation programs
MS PowerPoint
Corel Presentations
Faulty subordination
Word processing programs
WordPerfect
Useful
Obsolete
There is an A without a B. Also, 1, 2,
and 3 are not equal; WordPerfect is a
type of word processing program, and
useful and obsolete are qualities. One
A.
1.
2.
3.
B.
A.
1.
2.
a.
b.
B.
1.
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way to correct this faulty subordination
is:
A. WordPerfect
1. Positive features
2. Negative features
B. Word
1. Positive features
2. Negative features
4. Division
To divide you always need at
least two parts; therefore, there can
never be an A without a B, a 1 without
a 2, an a without a b, etc. Usually,
there is more than one way to divide
parts; however, when dividing use only
one basis of division at each rank and
make the basis of division as sharp as
possible.
Example 1
Microcomputer hardware
Types
Cost
Maintenance
Microcomputer software
Example 2
Computers
Mainframe
Micro
Floppy Disk
Hard disk
Computer Uses
Professional
Personal
5. Form
The most important principle for an
outline's form is consistency. An
outline
can
use TOPIC or SENTENCE structure,
but be consistent in form all the way
through.
A TOPIC outline uses words or
phrases for all points; uses no
punctuation after entries.
Advantages — presents a brief
overview of work; is generally easier
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
and faster to write than a sentence
outline
A SENTENCE outline uses complete
sentences for all entries; uses correct
punctuation
Advantages — presents a more
detailed overview of work including
possible topic sentences; is easier and
faster for writing the final paper.
An outline can use either alphanumeric
(usually
with
Roman
numerals) form or a decimal form.
Alternating patterns of upper and lower
case
letters
with
alternating
progressions of Roman and Arabic
numerals
mark
the
level
of
subordination within the alphanumeric form of the outline.
Progressive patterns of decimals mark
the levels of subordination in decimal
form of outlining. The decimal form has
become the standard form in scientific
and technical writing. For example,
The alpha-numeric form
I.
A.
B.
1.
2.
a.
b.
The decimal form
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.2.1
1.2.2
1.2.2.1
1.2.2.2
Parts of a Paragraph
A paragraph is a group of sentences
about one topic. It contains a topic
sentence, supporting details and
sometimes a concluding sentence.
The sentences follow one another
from the beginning to the end of the
paragraph. A paragraph is usually
part of a longer piece of writing, such
as a letter or essay.
The topic sentence
The topic sentence is usually the first
sentence of
the paragraph. It states the main idea
of the
paragraph. A good topic sentence
tells the reader
exactly what the rest of the paragraph
will be
about.
The supporting sentences
The supporting sentences are the
middle sentences
of the paragraph. They provide details
such as
explanations or examples that expand
on or support
the topic sentence. Supporting
sentences are
sometimes connected by transition
words or
phrases.
The concluding sentence
A concluding sentence is sometimes
used in
longer paragraphs to sum up the
ideas presented.
It expresses the same idea as the
topic sentence
but in different words. It can start with
a transition
such as clearly or in conclusion.
Seven Types of Paragraph
Development
1. Narration
Comments on narration:
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• Normally chronological (though
sometimes uses flashbacks)
• A sequential presentation of the
events that add up to a story.
• A narrative differs from a mere
listing of events. Narration usually
contains characters, a setting, a
conflict, and a resolution. Time and
place and person are normally
established. In this paragraph, the
"story" components are: a protagonist
(Hanson), a setting (the park), a goal
(to camp), an obstacle (nature), a
climax (his panic), and a resolution
(leaving).
• Specific details always help a story,
but so does interpretive language.
You don't just lay the words on the
page; you point them in the direction
of a story.
• This narrative serves as the
opening anecdote that illustrates the
topic of the story
2. Exposition
Comments on exposition:
• Exposition is explanatory writing
• Exposition can be an incidental part
of a description or a narration, or it
can be the heart of an article
• Aside from clarity, the key problem
with exposition is credibility. What
makes your explanation believable?
Normally, writers solve this problem
by citing authorities who have good
credentials and good reason to be
experts in the subject.
• This paragraph also happens to
serve as the justifier or "nut graf" for
the little article: the paragraph that,
after an indirect opening, specifies the
topic of the article, why it is important,
and what is to come.
3. Definition
Comments on definition:
• Never define anything by the
"according to Webster's" method.
Meaning is found in the world, not in
the dictionary. Bring the world into
your story and use it to define your
terms.
• Saying what something is NOT can
help readers; but make a strong effort
to say what it IS.
4. Description
Comments on description:
• Description is not what you saw, but
what readers need to see in order to
imagine the scene, person, object, etc
. • Description requires you to record
a series of detailed observations. Be
especially careful to make real
observations. The success of a
description lies in the difference
between what a reader can imagine
and what you actually saw and
recorded; from that gap arises a
spark of engagement.
• Use sensory language. Go light on
adjectives and adverbs. Look for
ways to describe action. Pay special
attention to the sound and rhythm of
words; use these when you can.
Think that your language is not so
much describing a thing as describing
a frame around the thing--a frame so
vivid that your reader can pour his or
her imagination into it and "see" the
thing--even though you never showed
it. Portray. Also evoke.
• The key problem in description is to
avoid being static or flat. Adopt a
strategy that makes your description
into a little story: move from far to
near, left to right, old to new, or, as in
this example, down a river, to give
your description a natural flow.Think
of description as a little narrative in
which the visual characteristics unfold
in a natural, interesting, dramatic
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order. Think of what pieces readers
need, in what order, to construct a
scene. Try making the description a
little dramatic revelation, like watching
an actor put on a costume--where you
cannot decipher what the costume
means until many of the parts are in
place.
• Never tease readers or withhold
descriptive detail, unless for some
strange reason that is the nature of
your writing. Lay it out. Give your
description away as generously as
the world gives away sights. Let it
show as transparently as seeing.
• The cognitive difficulty in description
is simple: People see all-at-once. But
they read sequentially, one-part-atthe-time, in a series of pieces.
Choose the pieces. Sequence them
so they add up. Think: Readers first
read this, now this, now this; what do
they need next?
• Remember, you never just describe
something: The description is always
part of a larger point. Use the
description to make your point, or to
move your story along.
5. Comparison
Comments on comparison:
• There is a helpful technique for
writing a comparison. If you follow it,
your comparisons will benefit. •
Before writing a comparison, draw up
a chart and fill it in, to make certain
you have all the elements necessary
to write a comparison. As in the
model below, list the two items being
compared, and the criteria by which
they will be compared. If you do not
make such a chart, there is a chance
you will have a hole in your
comparison
. o Criteria O'Leno Lloyd Beach o
noise quiet noisy
o people solitude available busy
crowds o water resources river to
swim and canoe Atlantic beach
o natural features forest beach o
wildlife abundant, forest type fish and
seabirds
• Then choose whether to to "down
the columns" or "across the rows" in
writing your description. Either
describe all of O'Leno and compare it
to all of Lloyd Beach by working
"down" columns two and three, or
take the first category, "noise" and
compare the two parks in terms of it,
then the next category, and so on
"across the rows.
" • Once you commit to a "down" or
"across" strategy, stick with it till the
end of the comparison.
6. Process Analysis
Comments on process analysis:
• In describing how a process
happens or how to perform a series of
actions, always think of your readers:
can they follow this?
• Analyze the process into a series of
steps. Put the steps into sequence
. • Then isolate the steps: number
then, use bullets, put them in
separate paragraphs
• Use illustrations keyed to the steps
when appropriate: people can often
read diagrams better than they can
read lists of steps
• Always ask an outsider to read your
process analysis to see if it can be
followed. Once you are close to a
subject, it is difficult to know when you
have left something out.
7. Persuasion
Comments on persuasion:
• This paragraph is but a small
example of the kind of writing used
widely in editorials and columns, and
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it uses a direct, exhortatory approach:
Believe Me and Do It!
• This persuasive paragraph also
serves as the ending to this little
article and brings a sense of closure
in the form of, OK, now get up and
act!" • To persuade people to change
their minds or take an action, more is
needed than your opinion or sense of
conviction. You need to supply them
with the information, analysis, and
context they need to form their own
opinions, make their own judgments,
and take action.
• Remember: Readers are interested
in only one opinion--their own. If you
can help them formulate and deepen
that opinion, they will be glad they
read your article.
Paragraph Development
A paragraph is a group of related
sentences that are centered on a
main idea. The purpose of a
paragraph varies according to the
type of writing, but generally, a
paragraph is used to develop an idea
or give evidence in support of the
essay’s central thesis or argument.
Paragraphs generally consist of three
parts: topic sentence, supporting
sentences, and concluding
sentences.
Topic Sentence: Topic +
Controlling Idea Generally, the topic
sentence is the first (or second)
sentence of your paragraph, and it
contains the main idea of the
paragraph. The topic sentence should
be specific and tell the reader exactly
what the paragraph will be about. A
well-structured topic sentence is
made up of a topic and a controlling
idea.
Supporting Sentences
Each supporting sentence should
contribute to the main idea.
Supporting sentences help explain or
prove the topic sentence, and they
may include quotations or
paraphrasing of source information
with proper citations.
Concluding Sentences Concluding
sentences close the paragraph and
often remind the reader of the main
point. Note: this is not simply a
restatement of the topic sentence. In
the above example, the final sentence
functions as a concluding sentence
because it restates the main idea in a
different way and signals the end of
the paragraph.
Constructing Effective Paragraphs:
Unity and Coherence
Unity: Each paragraph should
contain one, and only one, main idea.
Including unrelated ideas within one
paragraph leaves little room for
adequate discussion or explanation
and may cause your ideas to seem
jumbled or unclear, thus confusing
your reader. If there is more than one
idea in a paragraph, separate the
ideas into different paragraphs and try
to elaborate on each.
Coherence: Each sentence in a
paragraph should fit logically within
that paragraph and writers should use
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transitions to help link the ideas and
guide the reader through the text
easily. In other words, one sentence
should lead logically to the next. This
is most easily accomplished through
the use of transition words (see
Common Transitions table below).
THE WRITING PROCESS
1. PREWRITING: We should get one
thing straight right away: If you sit
around waiting for inspiration before
you write, you may never get anything
written. You see, inspiration does not
occur often enough for writers to
depend on it. In fact, inspiration
occurs so rarely that writers must
develop other means for getting their
ideas. Collectively, the procedures for
coming up with ideas in the absence
of inspiration are called prewriting.
The term prewriting is used because
these procedures come before writing
the first draft. Some others may also
call these procedures invention. The
following are different prewriting
options: 1. FREEWRITING: Allows
you to generate thoughts that will help
you formulate ideas to write about.
Put your pen to the paper, and begin
to write. Do not stop to think,
organize, critique, etc. – Just Write!
Write as fast as you can, the faster
the better.
2. CLUSTERING: This is a good
visual aid that shows the connection
between thoughts and allows patterns
to be seen. In the center of your
page, write the main idea or stimulus
word that you are considering and put
a circle around it.
3. LISTING: This is like a shopping
list of phrases. On your paper, write
down any thought or feeling that
comes to mind about a particular
topic. This is similar to freewriting in
that you should not censor yourself –
Just write! This process will help you
get all of those mixed up thoughts in
your head on paper, so you can sift
through them afterwards. Here’s an
example of a list on the topic
“How I felt when I failed my midterm:”
was disappointed, felt defeated, also
inspired to do better next time,
embarrassed to tell anybody wanted
to blame the teacher, got teased by
my brother, the A student, afraid I
wouldn’t pass the class, went to The
Writing Center for extra help
Once you are done, go through the
list, choose the ideas that work for
you, and cross off the ideas that do
not. You may also continue to write
ideas down as you go through this
process. When you feel you are done,
you can go ahead and number the
ideas that are left in the order you
think they should appear in your draft.
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This will give you an informal outline
that will help in the next step of the
writing process, drafting.
4. BRAINSTORMING: Ask yourself
questions about your topic. Who,
what, when, where, why and how are
good questions to start with.
Whose fault is the F? What
happened exactly? When did I stop
studying?/Why did I stop studying?
Where can I go from here? Why do I
think the teacher gave me an F? How
can I improve my grade?
These questions will be helpful in
your drafting stage if you are stuck
trying to find more to write about. If
you are trying to expand your essay
but you are unable to come up with
another important topic to discuss,
consider asking yourself questions
like these to generate more ideas.
DRAFTING: Once writers feel they
have generated enough ideas during
prewriting to serve as a departure
point, they make their first attempt at
getting those ideas down. This part of
the writing process is drafting.
Typically, the first draft is very rough,
which is why it so often is called the
rough draft. The rough draft provides
raw material that can be shaped and
refined in the next stages of the
writing process.
Perhaps you know what you want to
say but you do not know how to say it
in your draft. Here are a few tips to
get you started:
 Think about your audience. Who are
you telling this information to?
 Speak your thoughts into a tape
recorder. Sometimes, we don’t write
what we want to say. Therefore,
speaking into a tape recorder, saying
what you want to say and then
transcribing your thoughts will help
you with word structure.
 Set small goals for yourself. At the
beginning of your project, plan to only
prewrite. The next time you sit down
to work on it, plan on writing an
informal outline. Next, plan to write a
draft of your introduction and on and
on. Breaking the project down into
smaller steps makes it less
overwhelming.
 Sometimes, we get writer’s block
because we think we have to write
the introduction and thesis statement
before we can move on. Remember,
you can change the introduction and
thesis as you get further along in your
paper.
 If you are really stuck, you can
write the introduction and thesis last.
They might be easier to write once
you have the rest of the draft.
 This is only a first draft; you don’t
need to censor your thoughts. Later
on, you will be able to fix whatever
needs fixing.
REVISING: Revising calls on the
writer to take the raw material of the
draft and rework it to get it in shape
for the reader. This reworking is a
time-consuming, difficult part of the
process. It requires the writer to refine
the content so that it is clear, so that
points are adequately supported, and
so that ideas are expressed in the
best way possible and in the best
order possible. This step is focused
on the content of your draft; spelling,
grammar and punctuation will come in
the final stage of the writing process.
 Once you have completed your first
draft, the first step in revising is to
walk away and let the paper sit. We
often miss our own mistakes because
we think we see something that is not
there. Walking away and coming back
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later allows you to read your paper
with a fresh perspective.
 Read your draft out loud to
yourself. Our ears can catch problem
areas that our eyes cannot.
 After fully examining your draft,
identify at least two corrections that
will make your draft better.
 Write a second draft without looking
at your first draft. This is an effective
way of revising because usually you
remember the best parts, forget the
worst parts, and add new ideas.
EDITING: Experienced readers will
expect your writing to be free of
errors. Therefore, you have a
responsibility to find and eliminate
mistakes so that they do not distract
or annoy your reader. Many writers
make the mistake of hunting for errors
too soon, before they have revised for
the larger concerns of content and
effective expression. Editing should
really be saved for the end of the
process.
 The computer is an excellent tool
for the editing stage. If you have
already typed your essay on the
computer, then you will see that
certain words, phrases and sentences
are underlined either in red or green.
Red indicates a spelling or lexical (the
meaning of a word) error. Green
indicates a grammatical, punctuation
or sentence structure error.
 Like the revising stage, reading
your paper aloud will help you catch
structural errors that may otherwise
be missed.
 Edit more than once! After you have
completely edited your paper, walk
away and return some time later to
reedit. Sometimes, we make careless
errors because we think we wrote it
correctly and have actually made an
obvious mistake.
 Use an Editing Checklist:
 Have you read your work aloud to
listen for problems?
 Did you check every possible
misspelling in a dictionary or with a
computer spell checker?
 Make sure every comma is being
used correctly (comma splices and
runons).
 Do you have any sentence
fragments?
 Are you using verbs correctly?
 Did you check your use of
pronouns?
 Did you check your use of
modifiers?
 Are you confident your punctuation
is used correctly?
 Are your capital letters correct?