One of the many special uses for outlining is in the early Look stage of thinking and planning about a topic. This is sometimes referred to as brainstorming. As this initial creative activity continues, outlining can be used to give it further organization. Once a composition's organization is acceptable, one can proceed directly to the Evoke stage, turning elements of the outline into sentences and paragraphs. Assess stage automated tools such as spelling and grammar checking can be activated at any time. Switching back to normal view hides the outline structure, which instantly prepares the document for the Publishing stage through printing or conversion to HTML or Web format. This tutorial introduces the basic features of outlining in Microsoft Word.

Writing practice can often be stimulated through the use of questions. In the example below, the starter question is "What has green?" This could be what do you now see that has green or what have you seen that has green.. This is simple enough that any age can participate by quickly jotting down ideas and then using outline features to organize the thoughts. It serves as a model for a wide range of brainstorming activities, whether as a group or committee activity, or as part of one individual preparing or planning to compose.

Two approaches to instructional material are provided. The first instruction is in video, and the second one with text and images. Use the videoclips to quickly overview the process. Use the text and screen image version for a deeper look at key stages of the outlining process.

Option 1: Video Instruction

The procedures for outline organizing, creating a table of contents, and adding a numbering screen such as Harvard or Business outline formats will be covered in the video below.

  Optimized for dial-up modem speeds so smaller files but lower quality video and audio

• Outlining. Part I. about 3 minutes
• Outlining. Part II. about 2 minutes

Optimized for broadband network speeds, same video but higher quality video and audio

• Outlining. Part I. about 3 minutes
• Outlining. Part II. about 2 minutes


If these movies do not play, download and install the latest version of Windows Media Player.

 

Option 2: Text and Screen Image Instruction

0. Complete this exercise in Word outlining by opening a blank word document.

Outlining in Microsoft Word is not visible until the Outline command is selected. Once Outline is selected from the View menu, a series of arrows and other symbols will appear in the toolbar area near the top of the screen (see example graphic in this paragraph). Though the programmers have given the look of the icons for outlining different graphic styles over the years, the basic command options have stayed remarkably the same. If a version of Word looks different, click around the outline toolbar symbols to learn what they do. Study how to apply five key outline actions: expand, collapse, promote, demote and move. They can be of use at each stage of this writing process model: brainstorming, clustering, sequencing, pruning and publishing. The procedures for outline organizing, creating a table of contents, and adding a numbering screen such as Harvard or Business outline formats will be covered in the text below.

Organizing

1.Outline. Once your file is opened, click View and select Outline.

2. Plain text. In outline view, every line of text that is entered is considered a paragraph until it promoted to a heading level. Paragraph elements have a small graphic symbol, a square, that appears in front of the text. Enter the text that you see below, each element on its own line.

In classroom teaching it is generally necessary to set a time  limit for brainstorming, but students should be reminded that the most creative and innovative ideas generally come last, and often come after long pauses from typing while thinking of new things to add. That is, when they try this independently at home without time limits, composers must be very persistent in being patient with themselves while they focus on producing new ideas. This should also include taking breaks of hours or even days if possible.  Teachers should recognize that extra encouragement is needed in class settings whether using paper or a computer lab as the movement of pencils or typing stops. As those breaks become longer, this is the opportunity for real and innovative productivity.
 
 

At some point, the brainstorming must end and critical thinking must begin. A clustering stage can be a useful next step. Ideas that go together can be clicked and moved. Headings can be added to form categories within the list. From these clusters will come paragraphs and major sections of the composition.

3. Insert or add five additional lines to the list: Furniture, Living Things, Food, Clothes and Nonliving Things. In working with a whole class, these terms might be thought up by asking the class what heading words or phrases can be used to cluster the ideas that are emerging on the brainstorming list. To insert at any point, click close to the first letter of any line and when the insert cursor appears, begin typing. Press the return key to separate the terms. Press the return key again to create a new blank line for the other insertions. Another approach  to inserting a new paragraph is to click after the last letter of any line of any paragraph and press the Return/Enter key. 
 

4. Promote. The tool bar for outlining contains a number of arrows pointing different directions. Click on the square in front of Furniture, then click the left pointing arrow in the outline tool bar. It becomes a boldfaced heading, preceded by a minus sign. The minus sign indicates that there are no elements under it in the outline hierarchy. Promote these other headings also : Living Things, Food, Clothes and Nonliving Things. A plus sign is used to indicate the presence of other outline elements under an outline heading.

 

5. Move. Move different topics underneath the headings that have been promoted. There is more than one way to do this. A quick approach is to click on the small square in front of a list element and click and drag it underneath the heading where it belongs. One can also click any element in the outline, heading or paragraph, and then use the up and down arrows in the outline tool bar to move items.

 

6. When all elements have been moved, your outline may look like the one below.

 

7. Insert. Upon further thought, the living things heading is unbalanced. The two food items have a sub-heading, but the four other items do not. Add a new heading, Window View, to this section.

 

8. Promote and Demote. After clicking in the window view heading, click the right arrow to promote this heading. You can use the Undo command under the edit menu to undo your last step. Also try promoting by clicking and dragging the item to the left. Now demote both the Window View and the Food headings. Demoting is done by click the graphic symbol in front of an outline element and clicking the right arrow. Clicking and dragging the little square icon to the right will also work.

 

9. Collapse. There are many ways to collapse an outline. Some choices change the entire outline view. Click the small square in the tool bar which contains three horizontal lines. Find it just to the right of the number 4. This collapse the entire outline to just its highest levels. Click it again and it reveals all levels and plain text paragraphs. Clicking the 1, 2, 3, or 4 symbols in the outline tool bar reveal the chosen number of sub-levels, if the outline contains those levels.

Some choices change one branch of the outline. For example, double-click the plus sign just in front of Living things and it expands just that part. Double clicking the plus sign again will collapse it again. Single clicking the plus and minus signs in the outline tool bar will have similar effects.

10. Expand and Collapse.

 
 

11. Move an outline section. Click just the plus sign in front of Nonliving things and move it above the living things heading. Notice that all subheadings move along with it. No matter how many levels of headings and pages of text or multimedia elements that are hidden, all sub-components move as a unit from to the new location.

 

12. Now convert the plain text paragraphs for apples and watermelon to short paragraphs made up of 3 or 4 short sentences. They do not have to be the sentences provided here.

 

13. Paragraph collapse. Two symbols to the right of the number 4 in the outline toolbar is a symbol made up of 3 dots and two horizontal lines. This shortens each paragraph to just the first line of text. This makes it easier to move paragraphs around underneath a heading.

 

14. Hide all special character fonts, such as boldfacing in headings, by clicking the double ff symbol. Click it again to make them visible again.

 

15. Undo headings to plain paragraphs. Promote the outline elements rug and couch, then demote couch. Click on couch then click the double-arrow in the outline tool bar. This converts headings back to plain text paragraphs. Do the same for rug.

16. Once headings are demoted, they have the simple square symbol in front of them again.

 

18. A return to outline view would show that nothing has been forgotten. Outline view can be returned to at any time.

 

Creating a Table of Contents

19. Table of Contents (TOC). If the composition is created with an outline structure, it is quick and easy to generate a table of contents for larger documents. At any point, whether in outline view or normal view, a table of contents can be created whose page numbers are based on the headings in the outline. The table will created where ever the cursor is located, so make sure the cursor is moved to the beginning of the document or where ever is appropriate. Both the old and new screens views will be shown.

For the older style Word 98, Click the Table of Contents... command under the Insert command in the menu bar.

In the old version, the TOC command asks whether the table is to be built from commands automatically inserted from outline headings (the outline choice) or from special characters inserted manually into the text. For this exercise, simply click the start button.

For the newer Windows 2003, under the Insert command in the menu bar, click the Reference... command, then Index and Tables...
 

Next, select the Table of Contents tab. Decide if this document will be viewed on a computer screen or as a print out. If print, then remove the check mark from in front of "Use hyperlinks instead of page numbers". Study the other options, make choices, and click OK.

20. The TOC (Table of Contents) can be changed to different formats. The double lines below the table force a new page to start with the page number of one starting with the text below the double line. The longer your paper or document, the more useful the table of contents will be to your readers.Teachers that merge the written works of many students into books for publication in the school library will find the outline and TOC feature very useful as well.

 

21. Click the Help command in the menu bar and select outlining if you would like to read further about the outlining process.
 

22. Sometimes it is the outline itself that needs to be shared. Microsoft Word provides two outline numbering designs. Adding the more formal numbering system should wait until the frequency of changes to the overall structure of the outline is greatly reduced. To activate these features, work from the top menu bar. Select Format, then Bullets and Numbering and then the tab for Outline Numbering. From the choices that appear, select one of the first two choices that uses the term heading in their examples. Use some caution here. Turning on the formal outline sequence can move the thinking too quickly to closure and prevent the contemplation of other useful sequences.

A format sometimes called the Harvard format uses Roman numerals. The Business format uses decimal numbers. Once the choice is made and the OK button selected, the changes are made in the outline, as can be seen in the two examples below.
 

"Harvard" Outline Format

"Business" Outline Format

If the document is converted back to Normal view once these settings are selected, the indented outline structure and numbering will remain visible. But, the usual activities of expand, collapse, promote, demote and move can continue if Outline view is selected again. To return to the original Normal view so that all sight of outlining is gone, the setting under Bullets and Numbering and then Outline Numbering must be set to None. However, Word retains knowledge of the outline structure that can be turned back on at any time by selecting View in the top menu bar, then Outline.

Summary

Practice. Practice by repeating the above and then find new opportunities to apply these skills in new writing projects.