Outline

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This article is about the prewriting technique of outlining. In shorthand, an outline is a symbol used to represent a particular word.

An outline is a hierarchical way to display related items of text to graphically depict their relationships. They are often used by students for research papers. Outlines provide a summary showing the logical flow of a paper. They are useful because they (1) help the writer organize their thoughts before getting bogged down in word choice and sentence structure; (2) show which ideas need illustration or elaboration; and (3) help the writer decide on an organizational technique for the report, whether it be logical, chronological, or categorical in nature.

[edit] Outlining reports

Textbooks generally recommend that, before constructing an outline, a writer should research the topic and take notes--preferably on index cards--as they go. The notes need not be more than a summary of what the author thinks is important. Each note card normally has a heading (called a slug) in the upper-left hand corner. Each slug later becomes a heading or subheading in the outline. The writer can later lay their cards on a table and group those that belong together. This creates a rough division of the topic. The writer may then put the cards in an order that approximates a final outline.

Experts recommend that an outline have three to five main categories. If you have more than that, look for ways to combine smaller segments into broader topics. If you have only one subpoint, integrate it with the point above or reorganize. Also avoid overlapping between categories.

There are two types of report outlines: topic and sentence. These two types can be further classified as either alphanumerical or decimal.

A topic outline summarizes the chief topics and subtopics of the piece in brief phrases.

There are facetious versions of Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech written in topical outline form for a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, showing the gulf between these outlines and their prose versions.

However, a sentence outline uses complete sentences for each topic and subtopic and some even expand these into paragraph outlines, using sentences to summarize topics and paragraphs to summarize subtopics. These are easy to expand further into a complete paper. In any case, most formal outlines have a thesis statement that identifies the argument or subject of the outline, although some very descriptive reports do not have one. If there is one, it is followed by topic headings and indented subheadings.

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:

[edit] Sample alphanumerical topic outline

Thesis statement: There are more reasons for not buying a car than
buying one
I. Reasons for buying a car
    A. Convenience
    B. Status
II. Reasons for not buying a car 
    A. Inconvenience
       1. High cost of fuel
       2. Increasingly crowded roads
       3. Parking a growing problem
          a. Urban areas unpredictable
          b. Weather unpredictable
          . . .  . . .  . . .        

Notice that each category above has at least two subcategories.

Some call the Roman numerals above a-heads, the capitalized letters, b-heads, and so on. Some writers also prefer to insert a blank line between the a-heads and b-heads. These people keep the b-heads and c-heads together, though.

The decimal outline format, which takes a little getting used to, has the advantage of showing how every item at every level relates to the whole:

[edit] Sample decimal topic outline

Thesis statement: ---
1.0 Introduction
    1.1 Brief history of Liz Claiborne
    1.2 Corporate environment
2.0 Career opportunities
    2.1 Operations management
       2.1.1 Traffic
       2.1.2 International trade and corporate customs
       2.1.3 Distribution
       . . .  . . .  . . .

[edit] Outlining stories

Outline is also a name for a prose telling of a story to be turned into a screenplay. Sometimes called a one page (one page synopsis, about 1 - 3 pages). It is generally longer and more detailed than a standard synopsis (1 - 2 paragraphs), but shorter and less detailed than a treatment or a step outline. There are different ways to do these outlines and they vary in length.

Some use a location outline which is very similar to scene cards (index cards) but only has location headings followed by short clear sentences of what goes on in each location. About 7 - 11 pages.

In comics, an outline--often pluralised as outlines--refers to a stage in the development where the story has been broken down very loosely in a style similar to storyboarding in film development. The pencils will be very loose (i.e., the sketch rough), the main aim being to layout the flow of panels across a page, ensure the story successfully builds suspense and to work out points of view, camera angles and character positions within panels. This can also be referred to as a plot outline or a layout.

[edit] See also

• Outliner
• Folding editor
• Personal information manager

[edit] References

Mary Ellen Guffey, "Organizing and Writing Business Messages," Business Communication: Process and Product, p. 160-161.

"Numbers: Lists and Outlines," Manual for Writers and Editors (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated: 1998), p. 103.

OWL: Online Writing Lab, Purdue University

"report writing," Britannica Student Encyclopedia, Encyclopædia Britannica Online (Accessed January 5, 2006)

William E. Coles, Jr. "Outline," World Book Online (Accessed January 5, 2006)