Outlining and Organizing

							Outlining and
 Organizing
  Why Outline?
• An outline is like a
  skeleton. It
  identifies the basic
  form of your writing.
• Once you know the
  basic form, you only
  need to add muscles
  to bring it to life!
What is Outlining?
• Taking your brainstorm
  and focusing on the
  useful parts – throwing
  out unimportant items
• Putting the useful parts
  into an order that seems
  to make sense
      Outlining
• If you start with a web, it
  is EXTREMELY easy to
  create an outline.
• You don’t HAVE to start
  with a web.
• You can create an outline
  for ANY piece of writing
        Outlining (1)

• Start by writing your topic (the
  idea at the center of your web)
  at the top of the page
“Mr. T is the best teacher ever.”
        Outlining (2)
•   Main ideas (balloons attached to
    your web’s center) begin with
    Roman numerals (I, II) [“topic
    sentences” for paragraphs]
“Mr. T is the Best Teacher Ever”
         I) He’s funny
          Outlining (3)
•   Subheadings (balloons attached
    to your web’s main idea balloons)
    begin with capital letters (A, B,
    C) [supporting sentences]
“Mr. T is the Best Teacher Ever”
I) He’s funny
     A) makes class interesting
     B) weird voices help me remember
              Outlining (3-B)
• You CANNOT have a “I”
  without a “II”, or an “A”
  without a “B”
“Mr. T is the Best Teacher Ever”
 I) He’s funny
    A) makes class interesting
    B) weird voices help me remember
 II) He gives easy work
        Outlining (4)
• Sub-subheadings begin with
  numbers (1, 2, 3)
Main topic
 I) Section topic
    A) Subsection topic
        1) Sub-subsection topic
         Outlining (5)
• Sub-sub-subheadings begin with
  lowercase letters (a, b, c)
Main topic
 I) Section topic
    A) Subsection topic
        1) Sub-subsection topic
            a) Sub-sub-subsection topic
          Outlining (6)
• Sub-sub-sub-subheadings begin
  with lowercase Roman numberals (i,
  ii, iii, iv, v)
Main topic
 I) Section topic
    A) Subsection topic
         1) Sub-subsection topic
              a) Sub-sub-subsection topic
                   i) Sub-sub-sub-subsection
         Outlining (6A)
• If you get to sub-sub-sub-
  subheadings, you have WAY too
  much detail!
Jobs I’ve held
 I) Postal worker
    A) Got chased by dog
          1) Dog was brown
               a) Dog had fleas
                    i) There were 342 fleas
            Go to…
• Writing a draft
• 5 paragraph essay