Why and How to Create a Useful Outline
Why create an outline? There are many reasons; but in general, it may be helpful to create an
outline when you want to show the hierarchical relationship or logical ordering of
information. For research papers, an outline may help you keep track of large amounts of
information. For creative writing, an outline may help organize the various plot threads and
help keep track of character traits. Many people find that organizing an oral report or
presentation in outline form helps them speak more effectively in front of a crowd. Below are
the primary reasons for creating an outline.
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Aids in the process of writing
Helps you organize your ideas
Presents your material in a logical form
Shows the relationships among ideas in your writing
Constructs an ordered overview of your writing
Defines boundaries and groups
How do I create an outline?
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Determine the purpose of your paper.
Determine the audience you are writing for.
Develop the thesis of your paper.
Then:
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Brainstorm: List all the ideas that you want to include in your paper.
Organize: Group related ideas together.
Order: Arrange material in subsections from general to specific or from abstract to
concrete.
Label: Create main and sub headings.
Remember: creating an outline before writing your paper will make organizing your thoughts
a lot easier. Plus, an outline is a required part of the research paper, so you might as well get
used to it!
Four Main Components for Effective Outlines
Ideally, you should follow these four suggestions to create an effective outline.
Parallelism - How do I accomplish this?
Each heading and subheading should preserve parallel structure. If the first heading is a verb,
the second heading should be a verb. Example:
I.
II.
Choose Desired Colleges
Prepare Application
("Choose" and "Prepare" are both verbs. The present tense of the verb is usually the preferred
form for an outline)
Coordination - How do I accomplish this?
All the information contained in Heading 1 should have the same significance as the
information contained in Heading 2. The same goes for the subheadings (which should be less
significant than the headings). Example:
I.
II.
Visit and evaluate college campuses
Visit and evaluate college websites
A. Note important statistics
B. Look for interesting classes
(Campus and websites visits are equally significant. They are part of the main tasks you
would need to do. Finding statistics and classes found on college websites are parts of the
process involved in carrying out the main heading topics.)
Subordination - How do I accomplish this?
The information in the headings should be more general, while the information in the
subheadings should be more specific. Example:
I. Describe an influential person in your life
A. Favorite high school teacher
B. Grandparent
(A favorite teacher and grandparent are specific examples from the generalized category of
influential people in your life.)
Division - How do I accomplish this?
Each heading should be divided into 2 or more parts. Example:
I.
Compile resume
A. List relevant coursework
B. List work experience
C. List volunteer experience
(The heading "Compile resume" is divided into 3 parts.)
Technically, there is no limit to the number of subdivisions for your headings; however, if
you seem to have a lot, it may be useful to see if some of the parts can be combined.
Example of an outline … This outline serves as the first step in writing a research paper about
plagiarism:
Plagiarism
Thesis Statement: Plagiarism is an evil that lurks in every school in the world and must be
eradicated before the idea of an original idea becomes obsolete.
I. Plagiarism is when a person uses a writer’s ideas without giving due credit through
documentation. Essentially, it is using someone else’s words and/or ideas as if they were your
own. Plagiarism is stealing.
II. To avoid plagiarism:
A. Do not use exact words from a source without putting them inside quotation
marks and giving credit to the source through parenthetical documentation.
B. Do not reword a passage without providing parenthetical documentation.
C. Do not summarize a passage without providing parenthetical documentation.
III. Common mistakes with plagiarism:
A. Merely changing a few words and rearranging the order of others
B. Failing to provide the original source
C. Using exact figures without crediting the original research
D. Including information that is not common knowledge without providing
documentation
IV. Examples of plagiarism
A. Original document:
Through television our children’s lives are inundated with death and disaster
one moment, trivia and banality the next, cemented together with the sixtysecond mortar of manipulation and materialism. In the matter of violence
alone, their formative years are bathed in blood. Writers have
amply documented the depressing statistics: The TV stations of one city
carried in one week 7,887 acts of violence. One episode of a western series
garnished Christmas night with 3 homicides. Between the ages of 5 and 14,
your children and mine may, if they are average viewers, witness the
annihilation of 12,000 human beings.
B. Example of plagiarism 1:
By watching television, our children’s lives are filled with disaster and death
one minute, trivia and banality the next, put together with one minute of
materialism and manipulation.
C. Explanation of plagiarism 1:
The writer merely changes a few words and rearranges the order of others. He
gives no credit to the original source, thereby giving the impression that the
thoughts and words are his own.
D. Example of plagiarism 2:
Children are witnessing too much violence on television. The TV stations of
one city carried 7,887 acts of violence in one week. One western program
shown Christmas night produced three homicides. Children between the ages
of 5 and 14 may witness the deaths of 12,000 human beings.
E. Explanation of plagiarism 2:
The writer uses the exact figures from the original source but gives no credit
to the writer who first researched and published the information. Obviously,
the average person would not know exact statistics such as these; therefore,
the writer must cite his source for the reader.
List any questions you have in the space below.