OUTLINING

• Writing is an activity that requires organization. Much preparation is needed in writing, therefore, as ideas arise there are two important components to consider - thesis statement and outline.
• Thesis Statement

  It is the overall idea or argument of your work. It is a general statement that presents essential points that leads the reader to the right direction.
• The thesis statement makes all part of the work stick together.
• A good thesis statement should be focused and succinct, and must be framed as a declarative sentence.
• The statement should have at least three ideas that will be developed in succeeding sections of the work.
• The thesis statement is the main idea of an essay
• The thesis statement contains at least two long supporting points which are developed in succeeding paragraphs
• A topic sentence serves as the main idea of a paragraph.
• A topic sentence usually has just one supporting point.
• A thesis statement is always framed as a declarative statement.
• A good thesis statement is focused, meaning it provides supporting points that strengthen the main claim.
• A good thesis statement has clear boundaries. It sets limits as to what the essay intends to explore.
• Together with the thesis statement, the outline is a helpful tool for organizing your work.
• The outline shows the logical arrangement of ideas to be included in your essay.
• There are two aspects to remember: outline format and principles.
• There are two types of format: traditional and standard.
• The traditional uses roman numerals, letters, and numbers while the standard system uses number.
• Parallelism - entries should observe the same language structure (words, phrases, sentences)
• Coordination - entries should observe levels of importance.
• Subordination - entries should observe differences of importance (which ideas should be classified as minor or major ideas?)
• Division - entries should at least be two to be sure that supporting points of a major idea are adequate.
• Writing essays needs preparation. An essay is similar to reserach in that it requires planning and execution
• Some steps for planning an essay.

  1. Determining the topic, purpose, role, and audience for the work. To help you in understanding these three aspects, you must constantly ask these questions:

  1. What am I writing about? How long will the piece be?
  2. Why am I doing this piece? Is it to inform? to persuade? or to argue a position?
  3. Who am I writing for? Is there specific type of knowledge my readers need to understand the piece?
  4. What role am I taking in writing this piece? As an expert? As a friend? A member of the community?
• Some steps for planning an essay.

  2. Expanding subtopics

  3. Collecting sources and making notes

  4.Brainstorming, forming the thesis statement, and outlining

  5. Drafting

  6. Peer evaluation and revision.
• The system of the American Psychological Association (APA) is used in preparing a list of references.