SENTENCE OUTLINE

A. Sentence Outline

A sentence outline should be assigned as the second part of the sequence leading to the
completion of the research report. This outline should be used to develop the major divisions of
the long report; because it is in sentence form, it will help the student to get the content of the
report solidified before the first draft of the report is written. The outline should be written after
or at the same time that the student is turning in note cards.

Benefits of writing a sentence outline.

1. Clarity. If you can't write a clear sentence summarizing the paragraph's point, you
certainly can't write a clear paragraph.
2. Flow of argument. It is much easier to quickly judge whether the present order of
paragraphs (as sentences in the outline) really makes the argument in the most effective
way. You may be able to omit one or more paragraphs and still make your arguments.
3. Efficiency. Revision of the plan of paper is much easier and quicker if you have only to
delete or re-order sentences. Doing this on the completed draft involves much more work.
i. Since a concept must be explained when it first appears, interchanging paragraphs
will require moving definitions.
ii. Paragraphs should smoothly flow into each other. Reordering paragraphs may
require extensive rewriting.
4. Writing to length. With a sentence outline you can easily judge how long the manuscript
will be and modify it to keep the essential material within the prescribed length.
5. Time. All the above -- clarity, argument flow, efficiency, length management -- can be
done faster using a sentence outline.

Topic and Sentence Outlines

There are two major types of outline:

Topic Outline
Sentence Outline

A topic outline lists words or phrases. A sentence outline lists complete sentences.

A topic outline arranges your ideas hierarchically (showing which are main and which are sub-
points), in the sequence you want, and shows what you will talk about. As the name implies, it
identifies all the little mini-topics that your paper will comprise, and shows how they relate.

A sentence outline does all of this, plus it shows exactly what you will say about each mini-topic.
Each sentence, instead of simply identifying a mini-topic, is like a mini-thesis statement about
that mini-topic. It expresses the specific and complete idea that that section of the paper will
cover as part of proving the overall thesis.
The method described below will produce a sentence outline.

Your sentence outline should, if done thoroughly and carefully, represent almost a first draft of
your research paper. Once youve written it, the paper will practically write itself. Youll just be
filling in the blanks, so to speakproviding specific examples and other support to flesh out and
prove the ideas youve already sketched out. The purpose, in other words, of doing this work is
not to makework for you, but to save you work in the long run by breaking the job down into
smaller, manageable tasks.

Tip: Outlines can be very detailed or very general, but the more detail you have the farther youll
get toward writing your paper. Heres an example. A paper of 12 pages (about 4,500 words)
might have four major topics or points, represented by roman numerals (I - IV) in the outline.
This would mean each point would represent about three pages of the final paper. These three
pages will include background information, multiple sources, different pieces of evidence and
explanation supporting that point, and often a brief description of alternative views and an
explanation of why those views are not so convincing. Smaller points supporting each of the
main points might then take up a single page, or 2 - 3 paragraphsagain with evidence,
explanation, alternative views and so on. Finally, even smaller points under these might
correspond to individual paragraphs in the final draft.

Writing the Sentence Outline

1. Write out your thesis at the top of the page.

2. Make a list of points you must prove to prove your thesis. What would someone have to
agree with, in order to agree with the thesis?

o These will be the main sections of your paper. Like the thesis, these should
be complete, declarative sentencessomething you can either prove or disprove.

3. On a new page, write your first main point. This is the thesis for that section of the paper.

4. Make a list of the points you have to prove to prove that point. Just as with the main
points, these should be complete, declarative sentencesstatements you can prove or
disprove.

5. These are your sub-points for that section.

6. Repeat the process for each of your main points.

Once you have the main points and supporting points written down, its time to start organizing.
First make sure which are main and which are supporting points. For example, you may find that
what you thought was a main point is really part of proving another main point. Or, what you
first listed under a main point may need its own section. This may change as you continue to
work on the outline and draft the paper.
Now you can decide what order you want to present your ideas in. Again, label them with letters
or numbers to indicate the sequence.

Tip: Dont just settle for one organization. Try out at least two different sequences. Youll be
surprised at the connections that emerge, the possibilities that open up, when you rearrange your
ideas. You may find that your thesis suddenly snaps into focus, or that points that seemed
unrelated in fact belong together, or that what you thought was a main idea is actually a
supporting idea for another point. Good writing is all about re-vision, which literally means
seeing againseeing your work from a fresh perspective. You can do this at every stage of the
writing process, and especially at the organization stage.

How to Create a Sentence Outline

What is a Sentence Outline?

The sentence outline is done in full sentences. It is normally used when your paper focuses on
complex details. The sentence outline is especially useful for this kind of paper because
sentences themselves have many of the details in them. A sentence outline also allows you to
include those details in the sentences instead of having to create an outline of many short phrases
that goes on page after page. Benefits of writing a sentence outline include:

1.Clarity. If you can't write a clear sentence summarizing the paragraph's point, you certainly
can't write a clear paragraph.

2. Flow of argument. It is much easier to quickly judge whether the present order of paragraphs
(as sentences in the outline) really makes the argument in the most effective way. You may be
able to omit one or more paragraphs and still make your arguments.

3. Efficiency. Revision of the plan of paper is much easier and quicker if you have only to delete
or re-order sentences. Doing this on the completed draft involves much more work.

1. Since a concept must be explained when it first appears, interchanging paragraphs will
require moving definitions.

2. Paragraphs should smoothly flow into each other. Reordering paragraphs may require
extensive rewriting.

4. Writing to length. With a sentence outline you can easily judge how long the manuscript will
be and modify it to keep the essential material within the prescribed length.

5. Time. All the above -- clarity, argument flow, efficiency, length management -- can be done
faster using a sentence outline.

Steps to Writing a Sentence Outline

Before you begin creating your sentence outline, you should be clear about the following:

1. Determine the purpose of your paper.

2. Determine the audience you are writing for.

3. Develop the thesis of your paper.

You should then use notecards (they are old-school, but offer the flexibility you will need to
organize your thoughts) to perform the following:

1.Brainstorm: List all the ideas that you want to include in your paper onto notecards (gathered
through research, either through reading or direct research).

2. Organize: Group related ideas together. This may be accomplished by using notecards and
sorting them into groups.

3. Order: Arrange material in subsections from general to specific or from abstract to concrete
(e.g., organize the groups notecards into logical order).

4. Label: Create main and sub headings for each group.

Keep Your Outline Flexible

Although the format of an outline is rigid, it shouldn't make you inflexible about how to write
your paper. Often when you start writing, especially about a subject that you don't know well, the
paper takes new directions. If your paper changes direction, or you add new sections, then feel
free to change the outline-- just as you would make corrections on a crude map as you become
more familiar with the terrain you are exploring. Major reorganizations are not uncommon; your
outline will help you stay organized and focused.

However, when your paper diverges from your outline, it can also mean that you have lost your
focus, and hence the structure of your paper. How do you know whether to change the paper to
fit the outline or change the outline to fit the paper? A good way to check yourself is to use the
paper to recreate the outline. This is extremely useful for checking the organization of the paper.
If the resulting outline says what you want it to say in an order that is easy to follow, the
organization of your paper has been successful. If you discover that it's difficult to create an
outline from what you have written, then you need to revise the paper. Your outline can help you
with this, because the problems in the outline will show you where the paper has become
disorganized.
Sentence Outline Format Example

The following is a general guide for creating a sentence outline:

I. Introduction

A. Attention-Getter: Simply introduce your topic in an interesting way, without using a

cliche or pitch.

B. Thesis: Use your thesis statement here (includes subject, predicate, and information
hunger) in one single sentence.

C. Content: Explain the scope of the content included in the paper.

D. Transition: Lead, don't push, the reader into the body of the paper.

II. Body

A. First main point: Write in complete sentences. Main Points are never questions,
quotes, or information that requires a source citation.

B. Second main point: Make your main points clear by using parallel language when
possible.

C. Third main point: Make your main points clear by using parallel language when
possible.

D. Transition into conclusion by leading, not pushing, the reader.

III. Conclusion

A. Summary: Paraphrase the thesis and the main points of your paper.

B. Clincher: Reference to the Introduction because it provides such strong closure.

IV. Sources Cited (list of reference cited) or Bibliography (list of both cited and not cited
sources)