The best reason for creating an outline is so writers find out
fast whether the thesis they have chosen will work.
Making outlines because the teacher demands one is a waste of time
— the teacher’s time as well as the students’.
For a five-paragraph essay, writers need at least three points
to start with, or they’re dead in the water.
Why three points?
Writers can’t be absolutely sure their thesis will work if
they can write a three- to five-point outline about it, but they
can be pretty darn sure it won’t work if they can’t write
at least three points.
Coming up with at least three points right at the start is a good
insurance policy. Four is even better. Five is an embarrassment
of riches.
What usually happens to beginning writers (and sometimes to those
of us with more experience) is that one of their original points
fizzles. Perhaps it turns out that two of the points really overlap.
Or maybe there is no evidence to support one of the points.
If writers start out creating an outline with three points and
one fizzles, there may be enough material for a decent essay without
that third point if the two remaining points are strong enough.
No wonder students pull their hair and bite their nails! Supporting
a thesis is tough!
There’s no virtue in creating an outline with many main points.
In fact, having more than five main points is risky. Most
people can remember three points without difficulty. Beyond three,
it gets increasingly difficult for people to recall the points.
I know you're wondering how a 5-paragraph essay can have only
4 paragraphs. That is a really important issue that deserves
a page or two.
For now, let me suggest an analogy. If you copy a dress pattern
exactly, what you will get is a dress pattern. If you want a dress
based on the pattern, you have to make at least a few modifications.
Outline points = topic sentences
For the kinds of expository assignments students do in middle school
and high school, the outline must have a thesis statement and
as many main points as body paragraphs in the finished piece.
Note that the introduction and
conclusion paragraphs aren’t
included on the outline. When
creating an outline, you focus all your attention on the body paragraphs.
For longer papers, like term papers, students usually have
fewer main points than body paragraphs. That happens because longer
papers develop more complex ideas. A single complex idea may take
several paragraphs to develop.
Make plans instead of outlines
I have students make a topic-sentence outline prepared a special
way to keep focus on the thesis. Instead of creating an outline,
I have students create a writing skeleton™.
Each point of the skeleton will be the topic
sentence of one of the body paragraphs. Changing my terminology
takes the stress out of the whole business of creating an outline.
Planning is far less stressful for students than preparing
outlines. Everybody makes plans. Planning is not something just
for weirdoes.
I do not require students to do outlining beyond the initial writing
skeleton™. Instead, I teach students to plan their writing
following a five-paragraph essay template that looks like a form
for them to complete. It’s really an outline, but I never say
that.
With little effort, students end up with detailed plans that lack
only traditional numbering to be considered formal
outlines. Nobody gets stressed out over creating an outline.
Everybody’s happy.
created 28-Feb-2008; updated: 07-Sep-2008
