It is about as important for high school students to be able to
write a formal outline as it is for them to be able to groom a dinosaur.
After high school English class, if most folks outline something,
they typically use an informal outline. Word processing software
can put in the outline format symbols to morph the informal
outline to hoity-toity formality.
Formal outline format
All outlines (formal or informal) are built on a grid. The diagram
at the right shows a formal outline
superimposed on an informal outline grid colored to emphasize
the relative sizes of ideas.
Any two rows that line up at the left margin are equal-sized ideas.
A row that’s beneath and to the right of another row is a subdivision
of the upper row idea.
The main points of the outline are written starting at the left
hand margin and numbered with Roman numerals, I, II, III….
(Maybe some of your students, like mine, call them “Roman numberals.”)
The next lower-level points, one column to the right of the main
points, are labeled with normal capital letters, A, B, C….
Two columns to the right of the main point, the third level is labeled
with Arabic numerals, 1, 2, 3….
Each label is followed by a period. Items are arranged
so that all the periods after the Roman numerals line
up, all the periods after the capital letters line up, and all
the periods after the Arabic numerals line up.
When you divide anything you get at least two pieces. Therefore
formal outlines, which show the divisions of topics, can’t
have just a single sub-point. In other words, there can be no
point A unless there is a point B, no 1 without a 2. English teachers
are apt to become hysterical if anyone violates this rule.
Reality checkpoint
Outlines aren't supposed to be activities. They are supposed to
be tools. It's pointless to have 18 subdivisions just who
show off the fact that you know the codes for 18 subdivisions.
The few places where I’ve seen classical outlines used outside
the classroom, they have been limited to at most three levels
of detail instead of the five or six shown in English textbooks.
For the papers my students write (under 10 pages), two levels of
detail is plenty. I suspect the same will be true for you.
It's also pointless to have outlines that say everything a writer
intends to put in a paper. Outlines are supposed to be, well, outlines.
I have students write sentence outlines for five-paragraph essays
in the 500-800 word range. A typical outline has fewer than a dozen
sentences. Usually there are three main points (Roman numeral level),
with an average of three subpoints (A-B-C-level) for each.
Besides showing which points are the really important ones and
which ones are of lesser importance, the outline also suggests how
much must be said about one sub-topic compared to another.
If the first main point has two sub-points and the second main
point has seven sub-points, it’s reasonable to expect the discussion
of the second point will take longer than the discussion of the
first point.
Teaching tip
A good word processing program can transform an informal outline
into a formal one, supplying the correct symbols and lining up the
periods even if there are more than three Roman numbered points.
You may be able to simplify your life even further by handing the
computer technology teacher the job of teaching students to use
the software.
created 12-Jul-2008; updated: 18-Sep-2008
