Outlining

OutliningTheroleoftheoutlineAnoutlineisanorderlyplan,inwriting,showingthedivisionandarrangementofideas.Itsprincipalfunctionistoindicatetherelationshipsideastoeachother,toshowwhichareimportantandwhicharesubordinate.Anoutlineiswrittenbeforethetextofapaper.Itisimportanttowriteanoutlinebecauseitkeepsideasfirmlyinmind,evenifwritingthepapertakesalongtimeletsyourearrangeideaswithoutdifficultyshowyouhowpartsandtransitionsfittogetherexposesstrengthsandweaknessesintimetomakejudgmentsbeforewritingTypesofoutlineTherearefourkindsofformaloutlines:topicoutline,sentenceoutline,combinationoutlineandparagraphoutline.Formatsofoutlines1.number-lettersequenceI.Applessale…A.Lastyear…1.greenapples….a.bigones.….b.smallones...2.redapples…B.Thisyear….II.Pearlssale….2.decimal(带小数的)outline1.themen…1.1thefirstman…1.1.1thefirstwhiteman…ConventionandcontentofoutlinesI.Themostgeneralconventionofoutliningistouseandsticktouseaconsistentform.1.numbersandlettersareusedalternately2.symbolinanoutlinemustalwaysappearatleastinpairs3.everysymbolinanoutlineisfollowedbyaperiod4.capitalizethefirstletterofthefirstwordaftereverysymbol5.grammaticallycompletesentencesrequirenormalsentencepunctuation6.allsymbolsofthesamekindshouldbeinverticalline7.beginsucceedinglinesofwritingunderthestartofthefirstwordafterasymbol8.typeanoutlineindoublespacingII.themostimportantpartofanoutlineiswhatyouputintoit.Herearesomeguidesformakingthecontentofyouroutlinemeaningfulandthereforehelpfultoyourwriting.1.everywordintheoutlineshouldsaysomethingaboutthecontentofyourpaper2.theinformationforeachsubheadingmustbedirectlyrelatedto,andsubordinateto,theheadingunderwhichitappears3.makerelationshipclearbyusingthesamesymbolforideasofequalimportance4.onlyprincipalpointsappearinanoutlinemostusefulprinciplesforstructuringaresearchpaperare:1.chronology2.comparisonandcontrast3.causeandeffect4.exemplification5.argumentation6.analysis