Outlines and Sequence
Outlining clarifies your thinking
- Use single-word topics or one-liners indicating the main message of each paragraph to create a logical and convincing storyline within the section (these headings later become the “[topic] sentences” of your paragraphs).
- Gather key publications related to your paper and add notes under each heading with appropriate citations.
- Replace the notes with rough sentences to build a paragraph (of approximately 6—8 sentences).
- Rewrite the sentences until the whole paragraph reads well.
- Check whether the paragraph has a “head” (i.e., a [topic] sentence that summarizes the essence or the paragraph) and “tail” (i.e., a bridge or final sentence that connects with the next paragraph).
Sample Outline: Lab Report
Intro
- Role of nutrients on plant growth
- Question about my specific nutrients – nitrogen and phosphorus
- What have others found? – improve growth – in what way?
- Hypothesis and predictions
Methods
Results
Discussion
- Hypothesis and predictions– supported or rejected?
- Do the findings make sense?
- How do the findings compare to results of others?
- Why don’t some of my results align? Possible experimental issues? New information? Different methodologies? Issues with other studies?
- What would I study next? Would be interesting to know how reproductive capacity is affected by these nutrients!