OUTLINE

- It is a blueprint or plan in a paper.

- It shows the order of the various topics.

Two types of Outline

1. Topic outline- consist of words and phrase

2. Sentence outline- consists of sentences and it expresses specific and complex
details.

How to structure the outline

1. Coordination – enables the writer to maintain a consistent and coherent

document.
2. Subordination – ideas are arrange according to their level of significance.
3. Division – separating and partitioning ideas into groups.

Benefits of an Outline

 An outline will help make your essay more organized. A careful plan will help
your body paragraphs stay focused on the ideas in your thesis statement.
 An outline saves time for writers. Preparing an outline can take time, but when
you are finished, you will be able to write the rough draft of your essay more
quickly than if you didn’t have an outline.

Parts of an Outline

I. Introduction
Thesis Statement: (one statement that will discuss the purpose of your paper)
II. Body Paragraph/ Topic Sentence ( Made up of several paragraphs. It is where
topic is written.
A. Subtopic/ Details
B. (examples, topic
C. Sentence)
III.Conclusion (Consists of one paragraph that summarizes your paper.)
PROPERTIES OF A WELL-WRITTEN TEXT
A paragraph is a series of sentences that are organized, coherent, and are all
related to a single topic.
For a paragraph, or for any composition, to be effective. it must always consider
the Properties of a Well-written text. These properties are: Organization, Coherence and
Cohesion, Unity, Language Use, and Mechanics.
Parts of Paragraph
Introduction
The first section of a paragraph; it should include the topic sentence and any other
sentences at the beginning of the paragraph that give background information.
Body
Follows the introduction; discusses the controlling idea, using facts, arguments,
analysis, examples, or other information.
Conclusion
The final section; summarizes the connections between the information discussed
in the body of the paragraphs.

ORGANIZATION
Text organization is the way a text is organized that helps to guide the reader
logically through it. This property makes a text readable and its message clear.
Organization can be achieved through the following techniques:
Physical Format
The format is an aspect of the organization that is immediately apparent to the reader. It
is seen in how the text physically appears like headings and subheadings.
Signal Words
Signal words are textual cues that readers can use to follow a text.
Structure
The structure provides the framework upon which the text is organized. It consist of the
following: introduction, middle and end.
COHERENCE AND COHESION
Coherence- this means that sentences are arranged in a logical manner, making
them easily understood by the reader.
Cohesion – connection of ideas at sentence level
A. The arrangement of details according to:
Chronological Order- The details are arranged in the order in which they happened.
Spatial Order-The sentence of a paragraph are arranged according to geographical
location, such as left-right, up to down.
Emphatic Order- Is when information found in paragraph is arranged to emphasized
certain points depending on the writer’s purpose.

B. Signal Devices- words that give readers an idea of how the points in your paragraph
are progressing.
Transitions- words that connect one idea to another, in order for our ideas to flow
smoothly.
Repetitions – repetitions of main ideas keep continuity and highlight important ideas.
Synonyms – these are words similar in meaning to important words or phrases that
prevent tedious repetitions.
Pronouns- words that connect readers to original word that pronouns replace.

LANGUAGE USE
Proper language use allows you to capture the message that you want to convey
to your readers. It is all about choosing the right words that accurately capture the
ideas. However, writers sometimes encounter problems with the following:
Misused words- a writer sometimes use a word incorrectly, and this occurs when the
word does not mean what he or she thinks it does.
Technical or highfalutin words- writers want to sound smart by using words that are very
technical or have deep meanings. Though some writing genres require the use of such
words, writers should still be careful about using them since they make the readers work
harder to understand texts.
MECAHNICS
Mechanics are conventions that have to be considered in writing. Some of these
conventions are spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. It is important to know and
observe these conventions in writing to avoid confusion.
Spelling – make sure that we are consistently using one standard with regard to the
spelling of your words.
Punctuation marks- it is the act of using a system of symbols. The use of punctuation
guides the reader regarding how the text should be read.
Capitalization- it is the act of writing the first letter of a word in uppercase while the rest
of the letters are in lowercase. There are rules in capitalization that one has to
remember.