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Organization:
Traditional Outlines
For some papers, particularly long ones, the good old
traditional outline still works. It allows the writer to focus in both large
and small units; it suggests a coherent procedure and gives the writer a sense
of mastery. However, outlines can often go astray and weave themselves into
knots: the more impressive they look, sometimes, the harder they are to follow
when the writer sits down to do the first draft.
Advice about traditional outlines is likely to be so
commonsensical that it's just plain boring. Nevertheless, for writers who want
to improve their skills at outlining, here are three suggestions, which use a
modified outline form for illustration.
1). Keep thoughts and details of equal weight
parallel in structure.
Here is a simple outline which doesn't work because the
writer has strayed from the logical order. Topic: Who is more evil:
Frankenstein, Frankenstein's monster, or Dracula?
I Evil as Inversion of Normal Humanity
A. Victor Frankenstein's perverse scientific methods
- Creates life from dead things
- Does his work in secret
- Loses sight of his own motives
B. Frankenstein's monster's life of violence
- First act is one of murder
- Subsequent acts are those of revenge
- Reads Paradise Lost
C. Dracula's inversion of Christ
- Takes life instead of giving it
- Destroys people's free will
- Cannot cross running water
2). Use complete sentences in outlining the major
points of your argument, preferably sentences which illustrate cause and
effect or show the relation of the part to the whole. Putting subjects with
verbs helps writers feel more in charge of their arguments; complete sentences
will fit better into the first draft. Using quotations will help unite the
paper with its sources, and save time and trouble.
I Evil inverts normal human behavior.
- A. Victor Frankenstein perverts the constructive
ends of science by building his monster.
- He creates life from dead things. (Chapter IV)
- He does his work "in a solitary
chamber," separated from humanity. (p. 48)
- "A new species would bless me as its
creator and source." (p. 47)
Though the writer may change some of these sentences, they
can lead to a reasonable paragraph; this is the advantage of a
sentence-outline over a phrase-outline. The writer may carefully construct
paragraphs with the parallel sentences. This way is deliberate and rather
slow. It often works best when the writer is feeling confident and prepared,
has a strong interest in the subject and has allowed several days or weeks to
get the paper done. (If you are characteristically that kind of writer, you're
probably working on a paper write now instead of reading this book.)
3). Try writing outlines and putting them aside; or,
trash your way to glory.
Once upon a time there was a mean old professor who
assigned a huge task to one of his graduate students. The student had to read
fifty nineteenth-century novels in three months, keep careful notes on their
plots, themes, and characters, and present herself at the end of that time for
examination. Dutifully and anxiously the student read and read, keeping a fat
journal of notes, and showed up, weary and bleary, on the appointed day. The
professor asked, "Have you done the task I assigned?" "Yes,
sir," she mumbled. "Then," said the professor, "you've no
need to take the exam. Doing the work was what I wanted."
An outline can serve the same purpose as the crusty old
professor's assignment: it can get you thinking, organizing, matching evidence
to ideas, noticing what quotes you need, helping you figure out a line of
argument. And then you can go ahead without it. To stick closely to it in some
cases might not work, especially if it is elaborate. Writing an outline
summary, a list of major points deriving from the Grandmother Outline, might
serve you just as well and make you less tense when you start to write.
This technique of turning the big outline into a kind
of trial outline helps writers who characteristically begin their papers with
a page covered in doodles, telephone numbers, and bits of ideas scribbled all
over in a kind of three-ring circus effect. Whatever structure the writer
comes to use, preliminary outlining can help clear the head. It's a more
constructive occupation than sharpening a few boxes of pencils, polishing the
polish on your furniture, or adding to your collection of paper wads.
Using
The Paper Topic
Rough
Magic
Grocery
Lists
Up
Against The Wall
Paragraph
Outline
Building
On Evidence
Traditional
Outlines
Starting
With Last Paragraph
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