How to Create an Outline

An outline is a highly valuable tool for organizing your ideas and information, whether for a speech, essay, novel, or review material based on your notes. While outlining may seem complicated at first, you can definitely master the art of organizing your thoughts! Start by brainstorming ideas and selecting a structure for your outline.

Decide whether you will outline on paper or type it up. If the outline is for your personal use, choose the method that works best for you. If it's for an assignment, follow the teacher's guidelines.

• Some people find they come up with better ideas when writing on paper. Plus, you can easily draw diagrams or include references to visualize the concepts related to your topic. However, writing by hand might take more time and may not look as neat.
• Typing could be easier if your notes are already on your computer, allowing you to copy and paste into your outline. The copy-paste function also makes it easier to reorganize sections in your outline if necessary. Additionally, when typing, it's simple to copy information from the outline into your final work. However, you won't be able to make notes in the margins or draw diagrams as easily.

Narrow the scope of your topic. An outline helps you organize thoughts, ideas, or research related to a specific topic. Without a central theme, an outline won't be effective. Your topic could be based on an assigned task or a personal goal.

• If you're working on a creative project like writing a novel, define the concept, genre, or premise and use the outline to structure your work.
• Initially, your topic might be broad, but you need to narrow it down. For example, your history essay topic might be about life in France during the German occupation in WWII. When outlining, you should focus the topic on the resistance fighters, called guerrilla fighters.

Define the purpose of your outline, such as to inform, entertain, or reflect. Think about what you hope to achieve with this outline. Are you completing a required essay? Writing a novel? Crafting a speech? This will help you determine what the essay, book, or speech should convey to the reader. Usually, the outline's purpose is to provide information, entertain, or share the author's reflections with the audience.

Identify your target audience. Creating an outline may sometimes be part of a classroom assignment, but it can also be for personal use to complete an essay or reach a goal. If it's for schoolwork or a task, follow the structure and present your ideas clearly for the reader.

• For school assignments, review the guidelines or ask your teacher. If outlining for work, you might use a pre-made outline as a model.
• If outlining for personal purposes, choose the format that works best for you. For example, you might write the outline in shorthand.

Gather notes, research materials, or evidence if available. Often, you'll combine information gathered through research, note-taking, or personal experience. It's important to review this information before you begin drafting your outline because you will extract key ideas and supporting points from it. Some of the materials you might incorporate include:

• Annotated ideas
• Quotes
• Statistics
• Historical events

Brainstorm to identify your arguments or main ideas. Jot down your thoughts, key points from your research, and any questions you want to explore. For a creative project, you might write down ideas for setting or plot. Write down everything that might go into your outline because you can always remove anything later! Here are some methods to organize your ideas:

• Freewrite your ideas as they come to you.
• Create a mind map.
• Write your thoughts on index cards.

Develop the main argument or central idea for your outline. In most cases, this will be the argument you will use to complete your final product, such as an essay. However, you may also use a general central idea or premise when outlining for a novel or a review guide. The outline will rely on this argument to organize information into main and supporting sections.

• For example, if you're writing an essay about policy change, your argument might be: "Policy makers should adopt a gradual approach when changing policies to reduce conflict, allow for adjustments, and encourage compromise." Each reason listed in your argument will become a main point in your outline.

Use an outline with a numbering and lettering format for easy tracking. You might not have noticed, but most outlines follow a numbering and lettering system. Each section or idea in the outline is organized using numbers and letters. Here's how this format is typically structured, from main ideas to subpoints:

• Roman numerals - I, II, III, IV, V
• Capital letters - A, B, C
• Arabic numerals - 1, 2, 3
• Lowercase letters - a, b, c
• Arabic numerals in parentheses - (1), (2), (3)

Use a decimal outline format to emphasize the relationship between ideas. An outline in the decimal format follows a similar structure to the one with numbered and lettered formats, but it uses only numbers. Each subpoint begins with a decimal number. This method helps demonstrate that each subpoint is part of a larger argument. A decimal outline looks like this:

• 1.0 – Gradual policy change encourages compromise
  • 1.1 – Both sides impact the policy
  • 1.1.1 – Each side presents arguments before voting
  • 1.1.2 – Citizens voice their opinions
• 1.2 – No side gets everything they want

Decide whether to use full sentences or brief phrases. Most outlines use brief phrases, also known as topic outlines. However, using full sentences may help clarify your ideas more effectively. If you're writing an essay based on your outline, full sentences can give you an advantage when composing the complete paper.

• You can use brief phrases to quickly organize your ideas, to create an outline for a speech, or for personal use.
• You can use full sentences to later write a complete essay more easily, create a clearer review guide, or meet the requirements of an assignment.

Group related ideas together. Review the brainstorming section and categorize ideas that are related. Initially, you might jot down a lot of information, but later you can eliminate unnecessary points. These groups will form your main points, so you need to narrow them down to the number of main points you intend to cover. Essays or speeches often contain three main points, but a creative work might have more.

• If you've written down ideas or created a mind map, use colored markers to identify which ideas belong together in the same group.
• If you're using index cards for brainstorming, organize related ideas by stacking or arranging them in rows for easier reading.

Arrange each group in order, from broad ideas to specific details. Broad ideas are often your main points, while details support those points. Depending on the purpose of your outline, you may have several subpoints and supporting details. However, aim to have 2-3 subpoints and 2-3 supporting details for each main point.

• For example, your main point could be: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein emphasizes emotion over reason. Your subpoints might be: Victor Frankenstein's recovery through nature, and his scientific experiments creating a monster. Supporting details might include quotes from the text.
• If you're writing a story or presenting a historical perspective, organizing ideas chronologically might make sense. For an essay or speech, start with the subtopic that has the most supporting evidence, and arrange other subtopics to transition smoothly from one to the next.
• Your broad ideas need to connect back to your thesis or central idea. If they don't, you may need to revise your thesis to reflect the main ideas included in your outline.

Outline the introduction as your first main point for the essay or speech. You can use brief phrases or full sentences, depending on your preference. Some people prefer to write the introduction first. Here are the key points you should include in the introduction:

• A hook to engage the reader
• 1-2 sentences that provide an overview of the topic
• Your thesis statement

Create headings for the body sections if you haven't already. The headings in your outline represent your main points. You can mark these headings with Roman numerals if you're using a numbered-and-lettered format (I, II, III) or Arabic numerals in a decimal outline format (1.0, 2.0, 3.0). For an essay, these headings represent the body of the paper. These points are derived from your thesis or central idea. For example, the headings for the main points from the outline above could look like this:

• Outline in brief phrases: II. Frankenstein emphasizes emotion over reason
• Outline in full sentences: II. In Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, the author emphasizes emotion over reason.

Provide at least two supporting points for each main idea. Supporting points represent the second level of the outline, and should be marked with Roman numerals, capital letters, or decimal numbering (1.1, 1.2). These points are meant to clarify or expand upon the main idea. In essays, they serve as reasons to justify your argument, while in creative works, they may correspond to parts of the plot.

• Depending on the purpose of your outline, you might need more supporting points. For example, a novel could include several, whereas a study guide often contains more supporting points.

Include at least two supporting details for each supporting point. These details are meant to reinforce or illustrate the points you are presenting. They may include direct quotes, statistics, events, or examples. This is the third level of an outline, so Arabic numerals should be used for number-letter outlines (1, 2, 3) or double decimal numbers (1.1.2) for decimal outlines.

• In essays, these are typically where you 'prove' your argument.
• In creative works, you might present the details that are necessary for the context, such as an internal conflict of the main character.
• Just as with supporting points, the number of supporting details can vary depending on the purpose. A novel or study guide generally includes more supporting details.

Add layers to your outline if necessary. Most basic outlines consist of three levels, but you may find that additional layers are required. In such cases, you can continue creating sublevels using the structure you’ve chosen, such as Roman numerals, capital letters, or decimal numbers. For example, you might need more levels to provide further detail. Referring to the earlier example of the work Frankenstein, you might add a fourth layer to write annotations for the quotes that support your arguments. You can add layers by:

• Number-letter format:
  • Roman numerals
  • Capital letters
  • Arabic numerals
  • Lowercase letters
  • Arabic numerals in parentheses
• Decimal format
  • 1.0
  • 1.1
  • 1.1.1
  • 1.1.1.1

Draft the conclusion if you’re writing an essay or speech. You don’t need to write the conclusion in full yet, as it will be easier to finalize once the body of the essay or speech is complete. However, you can begin to organize your thoughts. Supporting points for the conclusion might include:

• Restating the thesis.
• 1-2 sentences summarizing the key points.
• 1 concluding sentence.

Review your outline to ensure it aligns with your objective. Your outline should directly relate to your thesis or main idea and address the purpose you set out to persuade and impact your readers. If it doesn’t, you may need to revise it.

• This is also an opportunity to identify any missing parts or ideas that have not been fully developed. If you notice any unanswered questions, fill in the gaps with additional information.

Edit your outline if there are missing or underdeveloped ideas. In some cases, you may need to add more information, such as supporting details. Editing allows you to do this. You may also need to rephrase sentences or expressions to make your ideas clearer.

• If the outline is for your personal use, this step may not be necessary.

Edit your outline if it’s a submission. Look for typing errors, spelling mistakes, and formatting issues. This ensures that your work can achieve the highest possible score. Remember, if your outline is written with phrases, you can write full sentences for each point.

• Asking someone else to proofread is a good idea, as it’s often hard to catch mistakes when you review your own work.
• While editing your outline, compare it with the instructions to ensure you’ve met all the requirements. If not, go back and fix any discrepancies.

Add additional layers if necessary. If you need extra sublevels, use lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.), followed by lowercase letters (a, b, c, d, etc.), and then Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). In most cases, 3 or 4 layers will suffice. Try to consolidate ideas before adding a fifth layer.

• You can add layers if you want to expand on your ideas.
• Additional layers are also useful for longer creative works or study guides.

• Keep it short and simple. An outline doesn’t need to have flowery language; it just needs to present your main argument.
• Don’t hesitate to remove unrelated information as you research the topic and narrow your focus.
• You can also use the outline as a memorization tool! Choose concise words to trigger key concepts.
• Consider using specialized software or text editing programs to automatically organize your outline. For example, Microsoft Word has a feature that lets you create outlines or format them as you wish.
• Each level of the outline should be indented by 0.5 to 1 inch (1.3 – 2.5 cm) from the previous level for easy recognition of hierarchy. Note that this may not be as effective if you are writing full sentences.
• If you find evidence that contradicts your argument, don’t ignore it. Include it in your outline and use subpoints to summarize your counterarguments.

• In general, avoid adding only one idea or sub-idea at any level of the outline. If you have idea A, you should also have idea B or A’ at that level.
• An outline is not an essay in another form. You’re just listing the main points, not all the details.