How to Outline By Alfred Taylor 1www.booksbyalfredtaylor.com

How to Outline Why bother to outline? Aren’t outlines a waste of time? Think of an outline as a map or a plan for the essay. If you go on a road trip without a destination in mind, how do you know that you’ve arrived, or what the best way to get there is?

How to Outline An outline will save the writer time because: It allows the writer to establish the essay’s content before trying to write it. It adds structure to the writing. It defines the essay’s thesis. It makes writing the summary paragraph much easier.

How to Outline Have you ever sat down the night before an essay was due and started to write the essay and realize halfway through that you had no idea what you were talking about? Had you bothered to outline first, you would have realized that you didn’t have enough content for the essay much sooner.

How to Outline Paragraphs are created out of topic sentences and supporting details. An outline adds structure because it sets up a framework of support for the topic sentences in the essay.

How to Outline A topic sentence is a general statement that requires support for a reader to understand or believe it. “Cats are evil” would be an example of a topic sentence because the writer must now explain why.

How to Outline A supporting detail is a specific fact that proves what the topic sentence is true. Supporting details are the most important part of the essay. An example of a supporting detail would be. “I’ve seen well fed cats hunt down and torture mice and lizards for fun.” This sentence explains why cats are evil.

How to Outline If the writer creates an outline first, the outline can be used to define the preview for the essay’s thesis statement. A thesis statement is composed of three elements: an assertion, a preview, and it must be concise.

How to Outline I) Cats torture small animals A) catch and release mice B) kills birds II) Cats are lazy A) only comes when fed B) sleeps twenty hours a day III) Cats are cowards A) flees from danger B) only fights when has advantage

How to Outline A thesis statement based upon an outline practically writes itself. A thesis based on the previous outline would be: Cats are evil because they torture small animals, are incredibly lazy, and behave in a cowardly way.

How to Outline The last paragraph of a college essay should summarize the contents of the rest of the essay. If the writer created an outline first, writing the summary is much easier. All the writer has to do is restate the topic sentences in the final paragraph and the summary is complete.

How to Outline To begin an outline, take the topic and divide it into a three or four parts. For example if the topic were cats, the I would look at three aspects of cats I would like to discuss in the essay. These will be your paragraph controlling ideas. These may or may not appear in the essay itself, but are necessary to establish the essay’s topics.

How to Outline I) Cats torture small animals II) Cats are lazy III) Cats are cowards

How to Outline Next, subdivide the topics. These will be the essays topic sentences. These statements are less general than the paragraph controlling ideas, but they still need specific support. For every big “A” or “B” in the outline there should be 1-2 sentences in the final essay.

How to Outline I) Cats torture small animals A) catch and release mice B) kills birds II) Cats are lazy A) only comes when fed B) sleeps twenty hours a day III) Cats are cowards A) flees from danger B) only fights when has advantage

How to Outline Now, add in specific support for your topic sentences. These details can’t be too specific. For every little “a” or “b” there should be 2-4 sentences in the actual essay.

How to Outline I) Cats torture small animals A) catch and release mice a) tortured a mouse for an hour b) does not eat what it kills. B) kills birds a) piles of feathers in the back yard. b) birds in Australia are going extinct II) Cats are lazy A) only comes when fed a) indifferent to people b) will not play or interact B) sleeps twenty hours a day a) sleeps in its “spot” during the day b) hates to be disturbed. III) Cats are cowards A) flees from danger a) hides when people come over b) hides from loud sounds B) only fights when has clear advantage a) kills defenseless mice b) sneak attacks birds

How to Outline Once the essay is complete, draft the essay’s thesis and begin writing the essay. Another advantage to creating an outline is the writer does not have to start at the beginning. It is often easier to write the body paragraphs first, then write the summary and introduction last.

How to Outline Writing the first outline will be difficult, but after a little practice, they will become second nature. Note: Outlines are not just for English composition essays. Use an outline when writing papers for other classes as well.

How to Outline The End