A well-crafted outline can help you to write a better organized paper.  Skipping this important step in the writing process can lead to papers that wander off course.  Below is an introduction to outlining as part of the pre-writing process.  Next week, I will discuss how outlining can be used as an important part of the research process.

The first step in outlining a piece of writing is to determine the main topic.  It is important that your topic be as narrowly focused as possible.  For example, writing on "cats" is too broad a category since much can be said about these furry little creatures.  Instead, I need to figure out what about cats I wish to write on. Imagine I wish to focus on myths associated with cats. Topics such as cat breeds, cat behavior, and cat physiology will have no place in my outline.

Next, I must choose topics for my essay on cat mythology.  In an outline, these subtopics are denoted by Roman Numerals (I, II, III,...).  For each new level of an outline, there must be at least two points to be made.  All writing includes an introduction, body, and conclusion.  For my essay, I will write about Egyptian cat mythology, Siamese cat mythology, and Celtic cat mythology.  So far, my outline will look like this:

CAT MYTHOLOGY

I.  Introduction
II. Egyptian Cat Mythology
III. Siamese Cat Mythology
IV. Celtic Cat Mythology
V. Conclusion

This may be all the detail you require before you begin writing - especially if your essay is short.  However, if your essay is longer, you will wish to have more levels indicated in your outline.  For subtopics, you indent and use the letters (A., B., C.,...).  If I wish to discuss the importance of cats in Egypt, and the Egyptian goddesses Bastet and Mafdet, my outline would look like this:

CAT MYTHOLOGY

I. Introduction
II. Egyptian Cat Mythology
    A. Importance of Cats in Egypt
    B. Bastet
    C. Mafdet
III. Siamese Cat Mythology
IV.Celtic Cat Mythology
V. Conclusion

For an example of an outline, you may wish to look at the examples page on this website. 

With outlines, each level of the outline contains more detail.  The more detailed your outline is, the more organized your essay will be.