Create an Outline

Estimated Time: 30 minutes

An outline is a valuable tool to employ while deciding on an appropriate organising pattern that best serves your purpose. Outlines help you see the relationship between your ideas, see how your organisation pattern looks in practice, and determine if your approach creates a coherent message. However, the crucial part of the outlining stage, and what differentiates it from merely selecting an organising pattern, is the act of labelling your ideas so that you can see a systematic overview of your message before you fill in the detailed content. If you created a mind-map during the planning step, you might already have the beginnings of an outline.

You might have learnt about creating an outline for an essay in an academic context, but it is helpful in a professional context as well. When writing an email, it is tempting to jump into drafting the text, but creating a simple outline before you start can ensure that your email achieves its purpose while still being clear, coherent, and concise. Once you have an outline that conveys your information in an order that fulfils your purpose, you can fill in the content of each section to create the full text of your message.

Example: Outlining an Email

Here is an example of how you can use an outline to structure an email draft. We will start with the planning step to show how planning and structuring can work well together, even when drafting something as simple as an email.

Step 1: Planning

Purpose: Welcome students to the Future Proof with Python course and give them essential instructions ahead of the Orientation session.

Audience: Future Proof with Python enrolled students

Required Information: All links; Course requirements; Session dates and times; Discord introduction details.

Channel: Email

Step 2: Structuring

Organisation Pattern: Description; Order of Importance.

Outline

  1. Greeting and context
  2. Critical Information
    1. Dates and timing of course
    2. Course requirements
      1. Laptop
      2. Environment
      3. Stable internet connection
  3. Less critical Information
    1. Join Discord
    2. Complete Discord introduction
  4. What to do if you have any questions
  5. Sign off
Resulting Email Draft

Reverse Outlining

Creating an outline before writing your first draft might get in the way of some people's preferred text creation process. Therefore there is also an option to use "reverse outlining" to get the benefits of outlining if you have already begun writing. Reverse outlining is when you isolate the main points of a piece of writing by removing the supporting content. As a result, you go from "full text to outline" instead of "outline to the full text".

You can create a reverse outline using one of the following approaches:

  • Topic sentence approach: Write down the topic sentence from each paragraph.
  • One sentence summary approach: Write a one-sentence summary of each paragraph that expresses the paragraph's main idea.
  • Two sentence summary approach: Write a two-sentence summary of each paragraph that expresses the paragraph's main idea and function (e.g. to compare, to propose, to persuade, to describe, to give background information).
  • Idea by idea approach: Write down the distinct ideas (e.g. main idea plus any supporting or additional ideas) presented in each paragraph as complete sentences. There might be more than one idea per paragraph.

When you have finished creating your reverse outline, you can analyse the results by asking the following questions:

  • Do multiple paragraphs share the same main idea?
  • Do any paragraphs have multiple main ideas?
  • Do any paragraphs lack a clear main idea?
  • Are there any main ideas that don't connect clearly and directly back to the topic and purpose of the text?
  • Do the main ideas flow from paragraph to paragraph? Or are there gaps in the reasoning and logic?
  • Do the main ideas use any of the organising patterns described in Section 3.8?

You can then use your answers to the above question to determine if you need to add, remove, or reorder any content to make your writing more coherent.

Check Your Understanding

Option 1: University Application Essay

My fascination with technology was sparked when, as a child I thought it would be a great idea to take apart my Playstation console. Aware of the danger, I was still eager to see how it all worked inside. I find it intriguing how fast society has been shaped and continues to be, by the influence of Computer Science. A few years ago if someone were to have claimed that cars would become autonomous, people would have doubted them. Now we are at a stage where nearly anything is possible and this is due to the relentless problem solving of computer scientists. The latest software update released by Tesla motors allows their cars to learn how to drive themselves, and is an example of artificial intelligence, a sector which I am most interested in. I want to study Computer Science because I want to gain the knowledge needed to be able to help find solutions to world problems, with the efficient use of computer technology. With the knowledge and skills I will attain from this course, the creative ideas that I could bring into fruition would be endless. I hope to become one of the computer scientists who adapt technology to help the human race evolve. One possibility would be for artificially intelligent gadgets to recognise different people and adjust to their individual needs based on personal preferences. I have been teaching myself Objective-C syntax in my spare time and have completed online programming courses, which have allowed me to explore the endless possibilities that computer science can bring to the world. I have also learnt to create a simple iOS game using Apple’s syntax called ‘Swift’, in XCode alongside Photoshop.

I understand that computer science is not just about programming and hardware but also about the ethics entailed in the process of a design as well as innovative thinking. Studying A-Level Philosophy and Ethics has given me an insight into many ethical situations that may arise around computer science such as the creation of artificial intelligence. This raises controversy of whether or not we should be trying to create artificial intelligence, as people have different beliefs and faiths. One example of such controversy was during the development of Honda’s Asimo robot when engineers had to visit the Vatican to seek permission to continue the project due to how human-like the robot was developed to walk. During a week of volunteering on NCS I visited Wazoku, the creators of an idea-sharing software used by major corporations such as Waitrose and The BBC. I was given an insight into the working environment that I hope to join after completing my degree. I am applying for work experience at Wazoku, in order to learn about how the software industry can influence the progress of companies.

I am constantly seeking to learn new skills and gain experience from various activities. I have been a member of the RAF Air Cadets for four years, where I have learnt many valuable life skills such as discipline, leadership, charity and confidence. Alongside these life skills I have gained various qualifications such as The St. John’s Ambulance Youth First Aid qualification and Leading Cadet qualification. Being a cadet also involved doing charity work such as raising money for the RAF Benevolence Fund and the Poppy Appeal. Through all these experiences I have learnt how to work with people from all walks of life, different backgrounds and people who have different beliefs and ideas to the ones I do. This has enabled me to adjust my approach to solving different problems and situations.

Technological advancements take place around us everyday, from the evolution of bulky antenna phones into smart phones to the introduction of smart virtual assistants such as Apple’s Siri, Google Now and Windows’ Cortana. I am inspired by the fact that computer science has become a fundamental element in the development of a better, smarter future for our world and my goal is to be part of that development process.

Source

Option 2: Internship Application Cover Letter

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am writing this letter to apply for the summer student marketing internship at your company. I believe I am suitable for this role based on my skill set and academic qualifications.

I am currently studying for a degree in marketing at Orange College, where I learned the foundations of business marketing. My strengths include branding, social media marketing, and campaign strategy. I am also well-versed in industry best practices and how to use various modern marketing technology.

In addition to my academic background, I was an active member of my campus student debate club. Here, I built communication and presentation skills, which I believe are an asset in this role. Additionally, I handled the digital marketing for a fashion retail startup I founded in high school with my friends called Shoplyfe. I raised our social media engagements by 300% within the first month of launch and further drove online brand awareness by 5%.

I developed an interest in your company after a conversation I had with one of your previous employees. I know Adam Munroe, who worked with your company for three years in the finance department. He had a lot to say about the warm work culture and office space. What stood out to me was his mention of your company's work-sharing formula, which ensures nobody has an unfair workload at any time. For me, a company that shows that level of interest in its employees is a great place to begin my professional career as an intern. I believe I would make an excellent addition to your company. In addition to my qualifications, I intend to bring determination, integrity, and strategic thinking to the role. I also look forward to using my teamwork skills and collaborating with other brilliant minds on the job. I invite you to take a look at my resume for more information on my qualifications. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, Liam Smith

Source

References

Burnell, C., Wood, J., Babin, M., Pesznecker, S., Rosevear, N. The Word on College Reading and Writing. Open Oregon Educational Resources.

Davis, Kenneth. (2010). The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course: Business Writing and Communication, Second Edition. McGraw Hill.

Smith, Jordan. Communication @ Work. eCampus Ontario

The Writing Center. University of Wisconsin - Madison. Reverse Outlines: A Writer's Technique for Examining Organization.