To outline or not

[astroid88]

Do you use outlines when writing? Or do you just kind of go for it? 

[TMP]

In.... what context?

[cowgirlsdontcry]

1 hour ago, astroid88 said:

Do you use outlines when writing? Or do you just kind of go for it? 

I don't create a formal outline within the chapters, but I have one in my head. Within the chapters,, I work in sections on complete thoughts about something, separating each section. When I finish a chapter, I read it through and sometimes realize that sections may need to be moved around to get the best flow and understanding of the chapter.

[Tigla]

On 9/16/2017 at 7:16 PM, astroid88 said:

Do you use outlines when writing? Or do you just kind of go for it? 

Yes, I think outlines are a must. In my undergrad, I was able to wing it and write from my head fairly easily. My first grad paper, I tried to follow my typical routine and fell flat on my face. Since then, I have written a basic outline with the questions and some bullet points to remind myself what exactly I'm trying to demonstrate. By doing this little exercise before I write, I noticed that my arguments have become more refined and polished. In the end, it is up to you and you need to find the way(s) in which you write best and most effectively.

[AP]

I do, and it saves me lots of time later on.

[fuzzylogician]

I use outlines for all major papers, projects, and presentations. I think it's crucial for planning and laying out your argument(s). It's the first step to imposing structure onto your ideas and starting to see if there's anything missing anywhere. Keeping everything in my head would be far too much, considering how many balls I hold in the air at any given time. 

[Lily9]

I always outline. Sometimes it's super messy, filled with a mix seemingly random names, JSTOR article links, quotes, and bullet points, but I have to outline in some respect. It's easier for me to connect dots and keep track of evidence.

[Neist]

On 9/20/2017 at 11:42 AM, fuzzylogician said:

I use outlines for all major papers, projects, and presentations. I think it's crucial for planning and laying out your argument(s). It's the first step to imposing structure onto your ideas and starting to see if there's anything missing anywhere. Keeping everything in my head would be far too much, considering how many balls I hold in the air at any given time. 

Same, but if I'm doing something less composed, like a précis or review, I tend to write from the hip. 

While the ability to compose an elegantly planned piece of writing is certainly worthwhile, the skill to quickly articulate one's thoughts more casually is probably as equally useful. You'll likely need to write fairly quickly at some point in your graduate career (i.e., in a shorter frame than what outlining might allow), so I'd suggest getting in some practice if one is presented with the opportunity to do so.

[Concordia]

There are different degrees of outlining, too.  When I was doing 4,000-word essays, where I had to tee up a certain amount of evidence to prove a thesis, it was useful to break it up.  First in thirds (maybe) to cover the main components of what I was arguing, and then making list of bullet points under each of them.  Each bullet  then became a topic sentence.  

Right now, I have a book review (2,000 words) that I'm having trouble getting started on.   I can start with Intro (author ID, basic topic, summary thoughts of why we'd care), then a section summarizing each for the (not-too-many) chapters.  Some wise observations and closing thoughts to end it.   This way, I can at least put some structure on the task and start to grind through it.   

 

Edited September 22, 2017 by Concordia

[Sigaba]

On 9/16/2017 at 10:16 AM, astroid88 said:

Or do you just kind of go for it? 

 

On 9/16/2017 at 12:45 PM, TMP said:

In.... what context?

Please tell me that this is code for adding even more butter to Nescafe. I've been doing it for a couple of weeks now and it's awesome!

IRT outlines, when I outline (which is rare), I only write out 7±2 main points that I want to make, with one of those points being my central argument. (The range of 5-9 is related to theories of working memory in educational cognitive psychology.) 

 

[astroid88]

On 9/16/2017 at 3:45 PM, TMP said:

In.... what context?

I intentionally left it vague :]

[_kita]

My pre-writing process always begins with free writing. That helps flush out points I really want to highlight later on without the constraints of structure. However,  I then outline any writing including headers, main citations and points I want to address, etc. The outline is my formal guide.