10.1 Creating an Outline

The Outline

Especially in cases when you are creating lengthy documents, an outline can serve as a topic map for ideas that you can then develop with evidence and other kinds of detail. Outlines help order or organize information in a logical manner. Order refers to your choice of what to present first, second, third, and so on. The order you pick closely relates to your purpose for writing that particular document. You may want to group your supporting ideas effectively to convince readers that your point of view on an issue is well reasoned and worthy of belief. In longer reports, you may organize different sections in different ways so that your purpose stands out clearly and all parts of the report work together to consistently develop your main point.

LLMs are quite efficient in creating outlines on almost any topic. Their use, however, has significant implications on the information that you convey. In most technical contexts, you approach a communication task with a particular purpose and usually have audience-related and context-specific information to convey. LLMs can assist in creating an outline, no doubt, but your task in your prompting and follow up interactions with the LLM is to ensure that the outline generated aligns closely with your objectives. If your prompt is general in nature, the likelihood that the resulting outline in the output is useful will be very slim.  LLMs will also offer an abundance of topics; your task is to carefully assess each and select only the ones that pertain specifically to your topic and overall goals. Also, when using Copilot, references typically will not be provided unless you ask for them. Beware that Copilot-generated citations and references are problematic, lacking in accuracy, verifiability, and relevance. So researching your topic thoroughly to develop prior knowledge on your subject will help you develop the familiarity with the topic that will help you determine the quality and relevance of the output.

Organizational Methods

When you create a document, your goal is not only to complete the task but also to write for a specific purpose—perhaps to inform, to explain, to persuade, or a combination of these purposes. Your purpose and audience should always be in the back of your mind because they will help you decide which pieces of information belong together and how you will order them. In other words, choose the order that will most effectively address your audience’s needs, fit your purpose, and support your main point.

Table 10.1.1 shows the connection between order and purpose using three common organizational methods. If you are working with an LLM, you would identify the order in your prompt.

While there is no universal way for a report to be developed, conventions relating to the organization of the detail has evolved over time and is recognized in all technical and business writing contexts, whether you are creating a direct or indirect document.  See Table 10.1.2 for an overview of three basic document structures.

Table 10.1.2 Basic Report Structures

When creating outlines themselves (without AI assistance), writers generally go through three stages: a scratch outline, an informal or topic outline, and a formal topic or sentence outline: 

• Scratch outline: The scratch outline is generated by taking what you have come up with in your freewriting process and organizing information into a structure that is easy for you to understand and follow.
• Informal outline:  An informal outline goes a step further and adds topic sentences, a purpose statement, and some preliminary information you have found through research. This is why it is also known as a topic outline.
• Formal outline: A formal outline is a detailed guide that shows how all your supporting ideas relate to each other. The sentence outline is a type of formal outline that not only distinguishes between ideas that are of equal importance and ones that are of lesser importance, but also begins to flesh out the idea through statements. Formal outlines can also include key references.

While LLMs are efficient in creating outlines that include main points and subpoints, in technical reporting, if you are creating your own outline, format both the informal/topic outline and the sentence outline in the same way:

• Place your introduction and purpose statement at the beginning, and number as 1.
• Use numerals (2, 3, 4, etc.) to identify main points that develop the purpose statement.
• Use a sub-numeral system to divide your main points into parts (1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, etc.).
• Use tertiary numbering (1.1.1, 1.2.1, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, etc.) if you need to subdivide any of the subpoints into smaller parts.
• End with the final numeral expressing your idea for your conclusion.

Here is what the skeleton outline looks like. The indention helps clarify how the ideas are related (please note that bullets are not necessary in numbered outlines–they are included here for formatting reasons).

1. Introduction → Purpose statement
2. Main point 1 → becomes the topic sentence of body paragraph 1
   • 2.1 Supporting detail →becomes a support sentence of section 1
     • 2.1.1 Subpoint
     • 2.1.2 Subpoint
   • 2.2 Supporting detail
     • 2.2.1 Subpoint
     • 2.2.2 Subpoint
   • 2.3 Supporting detail
     • 2.3.1 Subpoint
     • 2.3.2 Subpoint
3. Main point 2 → becomes the topic sentence of section 2 [same use of subpoints as with Main point 1]
   • 3.1 Supporting detail
   • 3.2 Supporting detail
   • 3.3 Supporting detail
4. Main point 3 → becomes the topic sentence of section 3 [same use of subpoints as with Main points 1&2]
   • 4.1 Supporting detail
   • 4.2 Supporting detail
   • 4.3 Supporting detail
5. Conclusion
6. References

Constructing Informal or Topic Outlines

An informal topic outline is the same as a sentence outline except you use words or phrases instead of complete sentences. Words and phrases keep the outline short and easier to understand. All the headings, however, must be written in parallel structure.

Step 1:  Create a purpose statement for your report

To plan your technical report, begin by writing a draft purpose statement.  A purpose statement is the concise key idea you will develop in your report. It is the focal point for the development of ideas in your report as well as your research.  Write the purpose statement at the top of your outline.  You can revise this later as your research and writing evolves.

The rest of your outline will include the main topics and sub-points you will develop in each paragraph or section of the report.

Step 2: Identify the main ideas that relate to your purpose statement

Based on the reading and research you have already done, list the main topics that you plan to discuss in your report.  Consider carefully the most logical order, and how each point supports your purpose statement. These topics will become main ideas that will be developed.

Step 3: Identify the supporting points and evidence for each topic

Each topic  will be supported by supporting points and evidence that you have compiled from other sources. Each piece of information from another source must be cited, whether you have quoted directly, paraphrased, or summarized the information.

Step 4: Create your outline

Outlines are usually created using a structure that clearly indicates topics and supporting points.  In the example below, main ideas are numbered, while the supporting ideas are indented one level and labelled with letters.  Each level of supporting detail is indented further.

Here is a sample informal topic outline that has been partially adapted for this text. The purpose is to inform, and the audience is a general audience of fellow college students. Notice how the outline begins with a purpose statement. It uses short phrases in parallel grammatical structure.

Writing at Work

Word processing programs generally have an automatic numbering feature that can be used to prepare outlines. This feature automatically sets indents and lets you use the tab key to arrange information just as you would in an outline. Although in business this style might be acceptable, in college or university your instructor might have different requirements. Teach yourself how to customize the levels of outline numbering in your word processing program to fit your writing context.

Using an LLM to Create an Outline

As mentioned above, LLMs will efficiently and quickly create an outline for any topic. The key to saving time and effort when working with the technology is to complete preliminary research on the topic so that you have foundational knowledge about the subject and can create prompts that are substantive enough to guide the LLM in creating a useful outline. Another reason you should approach the task with some knowledge is that whatever the LLM produces will require careful review to ensure that the outline pertains specifically to your area of interest and that the points included in it are accurate.

Outlines are useful tools to guide your report development. Whether you are going solo or enlisting the assistance of an LLM, this writer’s tool will enable you to envision the entire plan for your document, resulting in a more organized outcome.

Acknowledgement: This chapter consists of original content along with a remixing and partial adaption of information gathered from the following texts available through CC by 4.0.

Cruthers, A. (2020). Organizing reports. Business writing for everyone. https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/businesswriting/chapter/organizing-reports/ CC by 4.0

Horkof, T.  (2021). Outlining. Writing for success: 1st H5P Edition. CC 4.0. OER. BCcampus.  https://opentextbc.ca/writingforsuccessh5p/chapter/outlining/

Kwantlen Polytechnic University Learning Centres.  (2018). Creating an Outline. University 101.  OER. CC 4.0 https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/studystrategizesucceed/chapter/create-an-outline/