Why should you use outlines?
Whether you are wading through the research process or salvaging a draft in trouble, outlines help you focus your thoughts and find an order to whatever you are working on. Although best reserved as a pre-writing tool, outlines can be used anytime during the writing process.
Common Outlining Myths
· Outlining wastes time.
· You have to use complete sentences.
· You must stick to an outline.
Outlining Facts
· Outlines aid in draft quality.
· Multiple formats exist.
· Outlines are guides not rigid templates.
Occasions to Use Outlines
· To organize ideas and research prior to beginning a paper
· To determine if more research is needed
· To see relationships between points
· To check the organization of a paper
It is important for you to take a look at this video
before watching the types of outlines
Types of Outlines
Scratch Outline
This outline is usually used when you need an outline in a hurry. During essays tests, these outlines allow you to organize your ideas without spending vast amounts of time on structure. These outlines also work for short papers, as in fewer than two pages. Typically, instead of using a formal structure, students underline the main point or draw circles around their main ideas, and they may also use other symbols to distinguish details or examples of their ideas. Scratch outlines do not have to resemble the formal topic, sentence, or paragraph outlines. They can be as simple as the drawing you see in the middle of the page.
Topic Outline
This is the most commonly used outline. Although this type possesses the formal numeric and alphabetical structures, each line contains only a few brief words to guide the writer during the drafting process. These outlines are perfect for papers of all sizes and can be adapted easily if needed.
Full Sentence Outline
This outline comes with a bad reputation. When people think of this outline, they usually picture a monstrously large outline they had to write in high school and that took forever. Please, do not associate horrible things with this outline form. This type of outline is best reserved for completed drafts. Although it can be used when getting started, writers have to spend significant time on this stage of the writing process. This form is ideal for checking organization in a finished draft. If you begin applying the Roman numerals to your paper and you cannot reach the 1 and 2 level, then, you will see points of weakness in your draft.
Paragraph Outline
This is the most unknown outline form. It is reserved for completed drafts and allows writers to check their paragraph organization. This works great for narrative papers or for papers when you have a substantial number of dates to keep straight. This outline can be constructed two different ways. The first is to record your topic sentences, as seen here, and you can see the relationship between your main ideas. An alternative option is to write a one sentence summary of each paragraph, so you will be able to see if your ideas come together.
Remember; there is not one correct form of outlining. Use whichever form suits your needs and the occasion!
Let's make an outline!!
Taking into account all the steps shown in the video, make a Topic Outline based on a free topic, feel free to add as much ideas as you want.
