Prepared by:

JOEY F. VALDRIZ

The Writing Process

To use a topic and sentence

outline in selecting and

organizing information

“If I try to articulate every little detail

in a drawing, it would be like missing

the forest for the trees, so it’s just

about getting the outline of the

forest.”

~Jeff Koons

An outline is a summary that

gives the essential features of a

text. It shows how the parts of a

text are related to one another as

parts that are of equal

importance, or sections that are

subordinate to a main idea.

1. Reading outline is used to get

the main ideas of a text that is

already written.

2. Writing outline is a skeletal

overview of your draft, which

contains your fundamental

points and the different ideas

that support them.

1. Read the entire text first. Skim the text afterward.

2. Locate the main idea or thesis of the whole essay.

3. Look for key phrases in each paragraph of the

essay.

4. Locate the topic sentence of each paragraph.

5. Look at the topic sentences and group those with

related ideas together.

6. The contents of the reading are arranged according

to levels.

7. Evaluate the supporting details provided.

8. Go back to the text to check whether you have

followed its sequence closely and that you have not

missed any important information.

The outline came from a short text entitled “The Spanish

Legacy,” written by a local historian Bonifacio Sibayan.

The text talks briefly about how the Spanish influenced

Philippine languages and Philippine life in the old times.

Note that a sentence outline was used, so that each point

can be succinctly explained. Also note that a couple of the

main points contain up to four levels of supporting details.

See how each level decreases in topic relevance, and

how each level was properly numbered and indented to

signal this. Lastly, note that the writing purpose, the

reading audience, the tone, the point of view, and the

thesis statement were all identified before the line itself.

An outline works like a map; it shows

you where each of your ideas is placed

in your writing; how all of them fit

together; and how each leads to the

central idea of your writing. It also

determines the boundaries of your draft;

how much of your subject you will need

to cover without lacking or exceeding in

details.

I. MAIN IDEA

A. Subsidiary idea or supporting idea to I

B. Subsidiary idea or supporting idea to I

1. Subsidiary idea to B

2. Subsidiary idea to B

a) Subsidiary idea to 2

b) Subsidiary idea to 2.

II. MAIN IDEA

A. Subsidiary or supporting idea to II.

B. Subsidiary or supporting idea to II.

1. Determine what your purpose is for writing the

thesis, who your reading audience is, and what

point of view and tone you would like to assume in

delivering your message.

2. Begin your outline with a thesis statement.

3. Review your notes.

4. Group together similar ideas and thoughts.

5. Label all the main topics with Roman numerals

(This will be your outline’s first level).

6. Identify subtopics and classify them under the

correct main topics. Label these subtopics with

uppercase letters (This will be your outline’s second

level).

7. Identify supporting points, such as illustrations

and examples), and classify them under the correct

subtopics. Indent and label them with Arabic

numbers (This will be your outline’s third level).

8. Identify particular details, such as statistics,

quotes, and other secondary information) and

classify them under the correct supporting points.

Indent and label them with lowercase letters (This

will be your outline’s fourth level).

9. Check your outline for unsupported evidence.

Omit it, or add in new supporting details as

necessary.

10. Re-examine all your main topics, subtopics,

supporting points, and particular details to see that

they all develop your thesis, and are logically

sequenced. Also check that all levels in the outline

have parallel wording and grammatical structure.

11. Show your proposed outline to a number of

people such as your teacher, your classmates, your

friends, or even your family. Get feedback from

them on what to improve in your outline.

1. Scratch outlines are a simple list of ideas

that take the form of words and phrases.

They are good for their brevity.

2. Sentence outlines use sentences to

define the subject matter. They are good for

their use of specific detail.

Below is a list of topics that could serve as main

ideas. Provide each main idea with three possible

subtopics that relate to the main idea as

examples, stages or steps, or parts.

1. The process of photosynthesis

2. The events leading up to the Philippine

revolution against Spain

3. The parts of a basketball court

4. The people that became famous through

YouTube

5. The applications on a smartphone useful in

your studies.

Select a short reading assignment in any of your

other classes. Afterward, create a reading outline

of that assignment, applying the guidelines you

have learned from this lesson.

Rodriguez, Maxine Rafaella C. and Marella

Therese A. Tiongson. 2016. Reading and Writing Skills. Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc.