Outlining and planning before writing a paper can help break the topic down into its basic elements. This is especially helpful at the beginning stages of the writing process. Organizing the major points of the paper before writing can allow for greater clarity and conciseness when you do sit down to write, making the actual writing process more manageable. Outlining can be employed when a thorough paper prompt is presented, or when the prompt is left more open-ended.
Benefits of Outlining
- You will have an established roadmap to follow when you begin writing your paper.
- The outline can be used to help organize your sources by making notations as to where you would like to cite certain sources.
- You have a document that can be easily altered. In this way, you can adjust the order in which ideas are presented during the earlier stages of writing. It can be a frustrating experience for writers to move pieces of writing when they have a partially or fully finished product. In this way, outlining may save time and effort in the long run.
- You can use your outline for taking notes as you conduct your research.
Steps to Outlining
Step 1: Construct Main Headings
While some assignments may come with comprehensive prompts that fully explain what to address in the paper, others may be more ambiguous and require you to first choose a topic before constructing an outline. In either case, form the main topics of discussion and write them down. When working with a detailed prompt, use the assignment description and rubric to form your categories to ensure you are meeting the assignment requirements. In situations where the prompt is vague or open-ended, use your readings and research to guide the main topics you are presenting in your outline. These topics serve as the major headings of the paper.
Step 2: Form Subheadings
Once you have selected the broad headings for your paper, you can develop the main points you would like to cover in each section. For this step, make a few bullet points or dashes under each heading and begin to think about what you would like to convey in each section. Remember, this does not need to be fully formed right now, you are simply giving yourself a road map for where you would like your paper to go. Keep the ideas short, but clear enough to ensure that if you walk away and come back later, you will still be able to identify the idea. When applicable, review the literature and jot down key sources you would like to cite in each section.
Step 3: Review and Revise
Once you have a basic outline for your paper, look it over from beginning to end. Revisit the prompt to ensure that you have adequately addressed it. At this stage, you may find that you need to add a section, and you can consider where the most appropriate place to do so is in the overall template of your paper. You may also find that the ideas you are choosing to cover under each heading fall into natural themes, so you may decide to expand your outline further to include subheadings under each main heading. The outline can be adjusted as needed and should be thought of as a tool to help you broadly organize your thoughts and main points.
Additional Resources
Download these useful tools developed by Saybrook staff and faculty to help guide you through the planning stage of the writing process.
For more information, tools, and resources, check out the following links: