The outline—formal or informal, sparse or detailed—is perhaps the most common organizing tool. It provides a shorthand version of the text yet to be generated based upon ideas already formed. I believe outlines are best used following, and building upon, a more generative and associative prewriting activity (freewriting, listing, clustering, etc.).

 

I. Introduction A. Anecdote for hook?         B. Thesis: Music lyrics should adhere to grammar conventions (working thesis) II. Proof of bad grammar in contemporary music (with specific examples for each)         A. Pronouns                 1. "for you and I" instead of "for you and me"                 2. "they" instead of "their"         B. Subject/verb agreement                 1. example Etc.

• Pros: An outline provides a clear and easy to follow representation of the shape and texture of the text. Linear thinkers are particularly fond of this organizational technique, and less-disciplined writers benefit from the clarity it engenders.

• Cons: Rigidly followed outlines tend to produce stale, static, and brief texts. Too often, followers of outlines tend to generate one stiff and short paragraph per entry, fail to make smooth connections, and produce stilted texts fraught with rough transitions.

Many writers experience success with a post-draft outline: an outline composed following a drafting session.  One post-draft outlining method involves using the just-completed draft as a memory jogger, a way to reveal what the writer has been thinking.  The post-draft outline, then, simply organizes and/or rearranges those recently revealed thoughts.  Another method involves creating an outline that maps the just-produced draft, that uncovers the draft's organization.

Updated: 08.20.07