Writing an Outline can Help You Organize Your Thoughts

I. Outlines Outlines provide a basic structure to follow as you develop your paper. Writing an outline can help you organize your thoughts and ensure you have included all the necessary sections to your paper. Referring to the rubric for your assignment is a good way to check what sections are required. To write an outline: 1. Determine what points to include in your paper. 2. Organize your points in a logical order. 3. Group points into main topics and subtopics within those main topics. 4. If your paper will use headings, include them as points in your outline. 5. Topics do not need to be headings; they may just be paragraphs. 6. Use headings according to the rules of the style your paper will use (APA, MLA, or Turabian). 7. Using the multilevel list option in Microsoft Word can help format your outline clearly. a. The multilevel list setting is part of the paragraph menu: b. Click on the icon for multilevel list and choose the style you want to use. c. Use the “Decrease indent” or “Increase indent” buttons next to the multilevel list setting to change the level of a point. APA 7th Edition or MLA 8th Edition Outlines  APA 7th Edition and MLA 8th Edition do not specify a style for outlines. The default multilevel list option is used for the Topic Outline Example below. This example outline is for the “APA 7th Edition Student Sample Paper”, located in the Student Success Center’ Writing Center, under Examples of Writing Assignments.  There are many ways to word an outline, including using either full sentences or just short phrases. APA 7th Edition and MLA 8th Edition do not specify either way. Topic Outline Example 1. Introduction a. Background on stress treatment i. Definition of guided imagery ii. Definition of progressive muscle relaxation b. Support for group therapy c. Purpose of the review and thesis statement 2. Guided imagery a. Features of guided imagery i. History of guided imagery ii. Current research on use of guided imagery b. Guided imagery in group psychotherapy i. Benefits to treatment ii. Empirical studies 1. Studies regarding physical healing 2. Studies regarding pain 3. Research in groups 3. Progressive muscle relaxation a. Features of progressive muscle relaxation i. History of progressive muscle relaxation ii. Current research on use of progressive muscle relaxation b. Progressive muscle relaxation in group therapy i. Benefits to treatment ii. Empirical studies 1. Study with heart failure patient 2. Studies with large non-treatment groups 4. Guided imagery and muscle relaxation in group therapy 5. Conclusion a. Limitations of existing research b. Directions for future research Turabian 9th Edition  For Turabian 9th Edition there is a specific numbering style. Write in complete sentences that have ending punctuation. Capitalize using sentence style capitalization. This style has been added to the multilevel list styles in this Word document so it may be used as a template. I. Level one is a capitalized Roman numeral with a period and a space after it. A. Level two is a capital letter with a period and a space after it. 1. Level three is an Arabic numeral with a period and a space after it. a) Level four is a lowercase letter with a parenthesis and a space after it. (1) Level five is an Arabic numeral enclosed in parentheses with a space after it. (a) Level six is a lowercase letter enclosed in parentheses with a space after it. i) Level seven is a lowercase Roman numeral with a parenthesis and a space after it. Sentence Outline Example in Turabian 9th Edition Style  This example sentence outline is for the “APA 7th Edition Student Case Study Example” located in the Student Success Center’s Writing Center, under Examples of Writing Assignments.  Though this is the order of numbering specified in Turabian 9th Edition, APA 7th Edition and MLA 8th Edition Style outlines may use it as well, as they do not specify numbering. I. The case presentation introduction should include an overview of what should appear in a case presentation. II. The subjective data section should come from direct interaction with the patient. A. The data report should begin with patient reported symptoms. B. The report should also include patient medical history. III. The objective data section should come from physical examinations and laboratory testing. A. The objective data should include vital signs. B. It should also include laboratory tests. C. It should also include the results of physical examinations. D. It should also include current medications. IV. Nursing diagnoses should summarize treatment concerns. V. The plan and interventions section should cover what will be used with the patient. A. The plan of care report will include both active interventions and patient involvement and education. B. The plan of care report for the second condition will include the same parts as for the first. VI. The evaluation section will cover how to evaluate the outcomes of the interventions. A. The first part of the evaluation should include the methods for evaluating the success of interventions. B. The second part of the evaluation sections should state research questions. VII. The paper will end with a summary of the case and outcomes.