What it is, Why it is important, and How to do it

Outlining

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1) Explain why outlining is an important academic tool;2) Classify major and minor ideas;3) Describe the format of an outline; and4) Enumerate the steps in making an outline.

Objectives:

Doing an outline requires you to:

1. Read and analyze the ideas expressed;2. Classify them into major and minor ideas;3. Determine which minor ideas belong to each major

idea;4. Restate the ideas for consistency;5. Arrange the ideas in outline form.

Values of Outlining

Activity. Group the words according to a shared characteristic. Then, identify the group which best defines the word “outline.”

silhouette, synopsis, figure, cut-out, condensation, sketch, framework, summary, structure, schema, shadow, diagram

Group A Group B Group C Group D___________ condensation ___________ frameworkshadow ___________ ___________ ______________________ synopsis sketch ___________

Activity. Group the words according to a shared characteristic. Then, identify the group which best defines the word “outline”.

Group A Group B Group C Group D

cut-out condensation diagram frameworkshadow summary figure schemaSilhouette synopsis sketch structure

Group D best defines the word “outline.”

Outline definedLays out the relationships among ideas in a piece

of writing

Reveals how all these main and subordinate parts contribute final relevance to the central idea of a composition

Can be formal or informal

distinguish between the “heart of the matter” and

its minor issues

Outlining enables us to:

Provide each group with a main idea (a more general term or name or topic) that is precise and particular, yet broad enough to include all terms in the set as subtopics.

Let’s organize and classify ideas:

ParliamentaryOligarchyPresidentialDictatorial

1)

InfluenzaTuberculosisBronchitis Pneumonia

2)

Increased hunger for salty, fatty foods

Slower thought processesDifficulty learning new tasksLack of imagination or originalityBlurred vision and hallucinationsSlurred speech

3)

The following could serve as main ideas. Provide at least three possible subtopics which relate to the main idea either as examples, illustrations, stages or steps, or elements or parts.

This time, you will give the subtopics:

1. Intrapersonal

2. Interpersonal

3. Mass communication

Levels of communication

1. Unity

2. Coherence

3. Emphasis

Qualities of an effective paragraph

1.

2.

3.

Kinds of UP students

Below is a group of jumbled topics that are parts of an outline, including (1) a title, (2) main ideas, and (3) subordinate ideas.

Make sure you classify all pertinent subtopics under their proper main headings and arrange the entire outline in the best order.

We will now sort out the items, and come up with an outline.

Transporting by truck Selling eggs Packaging eggs for retail sale Grading eggs for weight The egg industry Transporting by rail Producing high quality eggs Grading eggs for quality Packaging eggs for shipment Transporting by parcel post

I. Producing high quality eggsA. Grading eggs for qualityB. Grading eggs for weightII. Selling eggsA. Packaging eggs for retail saleB. Packaging eggs for shipment

C. Transporting by truckD. Transporting by railE. Transporting by parcel post

The egg industry

Format of an Outline

the degrees or planes of subordination or ranking through which the various relationships among the facts and concepts, particulars and generalizations which make up an expository piece of writing are immediately reflected

Or simply…

arrangement of the topics to show the main and subordinate ideas

“Levels” in outlining

- enumerates only the main divisions

I First main ideaII Second main ideaIII Third main ideaIV Fourth main idea

One-level Outline

- enumerates the main divisions together with the subtopics that compose each main division

I First main ideaA. First subtopicB. Second subtopicC. Third subtopic

II Second main ideaA. First subtopicB. Second subtopicC. Third subtopic

etc…

Two-level Outline

- enumerates the main divisions and their subtopics, together with the supporting details of these subtopics

I. First main ideaA. First subtopic1. First supporting detail2. Second supporting detail3. Third supporting detailB. Second subtopic1. First supporting detail2. Second supporting detail3. Third supporting detailII. Second main ideaA. First subtopic 1. First supporting detail, etc…

Three-level Outline

Two Types of Outline

Thesis statement: Anime has traditions and features that distinguish it from American cartoons and make it sophisticated enough to appeal to adults.

I. Anime qualitiesA. Quick imagesB. Jazz and rock soundtracksC. Character eyes and featuresD. Colorful, complicated art

1. Samurai X as example2. Samurai X about nineteenth-century warrior3. Samurai X art like old Japanese prints

Topic Outline

Thesis statement: Anime has traditions and features that distinguish it from American cartoons and make it sophisticated enough to appeal to adults.

I. Complex plots are but one of the distinctive features of anime.A. Anime images move quickly, with a style often more frantic than in American cartoons.B. Their soundtracks frequently use jazz and rock music rather than symphonic music.

Sentence Outline

C. Most striking are the large eyes and sharp features of the characters.D. The drawing is more colorful, more complicated, and often more abstract than that in most American cartoons.1. A TV series called Samurai X is one of the most popular anime series with both American and Japanese audiences.2. Samurai X is set in the nineteenth century and tells the story of one warrior’s life.3. Samurai X art is drawn beautifully to look both like older Japanese art prints and like contemporary movies such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Sentence Outline, cont’d

Making an Outline

Get the central idea.

Pick out key words in each paragraph

1-2 Isolate the

topic sentence, and note its mode of development

Group topic sentences according to their “family resemblances”

3-4 Provide a “class

name” and these will serve as main divisions of the outlineFurther break down the subtopics into supporting details

5-6

Not long ago, French physicians reported a case of a woman, seven months with child, struck with eclampsia, the dread convulsions of pregnancy. The one slender hope of saving her life was surgical delivery of her infant, and in such cases the chances of saving the baby’s life are virtually nil. To calm the convulsions and to increase her chances of surviving surgery, the doctor used hypothermia, “frozen sleep.” Unavoidably, the infant was also cooled. Not only did the mother recover; the baby lived, too.

“Frozen Sleep”: New Frontier in Surgeryby J.D. Ratcliff

How does hypothermia work? Patients are first put to sleep by conventional methods and then cooled. When body temperature is dropped from a normal 98.60, oxygen requirements are cut approximately in half, and all bodily activity jogs along at well below its normal rate. Normally, brain cells, the most sensitive in the body, cannot get along without oxygen for more than three or four minutes without damage. With mild hypothermia, the time can be doubled or tripled – thus giving, in operations where the heart is stopped, for instance, more time for major repair work.

Suggestions that hypothermia might be of value in the operating room first came from observations in the animal world. Faced with stress situations such as wintertime food shortages, many animals hibernate, reducing the flame of life to a flicker. Their body temperatures may drop at times to a few degrees above freezing; their heart action may slow down to two or three beats per minute; metabolism may be reduced to on fiftieth of normal. A ground squirrel during a week of hibernation may use no more than three calories – about the number contained in one-fourth teaspoon of sugar! Yet, after months of hibernation, animals awake vigorous and unharmed.

3. idea of hypothermia use in surgery animal hibernation temperature dropped, heart action slow animals awake unharmed

1. eclampsia calm convulsions hope of saving life

hypothermia: frozen sleep mother, baby lived

Key words per paragraph2. how hypothermia works patients sleep, cooled body temperature dropped bodily activity below normal more time for major repair

Par 1. A report of a successful surgical use of hypothermia

Par 2. How hypothermia worksPar 3. Origin of the idea of hypothermia

Topic per paragraph

Hypothermia, first suggested by observations on animal behaviour, has been successfully used in surgery to slow down the human body’s normal activities by lowering bodily temperature.

Thesis statement:

I. Tried out on a mother suffering from eclampsia, hypothermia saved her and her baby through the operation.

II. Hypothermia is a means by which body temperature of a patient who is first put to sleep is lowered in order to slow down his bodily activities and allow time for major surgical repair work on the patient.

III. Suggestions that hypothermia might be of value in the operating room first came from observations in the animal world.

Sentence outline

Never mix the two styles (topic and sentence) in one outline.

Ensure parallelism.Observe consistency.Observe the mechanics and format of a clear and orderly outline.

Remember!

Dadufalza, C.D. (1996). Reading into Writing I. Makati Bookmark Inc.

Troyka, L.Q. & Hesse, D. (2009). Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Communication Skills 1. UP Open University. Taking Effective Notes. (2013, August). Retrieved August 2, 2013, from

http:www.austincc.edu/support/advising/workshops/notetaking/NotesOnNotetakingprint.html.

References