Create an outline before writing your first draft

An essay outline is probably the most important friend you will have while writing your essay. It is the scaffolding of your paper and the skeleton of your ideas. It is the framework by which you will write a killer essay. And frankly, it is difficult to write one without an outline.

How to Write an Outline

What is it?

An outline is a general plan of the material that is to be presented in a speech or a paper. The outline shows the order of the various topics, the relative importance of each, and the relationship between the various parts.

Order in an Outline

There are many ways to arrange the different parts of a subject. Sometimes, a chronological arrangement works well. At other times, a spatial arrangement is best suited to the material. The most common order in outlines is to go from the general to the specific. This means you begin with a general idea and then support it with specific examples.

Thesis Statement of Summarizing Sentence

All outlines should begin with a thesis statement of summarizing sentence. This thesis sentence presents the central idea of the paper. It must always be a complete, grammatical sentence, specific and brief, which expresses the point of view you are taking towards the subject.

Types of Outlines

The two main types of outlines are the topic outline and the sentence outline. In the topic outline, the headings are given in single words or brief phrases. In the sentence outline, all the headings are expressed in complete sentences.

Rules for Outlining

1. Subdivide topics by a system of numbers and letters, followed by a period.

Example:

I.

    A.

    B.

        1.

        2.

            a.

            b.

II.

    A.

    B.

2. Each heading and subheading must have at least two parts.

3. Headings for parts of the paper of speech such as, Introduction and Conclusion, should not be used.

4. Be consistent. Do not mix up the two types of outlines. Use either whole sentences of brief phrases, but not both.

Examples

Topic Outline

Choices in College and After

Thesis: The decisions I have to make in choosing college courses, depend on larger questions I am beginning to ask myself about my life’s work.

    I. Two decisions described

A. Art history or chemistry

1. Professional considerations

2. Personal considerations

B. A third year of French?

1. Practical advantages of knowing a  foreign  language

2. Intellectual advantages

3. The issue of necessity

    II. Definition of the problem

A. Decisions about occupation

B. Decisions about a kind of life to lead

    III. Temporary resolution of the problem

A. To hold open a professional possibility: chemistry

B. To take advantage of cultural gains already made: French

Sentence Outline

Choices in College and After

Thesis: The decisions I have to make in choosing college courses, depend on larger questions I am beginning to ask myself about my life’s work.

I. I have two decisions to make with respect to choosing college courses in the immediate future.

A. One is whether to elect a course in art history or in chemistry.

1. One time in my life, I planned to be a chemical engineer professionally.

2. On the other hand, I enjoy art and plan to travel and see more of it.

B. The second decision is whether to continue a third year of French beyond the basic college requirement.

1. French might be useful both in engineering and travel.

2. Furthermore, I am eager to read good books which are written in French.

3. How necessary are these considerations in the light of other courses I might take instead?

II. My problem can be put in the form of a dilemma involving larger questions about my whole future.

A. On the one hand I want to hold a highly-trained position in a lucrative profession.

B. On the other hand I want to lead a certain kind of life, with capacities for values not connected with the making of money.

III. I will have to make a decision balancing the conflicting needs I have described.

A. I will hold open the professional possibilities by electing chemistry.

B. I will improve and solidify what cultural proficiency in another language I have already gained, by electing French.

How to Write an Outline

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. 

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

OUTLINE	NOTES
I. Thesis: Japanese theater rose from a popular to elite and then returned to a popular art form.	The thesis is stated in the first section, which is the introduction.
II. Early theatrical forms A. Bugaku B. Sarugaku C. Primitive Noh D. Authors and Audience III. Noh theater A. Authors B. Props 1. Masks a. women b. demons c. old men 2. Structure of Stage C. Themes 1. Buddhist influence 2. The supernatural D. Kyogen interludes E. Audience IV. Kabuki A. Authors B. Props 1. make-up 2. special effects C. Themes 1. Love stories 2. Revenge D. Audience V. Bunraku (puppet) theater A. Authors B. Props C. Themes 1. Love stories 2. Historical romances D. Audience	The body follows the introduction, and breaks down the points the author wishes to make. Note that some section have subdivisions, others do not, depending on the demands of the paper. In this outline, II, III, & IV all have similar structure, but this will not necessarily be true for all papers. Some may only have three major sections, others more than the five given here.
VI. Conclusion	Your conclusion should restate your thesis, and never introduce new material.

When you begin writing an essay outline, use the following model as a guide:

I. INTRODUCTION:

Thesis:_____________________________________________________.

II. BODY PARAGRAPH 1:

Opening Sentence:___________________________________________.

Detail 1:____________________________________________________.

Detail 2:____________________________________________________.

Detail 3:____________________________________________________.

III. BODY PARAGRAPH II:

Transition/Opening Sentence:_________________________________.

Detail 1:____________________________________________________.

Detail 2:____________________________________________________.

Detail 3:____________________________________________________.

IV. BODY PARAGRAPH III:

Transition/Opening Sentence:_________________________________.

Detail 1:____________________________________________________.

Detail 2:____________________________________________________.

Detail 3:____________________________________________________.

V. BODY PARAGRAPH IV:

Transition/Opening Sentence:_________________________________.

Detail 1:____________________________________________________.

Detail 2:____________________________________________________.

Detail 3:____________________________________________________.

VI. CONCLUSION:

Reconfirmed Thesis:_________________________________________.

If you use this rough guide and fill in the blanks as you are researching your essay, you will find writing the essay so simple. You have all you need in front of you. It is researched and organized. All you have to do now is fill in the blanks with transition words and smooth language.

SOURCES

http://www.bookrags.com/articles/2.html

http://www.essaywritinghelp.com/outline.htm

http://www.suite101.com/content/how-to-write-an-essay-outline-a98961

http://www.albany.edu/eas/170/outline.htm

http://www.lavc.edu/library/outline.htm

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How can I make my writing more concise?

MY ESSAY IS TOO LONG. HOW DO I CUT WORDS?

• Read your essay aloud at full volume (doing so forces you to go slow).
• After each word or phrase, ask yourself, "If I cut this, will my meaning change?"
• If the answer is "no", then cut it!

More tips here, including this activity from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL), which is a fantastic resource for writers.  

Conciseness

Summary: This resource will help you write clearly by eliminating unnecessary words and rearranging your phrases.

Contributors: Ryan Weber, Nick Hurm
Last Edited: 2010-04-17 05:34:19

The goal of concise writing is to use the most effective words. Concise writing does not always have the fewest words, but it always uses the strongest ones. Writers often fill sentences with weak or unnecessary words that can be deleted or replaced. Words and phrases should be deliberately chosen for the work they are doing. Like bad employees, words that don't accomplish enough should be fired. When only the most effective words remain, writing will be far more concise and readable.

This resource contains general conciseness tips followed by very specific strategies for pruning sentences.

1. Replace several vague words with more powerful and specific words.

Often, writers use several small and ambiguous words to express a concept, wasting energy expressing ideas better relayed through fewer specific words. As a general rule, more specific words lead to more concise writing. Because of the variety of nouns, verbs, and adjectives, most things have a closely corresponding description. Brainstorming or searching a thesaurus can lead to the word best suited for a specific instance. Notice that the examples below actually convey more as they drop in word count.

Wordy: The politician talked about several of the merits of after-school programs in his speech (14 words)

Concise: The politician touted after-school programs in his speech. (8 words)

Wordy: Suzie believed but could not confirm that Billy had feelings of affection for her. (14 words)

Concise: Suzie assumed that Billy adored her. (6 words)

Wordy: Our website has made available many of the things you can use for making a decision on the best dentist. (20 words)

Concise: Our website presents criteria for determining the best dentist. (9 words)

Wordy: Working as a pupil under a someone who develops photos was an experience that really helped me learn a lot. (20 words)

Concise: Working as a photo technician's apprentice was an educational experience. (10 words)

2. Interrogate every word in a sentence

Check every word to make sure that it is providing something important and unique to a sentence. If words are dead weight, they can be deleted or replaced. Other sections in this handout cover this concept more specifically, but there are some general examples below containing sentences with words that could be cut.

Wordy: The teacher demonstrated some of the various ways and methods for cutting words from my essay that I had written for class. (22 words)

Concise: The teacher demonstrated methods for cutting words from my essay. (10 words)

Wordy: Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood formed a new band of musicians together in 1969, giving it the ironic name of Blind Faith because early speculation that was spreading everywhere about the band suggested that the new musical group would be good enough to rival the earlier bands that both men had been in, Cream and Traffic, which people had really liked and had been very popular. (66 words)

Concise: Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood formed a new band in 1969, ironically naming it Blind Faith because speculation suggested that the group would rival the musicians’ previous popular bands, Cream and Traffic. (32 words)

Wordy: Many have made the wise observation that when a stone is in motion rolling down a hill or incline that that moving stone is not as likely to be covered all over with the kind of thick green moss that grows on stationary unmoving things and becomes a nuisance and suggests that those things haven’t moved in a long time and probably won’t move any time soon. (67 words)

Concise: A rolling stone gathers no moss. (6 words)

3. Combine Sentences.

Some information does not require a full sentence, and can easily be inserted into another sentence without losing any of its value. To get more strategies for sentence combining, see the handout on Sentence Variety.

Wordy: Ludwig's castles are an astounding marriage of beauty and madness. By his death, he had commissioned three castles. (18 words)

Concise: Ludwig's three castles are an astounding marriage of beauty and madness. (11 words)

Wordy: The supposed crash of a UFO in Roswell, New Mexico aroused interest in extraterrestrial life. This crash is rumored to have occurred in 1947. (24 words)

Concise: The supposed 1947 crash of a UFO in Roswell, New Mexico aroused interest in extraterrestrial life. (16 words)


(found at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/572/01/; accessed 11/2010)

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Ellen Lupton Writing tips from "Design is Storytelling"

Ellen Lupton Writing tips from "Design is Storytelling"

❶ Wait. I’m scared. I have writer’s block.

• Instead of struggling to compose a brilliant for sentence, list the main points you want to make. Don’t worry about the order.
• Go back and group your points into sections. A pitch or presentation should have three to five main sections.
• If making a list feels too linear, create a word map instead. Write your main idea in a bubble in the middle of a sheet of paper. Draw more bubbles with more points.
• Research. Gathering evidence will help you create compelling content. It will also help you defeat writer’s block.

❷ I have notes and a general plan. Now what?

• Start writing in a relaxed, conversational way. Focus on the content, not the words, as if you were speaking to someone. Later, you can improve the writing style.
• As you write, focus on being clear, not clever. Focus on the ideas and information that you want other people to absorb. If your sentences have more secret staircases than a Victorian mansion, it’s time to clean house.
• A metaphor can be your best friend or a backstabbing enemy. Use metaphors to clarify and illuminate concepts, not to create flowery prose.

❸ My text is clear but it’s deadly dull.

• Generate intrigue by questioning assumptions. Make readers curious with phrases such as, “You may have learned in school that… “ or “One of the biggest mistakes in our industry is… “
• Introduce counter-arguments. Anticipate objections and address them.
• Imagine writing an FAQ for your product or idea. What will confuse a new user? Posing questions and then answering them keeps people interested.
• Read your text out loud and listen for repetition and clunky phrases. If you think you are being boring, your audience will, too.
• When you are almost finished, make an outline of what you have done. For example, if you are producing a slide deck, write down the main headings. Are they parallel? Did they tell a clear story? We working the headings can help you restructure your material.

— adapted from Design is Storytelling — Ellen Lupton p. 155–

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/34696391-design-is-storytelling

Mr. X / he

IN ESSAYS

Where the subject of the previous sentence was something other than the subject of the current sentence, use the full form of the subject (here, “Mr. X”) instead of a pronoun (“he”), since the pronoun will seem as if it refers to the subject of the previous sentence (here, "many people”).

IN LoRs
Your recommender only needs to use your first and last name (Mr. Vince Ricci) once, at the very beginning of the letter, the first time he refers to you. Thereafter, he can refer you to as Mr. Ricci, or Vince.