developing main points & outlining

Copyright © 2015 by Nelson Education Ltd.

NETA PowerPoint® Slides to accompany

prepared by

Rhonda DynesMohawk College

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Developing the Main Pointsand Writingan Outline

Chapter 5

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This list of points is sometimes called a plan of development or a path statement.

Organizing Your Main PointsAfter you’ve identified the main points for your essay and checked to make sure they are satisfactory, your

final task in the planning process is to list them in the order in which you will

present them.

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Ordering Your Main Points

There are four ways to order your main points:

chronological, climactic, logical, and random.

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Chronological Order

You are using chronological order when you present your points in order of time from first to last. This is most appropriate in process essays.

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Climactic Order

Persuasion most often uses a climactic arrangement, but climactic order is also common in papers based on examples, comparison or contrast, and classification or division. In climactic order, you save your strongest or most convincing point for last (the climax of your argument). You lead with the second strongest point.

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Logical Order

Cause-and-effect essays, or any writing in which one point must be explained before the next point can be understood, are based on logical order. Your main points have a logical relationship, and you cannot discuss them out of order without confusing your readers.

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Random Order

On the rare occasions when your points can be explained in any order without affecting your readers’ understanding, you can use random order. A random arrangement is possible only if all your main points are of equal significance and if they are not linked together logically or chronologically.

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Preparing the Outline

Wise writers treat an outline as tentative, not as something chiselled in stone. As you draft your paper, you may discover new ideas or a new structure that better suits your purpose. If so, change your main points and outline to

accommodate it.

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Outline Format

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Outline Format Example

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Summary

You’ve learned how to •identify main points •test them for suitability•arrange them in the most appropriate order You’re ready now to go on to the next step: writing the thesis statement—probably the most important sentence in your paper.

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