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TOPIC OUTLINE. . . Next, Cathy developed a thesis and a topic outline-an outline that lists topic ideas in the form of phrases or single words in the headings.
Thesis: Because our family has a variety of hobbies and interests, we get a lot of junk mail that we treat like junk. I. Definition of junk mail A. Bulk rate postage B. Advertising II.. Hobbies and interests of the family A. Woodworking B. Investing C. Gardening and camping III. Lists sold by companies A. Farm, fleet, work clothes catalogs B. Financial brochures C. Camping, clothing, and gardening catalogs IV. Junk mail as junk A. Clutter B. Garbage
Sentence Outline Cathy decides that the topic outline isn't adequate for her needs because she wants better control of her paragraphing. She makes a sentence outline where she can see every idea in its complete form. She has found that a formal outline is useful when she wants to organize a paragraph deductively, going from the general (topic sentence) to the specific examples and details as she eventually does in her paper on junk mail. Thesis: Because our family has a variety of hobbies and interests, we get a lot of junk mail that we treat like junk. I. junk mail is a particular kind of mail. (paragraph) A. junk mail goes for "bulk rate." B. junk mail consists of advertising or soliciting brochures. II. The hobbies and interests of our family reflect the kind of junk mail we receive. (paragraph) A. My father is a woodworker, so he gets everything connected with carpentry. B. My mother is an investor in stocks and bonds, so she gets investment brochures. C. I once had a garden, so I get garden catalogs. D. I ordered something from L. L. Bean, so now I get sporting goods catalogs from all over. III. The companies we order from have sold their lists of customers. (paragraph) A. My father gets farm and fleet catalogs as well as work clothes catalogs. B. My mother gets invitations to "make a million." C. I get every conceivable kind of catalog related to clothing, camping, and gardening. IV. We treat the catalogs like junk. (paragraph) A. We seldom look at them. B. We throw them in the garbage. Conclusion: As a result of all our junk mail, our family has reduced the number of things that they order by mail and have taken to buying from the local stores
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The Form of Outlines Since Cathy has been well trained in the conventions of formal outlining, she knows that it is customary to employ numerals and letters in this order, according to the rank of ideas or to the levels, of subordination. I. First level (main heading) A. Second level 1. Third level 2. Third level a. Fourth level b. Fourth level B. Second level II. First level (main heading) Headings on the same level of subordination should be roughly parallel--that is, equal in importance and grammatical form. The following example violates this principle in four ways: bad example-- I. Definition A. Bulk rate B. junk mail is a good way for advertisers to sell their merchandise. II. The hobbies and interests of our family reflect the kind of junk mail we receive. A. Father woodworker A and B are improperly subordinated to Part I. A and B are not parallel in importance or grammar. Part II is put in sentence form, which violates the form established in Part 1. (The rule is this: When for the first time you use a particular form for a heading-a full sentence, a phrase, or a single word, for example-use the same form in subsequent entries for that level of heading.) Furthermore, you should avoid single headings like 11-A above. When you break a heading into subordinate headings, you must get at least two of these lower-level headings. Often when a single heading hangs out in space, you will find that it really belongs with the previous major heading.
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FOUR TYPICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT OUTLINES
I . What type of outline should I use?
The answer to this depends on many factors-the length of your paper and the complexity of your material, to name only two. When preparing to write a long paper which presents a lot of material and complex issues, you might like to make a complete sentence outline that maps out every detail of your argument and its evidence. If you are going to do a short, relatively uncomplicated paper, perhaps a brief topic outline would be sufficient.
Not the least important factor in your choice of outline is your own preference. What type of outline do you feel most comfortable with? For most assignments, which type seems to work best for you?
2. How specific should an outline be?
Specific enough to do the job. It should suggest what your paper is going to do-what its thesis is and what its main supporting points are. It should also supply some examples of evidence or detail that you will use in developing your ideas. But the outline is, as we said earlier, just a skeleton; and it can suggest only the bare bones of your completed paper. If you have any doubts about a particular outline, show it to your instructor.
3. What can I do if I start an outline, get a point or two down, and then can't continue? When this happens, you may be trying to build a house before acquiring concrete, bricks, lumber, and shingles. Before you can build a paper, you need materials for it. Here is where the shapes or support diagranu can be useful. These forms may help to show you where you need more material.
Some writers find the card system useful: Get some 3 x 5 or 4 x 6 file cards, or small pieces of stiff paper cut to size. Next, write down your thesis on a sheet of paper and place it where you can see it. Start writing your ideas down on your cards, one idea to a card. Note that-one idea to a card; preferably, one complete sentence to a card. The point is to separate your ideas so that you can later classify and organize them.
4. I know I shouldn't do it, but I always make an outline after I write the paper. How can I train myse4( to make one before writing? Writers often check their organization after they have written a paper. It is usually a good practice, however, to plan before you write. Consider your outline as a figurative road map-refer to it before you start on your trip so that you won't end up at the seashore when you wanted to go to the mountains.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How a Thesis Suggests an Outline The phrasing of the thesis often suggests a pattern in the outline. A typical thesis: I Since St. James Catholic Church has recently been remodeled, it is a II III more pleasant place to worship, and thus may draw members from other churches in the area.
In creating your stance, you direct your ideas to someone who is not directly familiar with the Catholic churches in your area. After considering the phrasing of the thesis, you can construct an outline like this:
I. Description of the remodeling
II. Description of the effect of the remodeling
III. Why this may bring new members to the church
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THE HOOK AND THE OUTLINE As you recall, we recommended the hook as a useful device in finding ideas (see pp. 11-12). Like the thesis and the outline, hooks are often valuable throughout the writing process. They provide control, a simple reminder of where you want to go and how effectively you are getting there. Here's an example of their value as related to the outline.
A student wrote a paper that, in its first draft, did not satisfy her. Something was wrong with the fit between the material and her organization. She thought of throwing the paper away, but then decided to make one last attempt to salvage the large amount of work she had put into it. So she wrote her title, hooks, and paragraph topic sentences on an "outline page":
Title: Power to Both Parents Hooks: power, both parents Topic sentences: I . Introduction (thesis): Neither the husband nor the wife should be the dominant figure in the family. 2. Both the husband and wife should share major financial decisions. 3. Both parents are responsible for the discipline of the children, and they should share this responsibility equally. 4. Both should share in the maintenance of the house. 5. The children also have a responsibility to the family unit. Conclusion: 6. Cooperation is important between parents if a family is to be successfully maintained.
After inspecting this "outline page," the student saw her own problem immediately. Paragraph 5 was hooked to an idea outside her topic, so she cut it.
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How To CHECK AN OUTLINE If you choose to write from an outline, the following suggestions may be helpful to you.
1. See that all the parts of the outline are there-- thesis, main headings, and subordinate headings.
2. Use the proper outline form (see pp. 59-60). Make particularly sure that your headings are reasonably parallel. There are minor exceptions to this rule. Sometimes you can't quite get your headings parallel; the idiom of the language won't allow it. But you should get as close to complete parallelism as you can.
3. Make your outline reasonably specific, particularly in your thesis and the main headings (I, II, III, etc.).
4. Check the outline for logic. Do all the parts fit together? Does every supporting point firmly fit your thesis? If necessary, try the subject-predicate test. To make the test, write the major parts of your outline in full-sentence form, using subject-predicate patterns:
I MY CAR MECHANIC was very thorough. A.HE checked the distributor twice. B.HE cleaned the carburetor, even though it did not appear to need cleaning. II. But THE MANAGER did not appreciate the mechanic's work. A. THE MANAGER said that the mechanic spent too much time onroutine jobs. B. HE ref used to gave the mechanic overtime to complete important repairs.
If your outline is logical, and all its parts fit together, you can draw connecting arrows (as shown above) from SUBJECT to SUBJECT and from predicate to predicate. You may also develop a support diagram of your ideas to check them for logic (see pp. 54-56). 5. Check the outline for the proper order-that is, for a sensible sequence or organization of ideas. Check each level separately--first I, II, III, etc.; and then A, B, C, etc.; and so on. Except for the general rule that important ideas are often placed last, there is no special rule about order. The arrangement of your points should make sense and should not be incongruous. The order of points below, for example, would not be very sensible:
I. The manager did not appreciate the mechanic's work. II. The mechanic was very thorough.
This order would force you to describe the manager's attitude toward the mechanic's work before you had described that work. It's hard to write a paper backwards.
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