Outline Basics
Outline Requirements
• Typed, full-sentence outlines are part of the SJSU
G.E. course requirements for writing.
• Outlines must include the topic and complete thesis
statement at the top of the page.
• Thesis statement/proposition should be one single
declarative statement which includes the main
points/claim.
• Each main point/claim is to be a single declarative
statement.
• Each subpoint should be complete sentences.
• A Bibliography or Reference Page needs to be
attached to the outline with at least 4 sources.
Values of Outlining
• Problems are easier to detect
• Critiques are easier to solicit
• Temptation to memorize is diminished
• Speaker flexibility is increased
Outline Format
• Consistent and correct use of symbols
• Indentation that reflects relationships
• Two or more points at each level of
subordination
• Main points and thesis: ONE sentence
only. Make you main points/claims as
simple and concise as possible.
• Thesis should reflect the main points of
the speech/argument
Main Points or Claims
•
•
•
•
Single declarative sentences
Directly related to the thesis/proposition
Arranged in logical order
Appropriate number (no more than 3 main
points and at least 2 main points)
• Mutually exclusive
• Equal in importance
• Concise, unambiguous
Basic Proposition of Factual Evidence
Topic: Rain Forests
Proposition of Fact: The loss of the earth’s rainforests
will lead to an environmental disaster.
Potential main points/claims (but choose only 2 or 3):
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Rain forests use up carbon dioxide.
There is increased carbon dioxide in the earth’s
atmosphere.
The rain forests contain many endangered plant
and animal species.
Deforestation leads to widespread soil erosion in
many areas.
The burning of fossil fuels puts carbon dioxide
into the environment.
Use of Statistics
• The 1980’s were the “hottest” decade in the last 100
years (cite).
• One acre of tropical forest disappears every second
(cite).
• 4 million acres (larger than the state of Connecticut)
disappear every year (cite).
• 50 – 100 species are destroyed with each acre of rain
forest cleared (cite).
• If present trends continue, half of the rain forests of
Honduras and Nicaragua will disappear by the year
2010 (cite).
Use of Examples
• India has almost no remaining rain forest (cite).
• Current plans target eliminating much of the
Congo’s rain forest (cite).
• Run-off from deforestation in Indonesai threatens
their coral reefs and diminishes the fish population
(cite).
• Cutting of rain forests in Bangladesh and the
Philippines has led to killer floods (cite).
Use of Expert Testimony
• The National Center for Atmospheric Research
believes increased carbon dioxide will lead to
Greenhouse Effect and global warming (cite year of
publication).
• Environmentalist expert Al Gore calls the
Greenhouse Effect our most serious threat ever (cite
source).
• Scientist Greta Carmiachel of Stanford University
predicts the doubling of carbon dioxide in the next
20 years, raising temperatures from 3 to 9 degrees
(cite publication).
Logic and Reasoning
• Warmer temperatures will harm crops and increase
energy costs.
• More people will starve because of less food and
increased population growth.
• The polar glaciers will melt and raise the sea level,
flooding coastlines.
• Many species useful to humans will disappear.
• More sections of the world will become
uninhabitable deserts due to soil loss from erosion,
overgrazing, and over cultivation.