Using an Outline

Using an Outline

An outline is a very useful tool for organizing your ideas and facts before writing your paper. It is like a map of your paper, helping you get to where you want to go! It helps you stick to the topic in every area of your paper.

Firs, the title of the outline goes at the top. Then, your main topic(s) are labeled with Roman Numerals. Any big idea that you want to cover in your main idea would first of all, be indented under the Roman Numeral topic where it belongs. Plus it would be labeled with a capital letter. Example:

Flowers of the Desert (title of outline)

I. Cactus Flowers
II. Wildflowers

I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

When you outline a paper, you use Roman Numerals for your main topics.

Any item that belongs with the main topics(the ones with I, II, etc.), would be again indented, and this time labeled with regular capital letters. These are called sub-topics. Example:

Flowers of the Desert
    I. Cactus Flowers
        A. Barrell Cactus Flowers
        B. Beavertail Cactus Flowers
        C. Cholla Cactus Flowers
    I. WildFlowers
        A. Golden Poppy
B. weeds

As you get more detailed in your outline, you indent again, and this time label with numbers. These are called 'details'. Example:

Flowers of the Desert
I. Cactus Flowers
A. Barrell Cactus Flowers

1. Details about barrell cactus flowers go here
2.
3.

B. Beavertail Cactus Flowers

1.
2.
3.

C. Cholla Cactus Flowers

1.
2.
3.

II. WildFlowers
A. Golden Poppy

1.
2.
3.

Here's another example. Let's pretend for a moment that you are doing a paper on "My Favorite Pokemon". Your teacher wants you to write five paragraphs. Just for an example, let's say that your favorites are Mew, Mewtwo, and Articuno. Here is an example of one way you could organize your outline using Roman Numerals to show each major idea:

(TITLE) My Favorite Pokemon

I. Mew (MAIN TOPIC)

(SUB-TOPICS)

A. Psy-wave
B. Evolution

II. Mewtwo(MAIN TOPIC)

A. Psychic
B. Evolution

III. Articuno(MAIN TOPIC)

A. Ice Beam
B. Evolution

Now, are you ready for a trick question? How many paragraphs would be in the above Pokemon example?

If you said 5, you're right! Each of the Main Topics rate their own paragraph, plus don't forget your introductory and concluding paragraphs- a total of 5!

Activity: Read about how the President of the United States is elected.Prepare an outline of the major steps to becoming President.

Electing the President (Easy)
Ben's Guide (3-5): The Election Process -- Election of the President

Electing the President (Challenging)
Ben's Guide (6-8): The Election Process -- Election of the President & Vice President -- Primary Election

Here is another great link about electing the President

Would you like more detailed information on outlining? Click here