Outlining

Typically, the next step in writing your document involves constructing an outline. Sometimes called a “blueprint” or “plan,” an outline helps writers organize their thoughts and categorize the main points they wish to make in an order that makes sense. In technical and professional writing, the key components of the outline may actually be given to you. You might know, for example, that a lab report in many disciplines is generally written in the IMRaD format—that is, the main headings would be Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Proposals might be expected to have a Purpose Statement, Summary, Introduction, Plan of Action/Tasks, Schedule, Budget, Qualifications, and References. A cover letter may not have “headings” as such, but there is still a heading/salutation area, an introduction about you and your interest in the position or company, one or two body paragraphs connecting specific examples from information in the résumé to the company’s characteristics and desires, and a closing/conclusion with a signature.

Purpose and General Format of Outlines

You most likely determined the most appropriate genre or form for your document at some point during the prewriting process. The form may have been given to you from the beginning, or you may have figured it out as you refined your topic, purpose, and audience through various prewriting techniques.

It may seem as if you do not need to provide a more detailed outline if you already have an idea of your document’s main structure, if you are writing correspondence, or if your document will be relatively short. However, that isn’t necessarily true. The purpose of an outline is to help organize your document by checking to see how (or if) your ideas connect to each other, and whether you need to provide additional development. Outlines can help you organize the overall structure of any type of document, whether a one-page cover letter or a 20-page recommendation report.

Consider Figure 9.2,^[1] which provides an outline for an email related to building/safety code enforcement. While an email is a short piece of correspondence, taking the time to make sure each important piece of information is included and clearly organized will save you time in unnecessary back-and-forth correspondence to clarify the situation.

The formatting of any outline is not arbitrary; the systems of formatting and number/letter designations create a visual hierarchy of the ideas, or points, being made in the document. Primary, major headings (or Level 1 headings) are often identified with capital Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV…). These headings are your major points or organizational patterns. In a report following the IMRaD format, the Level 1 headings could be

1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions

After Level 1 headings come subheadings (or Level 2 headings). Level 2 headings are more specific than Level 1 and often reflect specific points, claims, or examples that support the goal of the overall section. These headings are often organized by capital letters (A, B, C, and so on) and are indented one half-inch from the previous level. The ordering re-starts under each new Level 1 heading. After Level 2 headings, writers may opt for even greater specificity and subdivisions by incorporating Level 3 and Level 4 headings. Level 3 headings tend to use lower case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv…) whereas Level 4 headings use lower case letters (a, b, c…). They are also indented one-half inch beyond their preceding heading. Figure 9.3 illustrates an outline that uses three levels of headings.^[2] This example also demonstrates how you might use an outline to plan the organization of a document where the level 1 headings are provided or come from certain genre expectations.

Your outline should therefore include not only identified, planned Level 1 headings and Level 2 headings, but also paragraphs or points you plan to make within each section. Depending on your outline’s level of detail, you may also include the main evidence or support for each major point. Major points, in other words, should not be buried in subtopic levels. If an idea is conceptually large and needs development, it should be part of a higher-order heading.

A well-developed outline breaks down the parts of a document in a clear, hierarchical manner. Writing an outline before beginning to write a document helps you to organize ideas generated through brainstorming and/or research, thus making the document easier to write. Moreover, having an outline also helps to prevent you from “getting stuck” when you sit down to write the first draft. For writers who prefer to outline after doing freewriting or preliminary drafting, the outline offers a way to organize thoughts and clarify larger connections.

Creating an Outline

While a finalized outline looks crisp and well organized, the process of creating one involves repeated decision-making and constant revising. Outlines represent higher-order thinking, so it is normal if early drafts do not fully capture what you hope the final product will look like. An outline is meant to be a document which helps you make the points you wish to make clearly and thoroughly. To help you navigate the process of writing an outline, follow the steps below:

1. Identify your topic. Put the topic in a single sentence or phrase using your own words. This sentence or phrase may eventually be revised into the purpose statement of a document if this is part of the expectations of the form.
2. Determine what headings or overall organizational structures are expected within the genre or form you are using. Were you given the main headings/organization by assignment instructions? Do you have access to similar documents written by colleagues or supervisors that you can use to determine expectations and follow? What other sample documents can you find to help communicate the expectations for the organization of this document?
3. Determine your main points. What are the main points you want to make to convince your audience? At what location/section of the document should each point be included? Refer back to the prewriting/brainstorming exercise of answering 5WH questions.
4. List your main points/ideas in a logical order. Consider what information belongs within each major section or heading, and determine the most important organizational pattern to use to convey that information.
5. Create sub-points for each major idea. You can convert some of the items in your list from the previous step into sub-points. Consider the level of importance for each item. Is it a sub-point by itself? Does it have sub-sub-points underneath? Are these “paragraph-level” sub-points within a section, or should they be subheadings?
   Typically, each time you have a new number or letter, there need to be at least two points (that is, if you have an A, you need a B; if you have a 1, you need a 2; etc.). Though this process may seem frustrating at first, it is useful because it forces you to think critically about each point.
6. Evaluate. Review the organizational plan for your paper. Does each paragraph have a controlling idea/topic sentence? Is each point adequately supported? Look over what you have written. Does it make logical sense? Is each point suitably fleshed out? Are there areas that need more research? Is there anything unnecessary included?