READING AND WRITING SKILLS

Creating Writing Outlines

 An outline reveals the coherence and complexity of an essay.

 Outlining efficiently requires the ability to locate the main ideas of the text.
 Outlining well involves knowing how to distinguish ideas according to their level of
importance in the text.
 Simplicity is the key in outlining because you must strip your writing down to the
essentials.
 You can only outline something if you understand it.

Defining an Outline
An outline is a summary that gives the essential features of a text. It shows how the parts
of a text are related to one another as parts that are of equal importance, or sections that
are subordinate to a main idea.

A Writing Outline is a skeletal version of your essay. It is used as a guide to organize your
ideas. It is usually done before you write the first draft of your essay. It contains your
fundamental points and the different ideas that support them. In its use, an outline works
like a map: it shows you where each of your ideas is placed in your writing; how all of
them fit together; and how each leads to the central idea of your writing. It also determines
the boundaries of your draft; how much of your subject you will need to cover without
lacking or exceeding in details.

Parts of a Formal Outline

I. MAIN IDEA
A. Subsidiary idea or supporting idea to I
B. Subsidiary idea or supporting idea to I
` 1. Subsidiary idea to B
2. Subsidiary idea to B
a) Subsidiary idea to 2
b) Subsidiary idea to 2
II. MAIN IDEA
A. Subsidiary idea or supporting idea to II
B. Subsidiary idea or supporting idea to II
C. Subsidiary idea or supporting idea to II
Suggestions in Creating Outline
 Determine what your purpose is for writing the thesis, who your reading audience is,
and what point of view and tone you would like to assume in delivering your
message.
 Begin your outline with a thesis statement. Keep in mind that it should encompass
everything in your outline.
 Review your notes. Remove any idea that does not support your thesis or does not
conform to your chosen writing purpose, audience, point of view, and tone. Add in
any new ideas as necessary.
 Group together similar ideas and thoughts. Then name each group with a heading
that also serves as a main topic supporting your thesis. Remember that the key to
outlining is distinguishing between main ideas and supporting ideas.
 Label all the main topics with Roman numerals. Note that they will be your outline’s
first level. Make sure your main topics are logically sequenced.
 Identify subtopics and classify them under the correct main topics. Label these
subtopics with uppercase letters. Note that they will be your outline’s second level.
 Identify supporting points (such a illustrations and examples) and classify them under
the correct subtopics. Indent and label them with Arabic numbers. Note that they will
be your outline’s third level.
 Identify particular details (such as statistics, quotes, and other secondary information)
and classify them under the correct supporting points. Indent and label them with
lowercase letters. Note that they will be your outline’s fourth level.
 Check your outline for unsupported evidence. Omit it, or add in new supporting
details as necessary.
 Re-examine all your main topics, subtopics, supporting points, and particular details to
see that they all develop your thesis, and are logically sequenced. Also check that all
levels in the outline have parallel wording and grammatical structure.
 Show your proposed outline to a number of people such as your teacher, your
classmates, your friends, or even your family. Get feedback from them in what to
improve in your outline.