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Outlining: How to Outline

Among the many ways to plan an essay, the outline is a deserving classic. Explore new ways to level up and customise your outlining techniques.

How to do it

There are many options for an outline, so the key is to adapt the principles of outlining to your individual writing process. It doesn't matter if your outlining method looks weird or nonsensical to other people: the outline serves you, and you alone.

To start, let's explore one of the most common outlining methods, which we will call 'Loose, Precise, Write'. Here's how it works:

  1. First, build a very loose outline that identifies the main focus/purpose of each paragraph (or if dealing with a longer work, each section of a given chapter).
  2. Next, rework the loose outline: make it more precise by writing out topic sentences, indicating key pieces of evidence or literature, and/or transcribing key ideas in short phrases.
  3. Finally, start to write.

The examples below illustrate the 'Loose, Precise, Write' method for an essay that will critically analyse depictions of transportation in zombie apocalypse films.

'Loose' step: example

Research Question: Why are there no bicycles used in zombie apocalypse films?

  • Introduction.
  • The Road (body paragraph 1).
  • Shaun of the Dead (body 2).
  • 28 Days Later (body 3).
  • Zombieland (body 4).
  • Further analysis and thesis support (body 5-7).
  • Conclusion.

'Precise' step: example

  • Introduction
    • Hook: Where are the bikes?
    • Thesis statement: The absence of bicycles in zombie apocalypse films is more than just plot contrivance – it is a conspiracy.
    • Essay map sentence: To understand this limitation, we will first discuss important films, then the merits of bicycle function, and finally some new understandings behind the anti-bicycle apocalypse.
    • Background: Films to use – The Road, 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland.
  • Body paragraph 1 (The Road)
    • Evidence: No bikes in The Road. C’mon Viggo…
    • Analysis: Bikes would have logically helped a lot.
      • a. There was no fuel.
      • b. They had to move a great distance.
      • c. Bikes are quiet.
    • Transition: Same as in Shaun of the Dead.
  • Body paragraph 2 (Shaun of the Dead).
    • [Et cetera.]

'Write' step: example

Introduction: The world is overtaken by zombies, but where are the bikes? In film after film, un-infected characters face the difficult task of moving from a dangerous place to a safer one. Often it is on foot or by car and there are various risks (fuel, noise, exposure, speed, etc.) in both options. A largely unexplored transport option is the bicycle. Which raises the question: why are there no bikes? They are efficient, quiet, and available. The reactionary response would argue that it is a conspiracy – but by whom? In order to answer such questions, this paper will begin with a discussion of relevant films to establish the trend. Then, this paper will offer the merits of the bicycle as a superior zombie-avoidance transport. Finally, this paper will expose the anti-bicycle and pro-automobile conspiracy foisted on viewers. Spoiler alert: it’s all about OIL. Let’s move into the relevant literature: The Road, 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, and Zombieland. [Et cetera.]

Revisit your outline throughout the process of rough drafting, reshaping the outline as your work progresses. That’s called a recursive system. It’s smart. Be smart and use it!

Having covered the basics, on the next page, we'll learn how outlining can help you resolve specific writing difficulties.