Goals: You will be able to
- Understand the importance of brainstorming and outlining in the writing process
- Identify common outlining errors and come up with rules to avoid these problems
- Practice outlining
Task 1: APA Style Outlining Basics
Why should we outline? Outlines help us organize our ideas logically and show us where our weaknesses are—where we need to add more information, and where our reasoning is weak or unclear. What are the parts of an essay? Introduction (I), 3 Body Paragraphs (II, III, IV), Conclusion (V). Each of these paragraphs has its own section in the outline. We'll practice making a sample outline together on ""Should students be required to learn a second language?". Refer to this lecture PPT.
Task 2: Identify the Problems: Outlining
Try the outline handout and identify the problems with each of the outlines, coming up with rules for the mistakes made. Revise each outline to make it better.
Homework: Students should reverse-outline their diagnostic papers using this outline template. If there are "gaps" or missing parts of their diagnostic, this will help them see those gaps and develop a thesis statement, topic sentence ideas or sub-points, or conclusion for a revision.
