The Outline in The Sand: Thoughts on Outlines

by CWK

You would do well to use an outline, even when writing a shorter paper. The discipline of outlining your ideas before starting will save you in both time and frustration. An outline serves as the skeleton of your work. It should present, in brief form, the whole of your essay/paper/novel.

Here is an outline of a paper about outlining,

Topic: How to Write an Outline*

                I. Preliminary Work

                                a. Develop a direction for your work

                                b. Develop a rough thesis statement

                                b. Make a list of topics/ideas to cover

                                c. Organize this list into themes

                                d. Organize themes into a logical flow

                                e. Revise thesis statement if necessary

                II. The Marks of A Good Outline

             a. Concise

             b. Clear

             c. Organized logically

             d. Visually Suggestive

               

*Differentiate Points/Subpoints with Numerals and Letters