An outline breaks down the parts of your thesis in a clear, hierarchical manner. Most students find that writing an outline before beginning the paper is most helpful in organizing one's thoughts. If your outline is good, your paper should be easy to write.

The basic format for an outline uses an alternating series of numbers and letters, indented accordingly, to indicate levels of importance.

If you want more help, below I provide some links to some other websites which will give you some slightly different approaches to outlining. Use what is useful.

What is the purpose of an outline?

At different stages in the writing process, an outline will serve different functions

• While you are still reading: to help you see what you have, and where you still need to do more reading. This preliminary outline will not necessarily be what you write your paper from.
• When you are ready to start writing: to help you figure out what your paper is about, and where you should begin. Your outline will prevent you from launching in prematurely.
• As you write: to help you stick to a plan, and to provide your paper with a basic skeleton. An outline will help you to figure out not only what belongs in your paper, but what does not.

It may help to think of your outline as a work in progress, rather than as a rigid framework.

How to get started

1. Brainstorm. First you need to see what you have.
   • If you are just beginning, look at the types of information you have available: what are you reading? What information do you hope to glean?
   • If you are ready to write, pull all your notes together and look through them. Take a sheet of paper and note down what you know and what you want to say
2. Organize your thoughts. You can go about it in two ways. Either requires a second blank sheet of paper:
   • The top-down method:
     • Identify your main points. Write each down as a sentence (well-spaced out).
     • Are there subordinate points or subsections which will support the main point?
   • The bottom-up method:
     • If you are not sure what your main points are, or you have a lot of different ideas, group ideas together which go together
     • Then sum up each group in a single sentence. If you cannot, then maybe they do not go togehter.
   • Decide on the most effective order for your main points (this may require another blank sheet).
     • If you have not done so already, you will need to decide what you are arguing
     • Do some points depend on others? Begin with the most basic and move to the most complicated.
     • If not: is there a logical principle you can use (e.g. chronology) to organize your material?
     • Leave lots of room in between your points.
3. Support your argument.
   • If this is a preliminary outline, decide what you need to read to support each of your main points.
   • If you are ready to write, go back to your notes. What facts, quotations, etc. will support each of your main points?
     • Write them in -- with full attribution -- in the appropriate place in your outline.
   • Look critically at each quotation. It is often tempting (to mature scholars as well as students) to quote because you like the sound of a passage. Make sure each quotation you use really does what you want it to.

4.      Subordination

o        In order to indicate levels of significance, an outline uses major and minor headings. Thus in ordering ideas, you should organize it from general to specific or from abstract to concrete- the more general or abstract the term, the higher the level or rank in the outline.

Correct subordination

A. Word processing programs

1. Microsoft Word

2. Word Perfect

B. Desktop publishing programs

1. PageMaker

2. Quark Express

Faulty subordination

A. Word processing programs

1. Word

2. Useful

3. Obsolete

Explanation: There is an A without a B. Also 1, 2, and 3 are not equal; Word is a type of word processing program, and useful and obsolete are qualities. One way to correct this faulty subordination is: 

A. Word

1. Positive features

2. Negative features

B. Word Perfect

1. Positive features

2. Negative features

Division

To divide you always need at least two parts; therefore, there can never be an A without a B, a 1 without a 2, an a without a b, etc.

Correct division

A. Personal computers: hardware

1. Types

2. Cost

3. Maintenance

B. Personal computers: software  

Faulty division

A. Computers

1. Mainframe

2. Micro

a. Floppy disk

b. Hard disk

B. Computer uses

1. Institutional

2. Personal

5.  Form

The most important rule for outlining form is to be consistent!

An outline can use topic or sentence structure.

A topic outline uses words or phrases for all entries and uses no punctuation after entries.

Advantages: presents a brief overview of work and is generally easier and faster to write than a sentence outline.

A sentence outline uses complete sentences for all entries and uses correct punctuation.

Advantages: presents a more detailed overview of work including possible topic sentences and is easier and faster for writing the final paper.

 An outline can use Roman numerals/letters or decimal form.

Roman Numeral

I.

A.

B.

1.

2.

a.

b.

6.  Be sure to keep your outline handy while you write. Do not be afraid to change it if necessary.

Here is an example of an outline on a paper about the development of Japanese theater:

7. Some more tips on writing outlines:

2.     From the Williams College Writing Center (also useful tips on developing a thesis. Note the primordial slime comment.

3.     From Kathy Livingston's "Guide to Writing a Basic Essay" (this is part of a larger site -- see the sidebar for her advice on other stages of the writing process)

4.      From the Purdue Online Writing Lab

Information provided by Professor Elka Klein, March 2003 & OWL at Purdue University