Outlining

Four Main Components for Effective Outlines O Parallelism O Coordination O Subordination O Division

Parallelism O Each heading and subheading should preserve parallel structure. If the first heading is a noun, the second heading should be a noun. Example: 1. Choose Desired Colleges 2. Prepare Application O ("Choose" and "Prepare" are both verbs.)

Coordination O 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: 1. Visit and evaluate college campuses 2. Visit and evaluate college websites 1. Note important statistics 2. Look for interesting classes O (Campus and websites visits are equally significant, as are statistics and classes found on college websites.)

Subordination O The information in the headings should be more general, while the information in the subheadings should be more specific. Example: 1. Describe an influential person in your life 1. Favorite high school teacher 2. Grandparent O (A favorite teacher and grandparent are specific examples of influential people.)

Division O Each heading should be divided into 2 or more parts. Example: 1. Compile resume 1. List relevant coursework 2. List work experience 3. List volunteer experience O (The heading "Compile resume" is divided into 3 parts.)

Why create an outline? O Helps you see how a text is organized O logical O chronological O categorical O Shows the relationships among ideas in the writing O Helps you distinguish main points from examples

Alphanumeric outlines O An alphanumeric outline uses Roman numerals, capitalized letters, Arabic numerals, and lowercase letters, in that order. Each numeral or letter is followed by a period, and each item is capitalized:

Sample alphanumeric outline Thesis statement: and internet monitoring; is it really an invasion of the employees' rights in the workplace? I. Why do over 80% of today's companies monitor their employees? A. To prevent fraudulent activities, theft, and other workplace related violations. B. To more efficiently monitor employee productivity. C. To prevent any legal liabilities due to harassing or offensive communications. II. What are the employees privacy right’s when it comes to EM/S (Electronic Monitoring and Surveillance) in the workplace? A. American employees have basically no legal protection from mean and snooping bosses. 1. There are no federal or State laws protecting employees 2. Employees may assert privacy protection for their own personal effects.

BASIC OUTLINE FORM I. MAIN IDEA A. Subsidiary idea or supporting idea to I B. Subsidiary idea or supporting idea to I 1. Subsidiary idea to B 2. Subsidiary idea to B a) Subsidiary idea to 2 b) Subsidiary idea to 2 II. MAIN IDEA A. Subsidiary or supporting idea to II B. Subsidiary idea to II C. Subsidiary idea to II III. MAIN IDEA