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Interactive Skills
for Students
How to Make an Outline
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How To Make An Outline
How To Make An Outline
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Why Learn This Skill?
 An outline is a great way to organize information. Before writing, outlining will help you organize your ideas and put them in order.
 When taking notes, outlining helps you to organize related information in a format that will help you study for tests.

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How To Make An Outline
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Learn It! What does an outline look like?
title
Moving West
I. Many Americans moved West during 1800s
A. Transportation
1. Conestoga wagons
2. Railroads
B. Purpose
1. establish new farms
2. find new work
main topic
sub topic
supporting detail

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How To Make An Outline
How To Make An Outline
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Apply It! Choose a title for your outline that fits the subject.
My Favorite Books

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How To Make An Outline
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Apply It! Choose a title for your outline that fits the subject.
Identify the main topics. Label each with a roman numeral.
My Favorite Books
I. [book title here]
II. [book title here]
III. [book title here]

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How To Make An Outline
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Apply It! Under each main topic, insert sub-topics that support the main topic. Label these with capital letters.
My Favorite Books
[book title here]
I liked this book because…
I would recommend this book because…
II. [book title here]
III. [book title here]

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How To Make An Outline
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Apply It! Under each sub-topic list details that support the sub-topic. Label those with numbers.
My Favorite Books
[book title here]
A. I liked this book because…
1.[detail about why you liked the book]
2.[detail about why you liked the book]
B. I would recommend this book because…
1.[detail about why you would recommend this book]
2.[detail about why you would recommend this book]

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How To Make An Outline
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Apply It! If your details were included here, your outline might look something like this:
My Favorite Books
The Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, Book 5)
A. I liked this book because
1. It has exciting plot twists.
a. Information is revealed about key characters.
b. The scene in the Ministry of Magic had me on the edge of my seat.
2. It has good character development.
a. Harry, Hermione, and Ron are part of a larger team of people trying to fight Voldemort.
b. Harry’s relationship with Sirius grows stronger.
B. I would recommend this book because
1. The plot and character development is strong.
a. The author uses suspense to keep the reader interested.
b. Characters do surprising things and I wanted to keep reading to see what they would do.
2. It represents a turning point in the Harry Potter series.
a. The students take more of a leadership role in fighting back against Voldemort.

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How To Make An Outline
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Remember
 An outline is a great way to organize information.
 Use an outline to organize your main ideas and supporting points details.
 Use an outline to develop and organize your ideas before writing.