Outlining an Essay
| Learning Objective: - Develop an outline for an essay.
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LESSON
Using an outlineA preliminary plan for a piece of a writing, often in the form of a list. It should include a topic, audience, purpose, thesis statement, and main and supporting points. is helpful when you are reading a textbook or an essayA short piece of writing that focuses on at least one main idea. Some essays are also focused on the author's unique point of view, making them personal or autobiographical, while others are focused on a particular literary, scientific, or political subject. or taking notes in class. It is also helpful when you are the writer. Outlining is an excellent tool for planning and organizing your contentThe text in a writing that includes facts, thoughts, and ideas. The information that forms the body of the work.. Different types of writing styles can use various outlining formats, but all outlines contain the same basic elements: main ideaThe most important or central thought of a reading selection. It also includes what the author wants the reader to understand about the topic he or she has chosen to write about., major supporting detailsStatements within a reading that tie directly to the work's main idea. These can be provided in examples, statistics, anecdotes, definitions, descriptions, or comparisons within the work. , and minor supporting detailsSmaller statements within a reading that tie directly to major details..
When writing an essay that uses examples from personal experience to support an opinionPoint of view that shows a personal belief or bias and cannot be proven to be completely true.—sometimes called an exemplificationA style of writing that uses personal experience to support an opinion. essay—the outline should list the opinion (main idea), followed by the supporting details. Remember that if you are outlining a paragraph, the main idea is the topic sentence; whereas, in a longer passage the main idea is the thesis statementA brief statement that identifies a writer's thoughts, opinions, or conclusions about a topic. Thesis statements bring unity to a piece of writing, giving it a focus and a purpose. You can use three questions to help form a thesis statement: What is my topic? What am I trying to say about that topic? Why is this important to me or my reader?.
- Main Idea
- Major Supporting Detail
- Minor Supporting Detail
- Minor Supporting Detail
- Major Supporting Detail
- Minor Supporting Detail
- Minor Supporting Detail
- Major Supporting Detail
- Minor Supporting Detail
- Minor Supporting Detail
For example, if a writer was describing how his father influenced his musical career, he would use examples showing how that was true. One example might be that his father taught him how to play the guitar when he was young. Another example might be that his father took him to his first performance in front of a crowd. These examples would be supporting details and depending on how in-depth the essay was to be, there might also be minor supporting details for each of the examples.
+ PRACTICAL APPLICATIONWriting is like building a house. It is ill-advised to just begin building one day without planning. In fact, most cities and towns require the home builder to submit blueprints before the foundation is poured. This ensures that the house will be constructed solidly without a chance of falling down. It also allows the builder to save both time and money.
Likewise, outlines help writers develop solid research papersAn academic essay that usually includes research and citations., business reports, and cover lettersA letter that is sent along with a resume that provides context and more information for the reader.. It may seem unexpected, but taking the time to plan before you begin writing creates a foundation that will actually save you time overall because you will have a clear idea of what you will write. Planning allows you to spend less time in the revisionThe process of making changes to a work by editing and proofreading it to improve, correct, and increase clarity. process, which is a benefit whether you are writing for your college classes or your job.
Here is an example of how a writer can create a formal outlineAn outline that is traditional and structured, follows a set pattern, and uses a combination of Roman numerals, letters, and numbers to show a hierarchy of information based on the major and minor details or ideas. or informal outlineA simplified outline that presents an overview of the placement of information in a reading. for the topic of an influential person. In the outlines below, the bolded items are the examples discussed earlier. These can be used as supporting details in one paragraph about the writer's father, or they can be separated into individual paragraphs as part of a longer essay. Also notice that the main idea will be either the topic sentence of a paragraph or the thesis of an essay.
Formal Outline:
- Introduction
- Main Idea
- Supporting Paragraphs
- Point A
- Sub point
- Sub point
- Point B
- Sub point
- Sub point
- Point C
- Sub point
- Sub point
| - Introduction
- My father influenced my musical career.
- Supporting Paragraphs
- He taught me how to play the guitar.
- He bought me my first guitar.
- He gave me lessons.
- He traveled to my first performances.
- He attended concerts at school.
- He took me to local competitions.
- He encouraged me to form a band.
- He gave me space to practice.
- He had patience when we played poorly.
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Informal Outline:
| I. Main Idea - Supporting Idea
- Supporting Idea
- Supporting Idea | I. My Father – An Influential Person - Taught guitar - Traveled to performances - Encouraged forming a band |
Using the topic provided, create a sample formal and informal outline you could use to write an essay about that topic.
TOPIC: Best or Worst Job(s)
Use this template to create a formal outline.
- Introduction
- Main Idea
- Supporting Paragraphs
- Point A
- Sub point
- Sub point
- Point B
- Sub point
- Sub point
- Point C
- Sub point
- Sub point
- Introduction
- One of the reasons I'm going to college is that I've had horrible jobs.
- Supporting Paragraphs
- My first job was at Bob's Bait & Tackle.
- I dug night crawlers.
- I smelled like fish all day.
- My second job was at Hot Dog Heaven.
- I served hungry and mean people.
- I smelled like hot dogs all day.
- My third job was at Happy Kids Play Land
- I cleaned up messes.
- I smelled like play-dough all day.
Use this template to create an informal outline.
I. Main Idea
- Supporting Idea
- Supporting Idea
- Supporting Idea
I. Worst Jobs
- Bob's Bait and Tackle
- Hot Dog Heaven
- Happy Kids Play Land
How will outlines help you in your future writing assignments?
Creating an outline will help me think through the assignment more at the beginning of the writing process. In the end, I will have a much better essay because I planned it.
Which type of outline—formal or informal—do you prefer and why?
I was always taught to use the formal outline structure, and I still think that is a good way of planning to write because it makes me include more detail than I might otherwise. However, I also like the informal outline because sometimes thinking about creating a formal outline seems like a big task. If I just think about creating an informal outline, I may be less hesitant to make one.
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