Outlining
An outline is a writer’s or a speaker’s plan. It
shows the order in which topics will be or have been discussed, the relative importance
of each, and the relationship between the various parts.
Outlines have several uses: (1) When studying a reading assignment, you
may find the outlining method of notetaking helpful, for an outline can give
you in a clear, concise form an overall view of a subject. (2) When preparing to write a paper or give
a talk, you will find that an outline can help you to organize your material
and to give you an overall view of your topic.
(3) When you take notes in class or at a lecture, outline form is
helpful.
Two forms of outlines are standard: the topic
outline and the sentence outline. In a
topic outline, use words, phrases, or clauses rather than complete
sentences. (See page 16.) In the sentence outline, use complete sentences. (See page 17.)
1.
Arrangement
An
outline, whether sentence or topic, is divided into points and subpoints. Subpoints always go under the main points of
which they are a part and which they support.
For example:
I. Kinds
of apples
A. Jonathan
B. Granny Smith
C.
Macintosh
The
divisons in any series should be of equal importance. That is, the heads numbered I, II, III, IV, etc., should be the
main divisions of a paper; divisions lettered with capitals should be
sub-divisions of heads and numbered with Roman numerals. For example:
Improperly
Divided Properly Divided
I. The executive branch I. The executive
branch
II. The President A. The President
III. The Cabinet B.
The Cabinet
IV. The legislative branch II. The legislative
branch
V. The House A. The House
VI. The Senate B. The Senate
VII. The judicial branch III. The judicial
branch
VIII. The
Supreme Court A. The Supreme Court
IX. The lower courts B. The lower courts
2. Co-ordination
Points of
equal importance should be coordinated-that is, given an equal and parallel
ranking. It would be illogical to
outline our national defenses thus:
I. The armed
services
A. The
Army
B. The
Navy
C. The
Marines
II. The
Air Force
The four
divisions, being of equal importance, should be parallel:
I. The armed services
A. The
Army
B. The
Navy
C. The
Marines
D. The
Air Force
3. Overlapping
Parallel points in an outline should not overlap, as they do,
for example, in the following:
I. American automobiles
II. Ford
The
following would be better:
I. American automobiles
A. Ford
B.
Chevrolet
II.
Foreign automobiles
4. Single subpoint
Do not use
single subpoints in an outline. When
you divide anything, you always have at least two parts. Thus, if you have an A., you should have a
B.; a 1. should be followed by a 2. If
you think that you have only one subtopic, include it in the topic above. For example, instead of writing:
I. Large, sparsely populated states are hard for
salesmen to cover.
A.
Montana is one of these states.
Write:
I. Large,
sparsely populated states like Montana are hard for salesmen to cover.
5. Parallelism
Points in an outline which are equal in
importance should as nearly as possible be made parallel in form. If I. is a noun, II. should be a noun; if A. under
I. is a prepositional phrase, B. under I. should also be a prepositional
phrase.
Unparallel Heads Parallel Heads
The Art of Putting The Art of Putting
I. The stance is fundamental I. The
stance
II. The grip II. The grip
III. Importance of back-swinging III. The
back-swing
IV. The contact with the ball IV. The
contact with the ball
V. Follow through with care V. The
follow-through
6. Consistency
In a
topic outline, all points and subpoints must be words, phrases, or
clauses. In a sentence outline, all
points must be sentences. In other
words, do not mix topic and sentence outlines.
7. Numbering
and lettering
Main
points are numbered with Roman numerals-I, II, III, etc. First division subpoints under each main
point are lettered A, B, C in capital letters.
If the outline were broken down further, the subpoints under A, B, C
would be 1, 2, 3; subpoints under 1, 2, 3 would be a, b, c. Subpoints under a, b, c would be (1), (2),
(3); subpoints under (1), (2), (3), would be (a), (b), (c). Periods, not dashes, should be placed after
these figures and letters. See Indentation,
below.
It is important to remember that the words
“Introduction” and “Conclusion” are not given Roman numerals in an outline
because those sections of a theme or report do not discuss main topics. Divisions of an outline should be only those
sections that are actually discussed in the body of a theme or report. In teaching the outline some teachers may
wish to have you write in the words “Introduction” and “Conclusion” to indicate
those sections will be included. If
they are written in, they should appear just above and below the first and last
Roman numerals. For example:
Introduction
I. The
executive branch
II. The judicial branch
A. The Supreme Court
B. The lower courts
Conclusion
8. Capitalization
Capitalize
the first word of every point and subpoint and only such other words as would
naturally be capitalized. See the
outlines on pages 16 and 17.
9. Punctuation
Use a
period after each number or letter indicating a point. Do not use a period at the end of a line
unless the point or subpoint is a sentence.
10.
Indentation
Indent
equally headings of the same rank.
Corresponding letters or numbers--I, II, III; A, B, C; 1, 2, 3-should be
kept in vertical columns. If a subtopic
is too long for one line, the second line should line up under the first word
of the line above. Do not write
directly under the symbol when a line runs over; i.e., use hanging indents.
I.
A.
B.
1.
2.
II.
Comparative Utopias
Controlling
Purpose: to compare and contrast the use of setting and characterization
to create realism in Huxley’s Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984.
I. Inevitability
A. 1984
written in 1949 as prediction of the future
B. Brave
New World written in 1938 as projection of things to come
II. Opposite settings
A. Constant
watchfulness in 1984
1. “Big
Brother”
2. Punishment
for slightest unorthodoxy
3. Puritan
Morals
B. False
happiness and peace in Brave New World
1. Satisfaction
of desires
2. Excellent
living conditions
3. Mild
punishments, if any at all
III. Similar philosophies
A. Freedom
taken away from people
B. Totalitarian
state formed
IV. Characterization
A. John
1. Refusal
to become intimate
2. Ideals
considered old-fashioned
a. Sanctity of love
b. High value on body
B. Winston
1. Tritely
average
2. Elizabethan
C. Lenina
and Julia
1. Stereotyped
English girls
2. Unorthodox
behavior
a. Julia’s lust for sex
b. Lenina’s love for John
D. O’Brien
and Mond
1. Seem
similar
2. Appear
intelligent and thoughtful at beginning
3. Are
greedy and unfeeling
a. Mond blindly follows Party
b. Neither shown in act of mercy
4. Are
dedicated to ideals of Party
V. Pessimism
A. Presentation
of “savior” to both societies
B. Rejection
of “savior”
C. Death
of any hope
Comparative Utopias
Controlling
Purpose: to compare and contrast the use of setting and characterization
to create realism in Huxley’s Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984.
I. Both
Orwell and Huxley seem convinced that the conditions in their novels are
inevitable.
A. The
novel 1984 was written in 1949 as a prediction of the future.
B. Brave New World, written in 1938, was a
projection of the way the world would be many years in the future.
II.
The settings of the books appear, at first glance, to be opposite.
A. In 1984 there is a constant
watch on the people.
1. “Big Brother” is always watching.
2. The slightest unorthodoxy is severely punished by imprisonment or
death.
3. The inhabitants have puritan morals.
B. The world presented in Brave New
World seems happy and peaceful.
1. The inhabitants are granted
satisfaction of almost any desire they might have.
2. The living conditions of the common
man are excellent.
3. Any unorthodoxy is met with mild
punishment, if any is given at all.
III.
The philosophies of these two civilizations are the same.
A. The
aim of the government is to take freedom away from the people.
B. The
objective of the government is to produce totalitarianism.
IV. The characters in the novels can be compared
and contrasted.
A. John
of Brave New World is referred to by Lenina as a “quaint freak.”
1. He refuses to become intimate with
her.
2. He loses his virginity while he is
drugged.
3. John is persecuted for ideals much
like those of today.
a. He believes in the sanctity of
love.
b. He places a high value on his body.
B. Winston
of 1984 is almost tritely average.
1. He
possesses no outstanding characteristics except his overwhelming simplicity.
2. Winston
is an Elizabethan hero in that the seed of his destruction is within himself;
this seed is his first fear of rats.
C. Lenina
and Julia are so similar that they can be examined as one.
1. Both
are average English girls of the times (stereotypes).
2. Both
girls have obvious unorthodoxies.
a. Julia’s animal lust for sex is her
flaw.
b. Lenina’s love for John is her
“sin.”
D. O’Brien of 1984 and Mond of Brave
New World are the high rulers of their civilizations.
1. They also seem similar.
2. Both
appear, at the beginning of the novels, to be intelligent, thoughtful human
beings.
3. Both
are discovered to be greedy and unfeeling.
a. Mond sacrifices his own ideals and
blindly follows the Party.
b. Neither man is shown in an act of
mercy.
4. Both men are dedicated to the philosophy of
their civilizations.
V. The
authors of both books have a very pessimistic attitude towards the future.
A.
Both societies were presented with a “savior.”
B.
Both societies rejected their last hope for freedom.
C. The
authors offered these civilizations a ray of hope, and this ray was
extinguished.