How?
Why?
To Outline.
OUTLINING OUTLINING (NO REDUNDANCY)
WHY CREATE AN OUTLINE: AUDIENCE
^For whom are you writing (AUDIENCE)
*Academia (Experts in the field of study already)
*Educators (Intelligent people who seek to educate others)
*Business Types (clients/sales reps—need to know for personal
economic benefit)
*General Public (parents, residents of a community, general
consumers)
AUDIENCE CONT’D: VISUAL FROM DIANA HACKER (RULES FOR WRITERS)
PURPOSE (WHY SHOULD YOUR AUDIENCE CARE?)
• TO INFORM
• TO PERSUADE
• TO ENTERTAIN
• TO CALL ______ TO ACTION
• TO CHANGE ATTITUDES
• TO ANALYZE
• TO ARGUE
• TO EVALUATE
• TO RECOMMEND
• TO REQUEST
• TO PROPOSE
• TO PROVOKE (THOUGHT)
• TO EXPRESS FEELINGS
• TO SUMMARIZE
• TO CAPTURE
PURPOSE: THE “OLD” AND THE “NEW”• HOW IMPORTANT IS THE RESEARCH YOU’VE ALREADY DISCOVERED TO YOUR
AUDIENCE?
• ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
• LITERATURE REVIEW
• BACKGROUND/TERMINOLOGY/QUALIFIER
• HOW IMPORTANT IS THE “NEW” RESEARCH (ORIGINAL RESEARCH, FIELD WORK) TO YOUR PAPER?
• SURVEYS (CURRENT OPINIONS, BIASES, TRENDS, PRACTICES)
• INTERVIEWS (EXPERT, ‘MAN ON THE STREET’)
• EXPERIMENTS (SCIENTIFIC METHOD, DESIGN THINKING, ETC); FOCUS GROUPS
• CRITICAL ARGUMENT
• DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
• OFFERING SOLUTIONS
HOW TO OUTLINE: SOME MODELS
LONGITUDINAL MODEL: BADKE
CROSS-SECTION MODEL
EXAMPLE: WHICH MODEL IS IT?
A FEW TIPS FOR DETERMINING ORDERIN OUTLINES
• Look for a ‘natural order’ to establish itself
• “Burnout in the workplace” example from Badke
• Ascending / Climactic Order = Rule of Thumb
• Various viewpoints are valid—do not misrepresent
• Reservation / Rebuttal
• Point/Counterpoint
• Objectivity/Subjectivity
RESEARCH INTRODUCTIONS: WHAT’S THY PURPOSE
• “Keep your introduction lean if not mean” (Badke 140).
• Hooks: real-world examples/problems/issues to engage
• Attention, Interest, Good Will
• Research Intros serve two, and only two, real purposes:
• 1) establish working knowledge of the topic
• 2) state your single research question
IS THAT A BULGE IN YOUR PAPER, OR DO YOU JUST LOVE TO GO ON TANGENTS?
• Bulge ( noun): “ a section of information that has little relationship to the paper topic at hand” (Badke 141).
• We did the digging, so it must make the final cut…right?
• It’s just too interesting to leave out…right?
• At times like this, remember
TRIAGE APPLIES TO PAPERS, TOO!
SO, IN SUMMATION…
• Outlines are essential to organizing piles of information before you write.
• Know thy foci!
• A) For whom are you writing
• B) For why are you writing
• Less is more: simple divisions are preferable to “algorithmic” models
• Have an approach in mind: topical, chronological, climactic
• Be fair: even if you don’t endorse the research you’re reviewing or including, objectively offering it behooves you early and later
• Avoid tangents (even if they are “really cool”)
BIBLIOGRAPHYBadke, William. Research Strategies: Finding Your Way through the Information Fog.
2nd Edition. iUniverse: New York, 2004.
Hacker, Diana and Sommers, Nancy. Rules for Writers. 7th Edition. Bedford/St. Martin’s:
New York, 2012.
Top Related