Research Outline

Four Main Components for Effective Outlines

Ideally, you should follow these 4 suggestions to create an effective outline.

Parallelism - How do I accomplish this?

Each heading and subheading should preserve parallel structure. If the first heading is a noun, the second heading should be a noun. Example:

1. Choose Desired Colleges
2. Prepare Application
("Choose" and "Prepare" are both verbs.)
Coordination - How do I accomplish this?

All the information contained in Heading 1 should have the same significance as the information contained in Heading 2. The same goes for the subheadings (which should be less significant than the headings). Example:
1. Visit and evaluate college campuses
2. Visit and evaluate college websites
1. Note important statistics
2. Look for interesting classes
(Campus and websites visits are equally significant, as are statistics and classes found on college websites.)
Subordination - How do I accomplish this?

The information in the headings should be more general, while the information in the subheadings should be more specific. Example:
1. Describe an influential person in your life
1. Favorite high school teacher
2. Grandparent
(A favorite teacher and grandparent are specific examples of influential people.)

Division - How do I accomplish this?
Each heading should be divided into 2 or more parts. Example:
1. Compile resume
1. List relevant coursework
2. List work experience
3. List volunteer experience
(The heading "Compile resume" is divided into 3 parts.)


Why and How to Create a Useful Outline

Why create an outline?

Aids in the process of writing
Helps you organize your ideas
Presents your material in a logical form
Shows the relationships among ideas in your writing
Constructs an ordered overview of your writing
Defines boundaries and groups

How do I create an outline?

Determine the purpose of your paper.
Determine the audience you are writing for.
Develop the thesis of your paper.

Then:

Brainstorm: List all the ideas that you want to include in your paper.
Organize: Group related ideas together.

Order: Arrange material in subsections from general to specific or from abstract to concrete.

Label: Create main and sub headings.

Remember: creating an outline before writing your paper will make organizing your thoughts a lot easier. Whether you follow the suggested guidelines is up to you, but making any kind of outline (even just some jotting down some main ideas) will be beneficial to your writing process.