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Research Paper Working an Informal and a Formal Outline

Research Paper Working an Informal and a Formal Outline. A general guide to outlining!. Working Outline VS. Formal Outline. First of all, I’m defining these for my own purposes. Be flexible with future definitions. Why “Working”?.

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Research Paper Working an Informal and a Formal Outline

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  1. Research Paper Working an Informal and a Formal Outline A general guide to outlining!

  2. Working Outline VS. Formal Outline • First of all, I’m defining these for my own purposes. Be flexible with future definitions.

  3. Why “Working”? • Working Outline: This is a rough outline. Basically, you create an outline that may or may not end up reflecting how the information winds up in your paper! • The working outline should be as detailed or vague as you, the writer, need it to be! • The purpose of a working outline is to organize you, the writer! If you have good subtopics on your note cards, they will help guide you!

  4. Formal! • Formal Outline: This outline goes at the beginning of the paper (between the title page and the essay) and outlines your topic for the reader. • The purpose is to give the reader an overview of your paper so that he/she knows what to expect. • Therefore, this outline should exactly reflect the order of the topics within the paper.

  5. Starting my working outline… My paper is about education. My big topics are going to be as follows: • the history of why and how people educate the public, • the development of new educational initiatives, • the changes that these have made in the system (both intentional and unintentional), • the problems that have arisen through these changes, and • the potential solutions for some of the problems.

  6. Working Outline • This could be like an outline rough draft or a topic outline. REMEMBER: The purpose of THIS outline is to help you start organizing your paper. First, look to the topics on your note cards. My topics say things like “History-Egyptian” and “No Child Left Behind.” I’m going to set up my working outline.

  7. History *Egyptians *Puritans *Plantations Curriculum Movements *Elitist Pool of Knowledge *Basic Skills *International Competition *NCLB Problems *Needs Change *Finances *Unrealistic Expectations Solutions *Choice +School +Course of Study *Finances *Accountability +Parent +Student +Teacher Working Outline as List

  8. History A. Egyptians B. Puritans C. Plantations 1. Boys 2. Girls Curriculum Movements A. Elitist Pool of Knowledge B. Basic Skills C. International Competition D. NCLB Problems A. Needs Change B. Finances C. Unrealistic Expectations Solutions A. Choice 1. School 2. Course of Study B. Finances C. Accountability 1. Parent 2. Student 3. Teacher Working Outline as Outline

  9. Working Outline to Formal Outline • If the working outline is a real outline, all you have to do is make sure that it is correct and that it follows the flow of information in the paper. (The paper is really arranged in that order.) • If the working outline is more like a bulleted list, convert it into a correct outline. (See following slides….)

  10. Which number or letter do I use? Start by using capital Roman numerals, then letters, and then numbers. Start over again with lower case letters and then subscript numerals in parenthesis. See me if you want to subdivide further, but if you keep subdividing, it’s probably more detail than is necessary for this assignment! • History A. Egyptians B. Puritans 1. Purpose in education a. Productivity b. Indoctrination (1) Church (2) Society 2. Institutions of learning II. Developments

  11. Parallelism: It’s not just for math anymore! • If you start your heading using a noun, then start ALL headings and sub headings with a noun. • If you start your heading using a verb, then start ALL headings and sub headings with a verb.

  12. Parallelism Example 1: I. History A. Egyptians B. Puritans C. Plantations 1. Boys 2. Girls • Developments • Changes • Problems • Solutions (Notice: They are all nouns.)

  13. Parallelism Example 2: Outline Boogaloo! I. Know the process A. Read the instructions B. List needed supplies C. Schedule the required time II. Practice the skills A. Use scrap materials B. Continue to practice until achieving desired result III. Buy the supplies IV. Work consistently V. Complete the project (Notice that these start with verbs!)

  14. Subdivisions: They’re not just for dwelling any more! • Each subheading should be to subdivide the heading. • Start with the broad idea and divide down to more specific ideas. • CAUTION: It works like fractions, though. If you subdivide a heading, you must divide it into at least two parts!

  15. I’ve divided the broad topic of education into five main subtopics: (I cannot have just one subtopic because 1 main topic divided into 1 subtopic is still 1.) See…it’s just like fractions! Can there be three subtopics? Yes! Any number other than 1 will work! History Developments Changes Problems Solutions My main topics…

  16. Subdivisions Example: • History A.Egyptians B.Puritans 1.Purpose in education a.Productivity b.Indoctrination (1)Church (a) Values (b) Laws (2)Society 2.Institutions of learning a. Home b. Church c. College II. Developments

  17. It shouldn’t be that hard! • The problem is that there is a specific format. Sometimes, it feels like a difficult task to get your information to fit into that format. • As you’re outlining, just think of each heading as a pie to be divided into pieces!  • CAUTION: WORD does not correctly outline for you. You need to be able to do this on your own!

  18. A Twist on the Outline • On both of your outlines, I want to you write your thesis statement at the top of the page, which is not always done. We ask the same thing of the senior project, and it can help you as you set up your paper. • Make sure that your thesis encompasses your headings.

  19. Thesis Example: • Even though history has shown curricula to reflect the needs of society, American curricula constantly changes in design with new problems being addressed with each approach and posed solution.

  20. Does this thesis reflect what is to be discussed in the paper? • First, we should look back to the outline to review the topics.

  21. History A. Egyptians B. Puritans C. Plantations 1. Boys 2. Girls Developments A. Curricula B. Structure C. Facilities Changes A. Programs B. Laws 1. EIA 2. ADA 3. NCLB a. Intentions b. Outcomes C. Studies Outline Revisited: • Problems • A. Funding • B. Accountability • C. Problems within the school • Solutions • A. Choice • B. Incentives

  22. History Developments Changes Problems Solutions Even though historyhas shown curricula to reflect the needs of society, American curricula constantly changes in design with new problemsbeing addressed with each approach and posed solution.

  23. Yes, each topic is referenced! Do I need to develop a thesis that covers the subtopics? No, that would be giving far too much detail! Now, one last look… It’s in there!

  24. History A. Egyptians B. Puritans C. Plantations 1. Boys 2. Girls Developments A. Curricula B.Structure C.Facilities Changes A.Programs B. Laws 1. EIA 2. ADA 3. NCLB a. Intentions b. Outcomes C. Studies Thesis: Even though historyhas shown curricula to reflect the needs of society, American curricula constantly changes in design with new problemsbeing addressed with each approach and posed solution. • Problems • A. Funding • B. Accountability • C. Problems within the school • Solutions • A. Choice • B. Incentives

  25. An introductory paragraph In the United States, each state and local government provides the best possible education for all children. Although not every country provides such an opportunity for its children, the common goal of educational institutions is to develop the best curricula for the students. Even though history has shown curricula to reflect the needs of society, American curricula constantly changes in design with new problems being addressed with each approach and posed solution.

  26. Good Luck A wonderful resource for you is available at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ Google OWL with the topic, such as “OWL commas” and it will take you to the desired subsection. Outlining is available at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/01/ And at

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