Outlining

Technique
LESSON 5
Lesson Objectives:
You will have to outline reading texts in
various disciplines.
Specifically, this lesson will help you to:
 1. enumerate and differentiate the
various
kinds of an outline;
 2. identify the parts of an outline; and
 3. create an outline of an academic text.
Directions:
Tell whether each statement is True or
False.1. Outlining is the visual structure of a
______
text.
______ 2. Lowercase letters present information
within
subtopics.
______ 3. Uppercase letters are used to convey
information within subdivisions.
______ 4. Arabic numbers are I, II, III and the like
_______5. Main and supporting outlines are the
two
 Directions:
Tell whether each statement is True or
False.
______ 6. Alphanumeric outlines employ figures,
shapes
and letters.
______ 7. Outlining is also summarizing the text.
______ 8. Entries in an outline must be in
sentence
format always.
______ 9. Topic outline is more simplified than
the
 An OUTLINE is a…
 map of where and how to go with the
essay.

 plan for writing a summary, project or

speech.

 guide to present the main points of a

given topic either in sentences or
phrases.

 list of information arranged hierarchically

 Why
1. create
to show an outline?relationship or
the hierarchical
logical
ordering of information.
2. For research papers, it may help you
organize large amounts of information.
3. For creative writing, it may help you
establish
the various plot threads and help keep track
of
character traits.
4. Many people find that organizing an oral
report
or presentation in outline form helps them
speak more effectively in front of a crowd.
 in alphanumeric form. It uses
What features
letters (lowercase and uppercase
compose anletters) and
outline? numbers (Roman and Arabic
numbers). Each serves a purpose.
Examples of
alphanumeric form are given
below.
I. Roman Numerals
A. Capitalized Letters
1. Arabic Numerals
a. Lower case
letters
However, it is important to remember that Roman/
Arabic numbers and lowercase/uppercase letters
used in an outline depend on the key points
present and their classifications in the text.
relationship of ideas is as important
as identifying the thesis statement,
the big ideas, and the supporting
details.
You should be able to put together
the main idea and its supporting ideas
or
big class and its subclasses because
this will determine the entirety of your

outline.
 What are the types of an
outline?

 The basis of outline types is structure.

 Structure in an outline refers to the
language form such as words, phrases,
clauses and symbols, and clusters of
meanings.
 Hence, the two types of outline are topic
and sentence outlines. The chart below
discusses the two types of outline.
It is important to note that a writer using
the outlining technique, should always
observe parallelism in structures. An
outline CANNOT have the structures of
both topic outline and sentence outline at
the same time.
There should be PARALLELISM.
Parallelism is defined as the internal
balance in structures of an outline. If you
begin your outline with phrases, you
must end it with phrases also and
similarly with a sentence outline.
I. Junior and Senior High School Curriculum
A. Junior High School
1. Curriculum Years
a. Grade 7
b. Grade 8
c. Grade 9
d. Grade 10
B. Senior High School
1. Academic Track
a. STEM
b. ABM
c. HUMSS
2. TVL Track
a. Electronics
b. ICT
c. Housekeeping
d. Cookery
To make the topic outline above into
a sentence outline, you need to
restructure it by adding
descriptions. But you must make
sure that the descriptions you will
add are also found in the academic
text read. And the category of each
idea should not be altered or
interchanged as well. See the given
example.
 Topic Outline:
B. Academic Track
1. STEM
2. ABM
3. HUMSS
Sentence Outline:
B. Academic Track offers STEM, ABM and HUMSS.
1. STEM is a strand that builds individuals’ skills in
science, technology, engineering and math.
2. ABM is a strand that prepares students for
accountancy, business, and management.
3. HUMSS is a strand that focuses on the study of
human behavior, communication and societal matters.
Use the module 2 (hard
copy) for more practice
activities.
 REMEMBER
 An outline serves as the backbone of a text
that helps a reader understand the topic by
looking at the organization of the details.
Breaking down the information in reading
enables the comprehension of complex texts.
 Outlines used for academic and professional
writing are commonly formal and structured.
They follow a set of patterns and use a
combination of letters and numbers to show a
hierarchy of information based on the major
and minor details presented in a text.
 Alphanumeric outline is the most common type of outline
and is usually instantly recognizable to most people. The
formatting follows these characters, in this order:
Example of Formal or Alphanumeric outline:
 I. Main Idea
A. Major Supporting Detail
1. Minor Supporting Detail
a. Other information
B. Major Supporting Detail
1. Minor Supporting Detail
a. Other information
C. Major Supporting Detail
1. Minor Supporting Detail
a. Other information
 In constructing outlines, carefully reading the
whole text is a must. Main ideas, major
supporting detail, and minor supporting detail
must be well identified in order to categorize
them accordingly.
  The two common types of outline are topic
and sentence outlines. They are totally different
when it comes to structures. Topic outline uses
phrases or word only while sentence outline
uses independent clauses.
 An effective outline covers the entire text by
providing the thesis statement and important
details and their categories. Also, the language
Act. 2. Writing a Topic Outline
 Directions. Using the thesis statement you have
created, write a topic outline by following the
given instructions below.
 1. Write your thesis statement before Roman
Numeral I.
 2. What could be the major points that will
support your thesis statement? List them down
labeled in Roman numerals I, II III, and so on.
 3. List supporting ideas or arguments for each
major point labeled as A, B and C.
 4. Continue to sub-divide each supporting idea.
Then, label it with Arabic numerals (1, 2 and 3…)
and lowercase letters (a, b, and c…) until your
That’s all for today,
see you next week!
—S.L.Siena
A
picture
is worth
a
thousan
d words