Outline writing is more a systematic project that needs sufficient paration than a job of merely putting down what

s into your mind at the time of writing. Enough paration ensures a quicker and better completion though it takes some time at the beginning. This step is of particular importance to self-taught students though some students often overlook it and are accustomed to starting writing hastily. In that case, they often end up changing their mind as they find it hard to carry the decided topic through, and they have to write either in another way or on a different topic owing to the lack of sufficient paration. Outline writing concerns the development of a good habit that will prove helpful and efficient in the long run.
 

A.     Deciding on a topic

Fixing the topic is the first step for an outline. Only on the basis of a topic can a thesis be worked out, and a good thesis can you organize our ideas properly for your compositions. A topic can be anything that interests you:

The Job I Like Most

My Good Father

The Most Unforgettable Experience in My Childhood

Inflation and Economic Boom in China Today

Education in the 21st Century

They are all good topics that you can try writing on. However, when you decide your own topics, try to avoid settling down on board subjects such as “Inflation,” “The 21st Century,” “Childhood Experiences,” and “Jobs.” You should go on to probe into them until you come up with more limited and consequently more workable topics. The following questions and their answers may help you reach the goal:

What is it?

What are its characteristics?

What are its limits?

What caused it?

What does it cause?

What are its effects?

How did it happen?

How is it like other things?

How is it different from other things?

B.     Formulating a thesis

Once you have decided on a topic, the  step is to formulate a thesis. A thesis is a single declarative sentence that contains the main points, or controlling ideas, of what you are to write. It governs the development of a whole composition just as a topic sentence governs the organization of a paragraph. It can never be a phrase, or a dependent clause, or a question. A good thesis should be clear and specific. It must show clearly what you want to tell your readers; it must be on a particular aspect of the topic. Besides, it must reveal your attitude toward the topic. Suppose you decide to write on “My Good Father,” the possible theses that can be formulated are

1.      My father is the kindest man I have ever seen.

2.      My father is the bravest man I have ever seen.

3.      My father is my closest friend.

4.      My father is the most important person in my life.

They are all very clear and specific. However, if they are too specific and contain little idea to be developed, you arrive at the other extreme. Study the following “theses” and make sure you know their defects clearly:

1.      My father often gives money to people in trouble though we are not rich.

2.      My father is very strong though he does not eat meat.

3.      My father gives me very helpful advice when I am in trouble.

C.     Collecting details

After the thesis comes the third step of collecting details. You should think out as many relevant details as possible to support the thesis. Suppose you want to write on the first thesis, then you may find the following details useful:

1.      Father usually gives in to Mom on domestic matters.

2.      Father helps Mom a lot in housework.

3.      Father never beats us children; he reasons with us when we do things wrong.

4.      Father helped the Wangs and the Changs, our neighbors, out of trouble.

5.      Father never refuses to help the beggars.

6.      Father donated money and clothes to people in flood-stricken areas.

Now you can start writing the outline in either of the following ways:

Topic: My Good Father

Thesis: My father is the kindest man I have ever seen.

Outline:

Ⅰ. Father loves mother most kindly.

A. He never hurts Mom with harsh words.

B. He tries his best to help Mom with the housework.

Ⅱ. Father reasons with us children when we do things wrong.

A. He reasoned with me when I took his favorite record of music out to show off and damaged it.

  B. He reasoned with my classmate Hong when we quarreled.

Ⅲ. Father kept helping our neighbors out of trouble.

  A. He helps the Wangs when their house caught fire.

1.      He gave them our new quilts.

2.      He invited them to eat in our home.

3.      He comforted them.

  B. He helped the Changs when their baby was terribly ill.

1.      He stopped a car and went to the hospital with the baby and her mother.

2.      He borrowed money from friends to cover the hospital expenses.

Ⅳ. Father never refuses to help a beggar.

  A. He helped the beggars when they came to our door.

  B. He helped them when he ran into them down the streets.

Ⅴ. Father helped the people in flood-stricken areas.

  A. He donated money.

  B. He donated clothes.

Ⅵ. Conclusion: Father would be among the God’s chosen few. If there were Heaven.

The above is just one form of outlines, called the “sentence outline.” That is to say, it is made up of complete sentences. The following one is the “topic outline” and the same thesis. Which consists of only nouns, gerunds, and infinitive phrases.

Topic: My Good Father

Thesis: My father is he kindest man I have ever seen.

Outline:

Ⅰ. Kindness of Mom

  A. Warm language

  B. Help with housework

Ⅱ. Kindness to children

  A. My own experience

  B. His talk with my classmate

Ⅲ. Kindness to our neighbors

  A. His help of the Wangs

1.      Quilts

2.      Dinner

3.      Consolation

  B. His help of the Changs

1.      Renting a car for the troubled

2.      Borrowing money for them

Ⅳ. Kindness to beggars

  A. Beggars at the door

  B. Beggars down the streets

Ⅴ. Kindness to strangers in trouble

  A. Money

  B. Clothes

Ⅵ. Conclusion: a model citizen for others to learn from

An outline can be simple or complicated, short or long. It is all decided by the topic and thesis that you are working on. The above samples are comparatively simple, as the thesis is on a person your know well and on an aspect easy to be illustrated.

Here is a more complicated outline for a research paper.

Ⅰ. Introduction: Tess of the d’Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure are Thomas hardy”s last two significant novels. The causes of Tess’s and Jude’s tragedies reflect Hardy”s thoughts on human nature, education, marriage and religion.

Ⅱ. In the two novels Hardy focused on human nature, which is one cause of Tess’s and Jude’s tragedies.

  A. Tess’s weak points and even her noble qualities bring her disaster.

1.      Twss’s innocence and care for her family lead of the tragedies.

a)      Her inexperience is one reason that she is seduced by Alec.

b)      Her sacrificing spirit makes her become Alec’s victim again.

2.      Tess’s devotion of Angel deepens her tragedy.

a)      She feels too humiliated to match Angel.

b)      She is too obsessed by Angel to see his defects.

  B. Jude’s character causes his tragedy.

1.      Jude’s lust for flesh makes him enticed by Arabella.

2.      Jude’s inconsistency makes him suffer from Sue’s love.

3.      Jude’s submission of passion forms his tragedy.

4.      Jude’s tenderness fails him to live in the world.

  C. Hardy’s thoughts on human beings are reflected.

1.      The Immanent Will controls man.

2.      Human beings can change fate.

3.      He is a meliorist instead of a pessimist.

Ⅲ. Hardy made further exploration on human nature by depicting other persons’ f\role in Tess’s and Jude’s tragedies.

  A. People weave a tragic web for Tess.

1.      Her parents send her to the road of tragedy.

2.      Alec begets her tragedy.

3.      Angel smashes her dread\m for happiness.

  B. Arabella and Sue are responsible for Jude’s tragedy.

1.      Arabella checks Jude’s ambition for academic success.

2.      Sue spoils his belief in Gods and tortures his emotion.

C. Hardy’s dualism about body and spirit is reflected in portraying Alec, Angel, arabella and Sue.

1.      Alec and Arabella, resenting lust and flesh, though innocent, are harmful.

2.      Angel and Sue, symbolizing between body and flesh exists in the world.

Ⅳ. Besides the reasons of human beings, Hardy searched out the deeper social reasons to account for Tess’s and Jude’s tragedies.

  A. The poor family background foreshadows Tess’s and Jude’s tragedies.

1.      Tess is a victim under the inferior circumstances.

2.      Jude, though struggling against the conventions, is still defeated.

  B. The society leads Tess and Jude to their tragedies.

  C. The last element which caused Tess’s and Jude’s tragedies is religion.

  D. Hardy’s thoughts on social forces are displayed here.

1.      Education should be open.

2.      People should have the freedom to love and to hate.

3.      The church is hypocritical but Hardy felt pity for the loss of God.

Ⅴ. Conclusion: The causes of Tess’s and Jude’s tragedies are due to their character, other persons’ influence and social environment. The causes are the reflection of Hardy’s thoughts on human nature, society and convention. Thomas Hardy and his last two novels are forever significant.

Practice 1

Study the following statements and statements and point out those that can be used as effective theses:

1.      My home is clean, bright and cozy.

2.      Though facing many serious problems, our reform is still a successful one.

3.      Love is fallacy.

4.      Superstition is a very harmful social practice in China.

5.      The person I admire most.

6.      Writing an essay in English is no easy job for a self-taught student.

7.      Outer space exploration and space shuttle building.

8.      The sun is very important.

9.      Friendship is important to me.

10.  Skiing, a popular sports for millions, is a major cause of winter injuries.

Practice 2

Work out at least three theses for each of the following topics and then write an outline for at least one of the three theses:

1.      The importance of a family

2.      Noise pollution of my hometown

3.      The responsibility system in China’s countryside

4.      The significance of learning English

5.      The skills of job hunting

6.      Today’s television commercials

7.      Honesty and friends-making