ENG/200: Rhetoric And Research

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Creating an Outline An outline helps you arrange the order of ideas in a paper. Many students eliminate outlining in the writing process as an unnecessary step. However, writing an essay without an outline can create disjointed results. An outline provides a roadmap so that the essay can move smoothly from point A to point B to point C. Without an outline, the essay could easily become disorganized, e.g., A, B, A, C, B. This can confuse readers because the points of the essay are not arranged in correct sequence. Use the following suggestions to create an effective outline.

Creating Correct Formatting

The following information will help you format an outline correctly:

• Include at least two elements under each of the sections in the outline. If you have only

one element, however, you can add additional information to create at least two points.

• Create parallel wording at the beginning of each section of the outline. If the first word begins with a noun, the first words in all other elements in that section must also begin with nouns. If the first word is a verb, the other elements must begin with verbs, etc.

• Include a period, and space or tab after each letter or number. Be consistent on using

spaces or tabs throughout. (See the sample outline below.)

• Use double spacing in the outline for ease in reading or use single spacing throughout and double space between each of the major elements (I, II, II).

• Capitalize the first word after each number or letter in the outline. Also capitalize proper

nouns, but do not capitalize the other words.

Sample Outline Use the following as a model to create your outline. If directions from your instructor differ from the explanations or example here, follow the guidelines of your instructor.

Philosophy of Adult Education I. Introduction

II. Primary purpose for education

A. Acquisition of knowledge

B. Skills development

1. Job training

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2. Technological advancement

C. Intrinsic motivation

D. Development of social relationships

E. Career advancement

F. Social change

1. Paulo Freire

a. Liberating force of education

b. Community change and support

2. John Dewey

a. Students as “agents of change”

b. Integrated learning III. Adult learning style

A. Self motivation

1. Internal rewards

2. Self-direction in learning

B. Previous experiences

C. Learning activities

1. Meaningful

2. Collaboration

IV. Conclusion

This sample outline represents the most common outline format. Additional outline format information can be found in The Gregg Reference Manual (this is an optional resource for students). Faculty standards for outlines submitted for a grade may vary. The faculty member’s own standards will prevail in the event that the standards differ from this sample. February 2011