outline instructions

For the outline, I want the students to bring in their best effort and we will spend time in class going over them, then they will bring in their outline the next week for a grade.  But they really need to have their best outline this Friday, because after this we start writing the rough draft.

A few hints on the outlines:

1.  Use the links on the library site if you need some examples.  Don't worry about the sticky rules like capitalization, we won't worry about that this time.

2.  Outlines should just have phrases to remind you of what you are going to write.  Don''t write a whole paper, just notes.

3.  Every "tier" should match, should be consistent within itself.

For example, if you have:

I. dog

II. cat

III. bird

IV. hamster, that is consistent.

If you have:

I.  dog

II. cat

III. bird

IV. giraffe, it is not

Fix that by making it:

I.  Domestic animals

    A.  dog

    B.  cat

    C.  bird

II.  Wild animals

     A.  giraffe

If you have:

I.  Ancient queens

    A. Cleopatra

    B. Nefertiti

    C. Hatshepsut, that is consistent

If you have:

I. Ancient queens

    A.  Cleopatra

    B.  Nefertiti

    C.  Had to be strong, that is not consistent

Fix it this way

I.  Ancient queens

    A.  Cleopatra

         1.  Greek Queen of Egypt

          2.  Had to be strong

    B.  Nefertiti

          1.  Stronger than brother

    C.  Hatshepsut

4.  Technically, you should never have just one fact on a tier;  if there is a I, you must have a II;  if there is an A, there must be a B;  if there is a 1, there must be a 2.  But don't worry about that if it confuses your student.

5.  The best way to write an outline is to start with all the major categories (the I, II, III, IV, etc.), then go back and fill in the second biggest under each of them (the A, B, C, D), then go back and fill in the third biggest under each letter (the 1, 2, 3, etc.).

6.  The outlines should be anywhere from one to three full pages.