Sentence Outlines

• Why Write a Sentence Outline
• Why no topic sentences in novels.
• Topic sentences in politics
• General Rules for Sentence Outline
• Sample Sentence Outlines
  • Evolution, Males and Violence
  • Before and after sentence outline of instructor
  • Before and after sentence outline for student papers on Nuclear Power Policy paper.
  • Before and after student sentence outline on missile defense
  • Sample student sentence outline on electric vehicles and pollution.
  • Sustaining the Health of the Oceans. The improved sentence outline is based on the original article above the outline.
  • Can we make an AIDS vaccine?See suggested green topic sentences. Could you do better? Original article above outline.
  • Legalizing drugs makes matters worse. Topic sentences in green, possible improvements in red.
  • Sample Student Sentence Outline
• Why students hate sentence outline? They have been reading newspapers. See article by Max Frankel Scene and Not Head.

Benefits of writing a sentence outline.

1. Clarity. If you can't write a clear sentence summarizing the paragraph's point, you certainly can't write a clear paragraph.
2. Flow of argument. It is much easier to quickly judge whether the present order of paragraphs (as sentences in the outline) really makes the argument in the most effective way. You may be able to omit one or more paragraphs and still make your arguments.
3. Efficiency. Revision of the plan of paper is much easier and quicker if you have only to delete or re-order sentences. Doing this on the completed draft involves much more work.
   1. Since a concept must be explained when it first appears, interchanging paragraphs will require moving definitions.
   2. Paragraphs should smoothly flow into each other. Reordering paragraphs may require extensive rewriting.
4. Writing to length. With a sentence outline you can easily judge how long the manuscript will be and modify it to keep the essential material within the prescribed length.
5. Time. All the above -- clarity, argument flow, efficiency, length management -- can be done faster using a sentence outline.

How to write a sentence outline

The outline should have the following form:

Abstract: The abstract contains a few, carefully written sentences summarizing the major points in the paper. It is followed by a list of (preferably numbered) sentences that summarize the major points of paragraphs in the paper.

1. Each sentence must be a sentence -- that is, it has a subject ("each sentence"), a verb ("must be"), and a complement ("a sentence").
2. The sentence should be as specific as possible so that the main points/features of the paragraph are clear.
3. Each sentence is the "topic sentence^*" of the paragraph and usually appears as the first sentence of the paragraph.
4. If one numbered item contains two sentences, make sure you are not squeezing two paragraphs into one. For a paper of n double-spaced pages, there should be 2n to 3n paragraphs.
5. The sentences should be organized to construct coherent arguments toward your paper's conclusions.
6. There must an introductory paragraph that sets the paper in context; in this paragraph the topic sentence can be at the end.
7. Generally, the next paragraph presents the principal results or conclusions to be presented in the text of the paper.
8. The final paragraph should deftly summarize only the results defended in the body of the paper.
9. The outline should be double spaced.
10. For this course, you should include at the end the most important references you will use. These can be cited in individual sentences of the outline, if you want, to make clear where they are relevant.

^* Evidence you learned about topic sentences in 2nd grade.