Outlining and Organizing Ideas

 
Once a topic has been chosen, ideas have been generated through brainstorming and free writing, and a working thesis has been created, the last step a writer can perform in the prewriting stage is creating an outline.  An outline allows a writer to categorize the main points, to organize the paragraphs into an order that makes sense, and to make sure that each paragraph/idea can be fully developed.  Essentially, an outline helps prevent a writer from getting stuck when performing the actual writing of the essay.  An outline provides a map of where to go with the essay.  A well-developed outline will show what the thesis of the essay is, what the main idea of each body paragraph is, and the evidence/support that will be offered in each paragraph to substantiate the main points. An outline presents a picture of the main ideas and the supporting ideas of a paragraph. The skill of outlining will help you organize and remember what you hear or read. Outlining means to write information in order, from the most important to the least important. Outlining will help you learn how to take notes and remember the main ideas of what you've read.

In brief an outline is:

• A logical, general description
• A schematic summary
• An organizational pattern
• A visual and conceptual design of your writing

An outline reflects logical thinking and correct classification.

PURPOSE

Generally

• Aids you in the process of writing

Particularly

• Helps organize your ideas
• Presents your material in a logical form
• Shows the relationship of ideas in your writing
• Constructs an ordered overview of your writing
• Defines boundaries and groups

PROCESS

Before you begin:

• Determine the purpose of your paper.
• Determine the thesis of your paper.
• Determine the audience you are writing for.

Then:

• Brainstorm - List all the ideas you want to include in this writing.
• Organize - Group ideas together that are related to each other.
• Order - Divide this material into groups arranging from the general to the specific, or from abstract to concrete.
• Label - Create main and subtopic headings and write coordinate levels in parallel form.

How Computers help us in outlining

Generally word processors contain some form of outliner, a feature that allows you to split a focus into a hierarchical order with main points and sub points. Your computer maintains track of the levels of ideas automatically so that you can easily add, cut, or rearrange points in the outline. The outline feature creates fast work of organizing long or complex documents, procedures, and presentations. You can promote or demote items in the outline hierarchy by changing their indentation. You can also organize information into headings and subheadings, apply numbered and bulleted lists, and control which levels of information are displayed. The outline feature in Microsoft Office OneNote 2007 makes quick work of organizing long or complex documents, plans, and presentations

Outlining With Microsoft Word

Outlines are a way to organize your writing or data into a hierarchy of levels, and Microsoft Word has a tool to facilitate the easy creation of outlines. The program will generate an outline for you if you already created a list or written document, and you also have the freedom to start an outline from scratch.

 

Outlining Existing Documents

If you already created a document in Word and you want to see how it appears as an organized outline, open the document and then click the "View" tab in the ribbon at the top of the document. Select the "Outline View" icon to temporarily change the document to an outline. Don't worry -- the original formatting of your document is not lost. Clicking "Close Outline View" will return your document to its original format. Choose "Save As" and create a new name for the document if you want to save a copy of the Outline View version of your document.

Changing Levels

When Microsoft Word changes your document to an outline, it guesses which text should be a header, a subhead and so on. If you disagree with one of the levels selected by Word, click on the line and then go to the "Level" drop-down menu in the top-left corner of the outline view ribbon. Choose a new level for the text -- the higher the level, the farther to the right the text will be placed. For example, "Level 1" text is aligned to the left, and "Level 2" is one tab to the right. Alternatively, use the arrows to the right and left of the level menu to move the text up and down by a level.

Starting From Scratch

You don't have to convert an existing document to an outline -- it is also possible to start an outline from scratch. Open a blank document and go to the "View" tab on the ribbon. Choose the "Outline View" icon to open a blank outline screen. Begin typing; by default, the outline will begin with a "Level 1" header. Switch to a new level by hitting the "Tab" key on your keyboard or using the "Level" drop-down menu in the ribbon.

Templates

If you want to create a more visually interesting outline, Microsoft offers outline templates for free download. Visit the Microsoft Office website at Office.microsoft.com and search for "Outline Templates." Click once on the thumbnail of an outline to preview it, and then click the green "Download" icon to get a copy on your computer. After you click "Agree" for the cookies agreement, a copy of the template will be saved to your Word program.