Outlining
Place the title above the outline. It is not a numbered or lettered topic.
The terms introduction, body or conclusion should not be included in the outline. They are not topics to be discussed; they are merely organizational units.
Use roman numerals for the main topics. Use capital letters for sup-topics.
The correct order is as follows:
Roman Numerals I
Capital Letters A.
Arabic Numerals 1.
Small Letters a.
Arabic Numerals in Parenthesis (1)
Small Letters in Parenthesis (a)
When typing indent subtopics so that all letters or numbers of the same kind will come directly under one another in a vertical line.
Begin each topic with a capital letter. Do not capitalize words other than the first in a topic or subtopic unless they are proper nouns or proper adjectives.
In a topic outline do not follow topics with a period.
There must never be, under any topic, a lone sub-topic. There must be either two or more sup-topics or none at all. Subtopics are divisions of the topic above. A topic cannot be divided into fewer than two parts.
Generally, main topics should be parallel in form, and subtopics under the same topic should be parallel in form. For example, if in a list of topics, the first is a noun, and the others should also be nouns. If the word is an adjective, the others should be adjectives. Topics in the form of phrases should not be mixed with topics in the form of nouns or a noun and its modifiers. Subtopics need not be parallel with main topics.
Do not mix the topic and sentence forms of an outline
For each number or letter in an outline, there must be a topic. Never place an a, for instance next to 1-1a.
The terms introduction, body or conclusion should not be included in the outline. They are not topics to be discussed; they are merely organizational units.
Use roman numerals for the main topics. Use capital letters for sup-topics.
The correct order is as follows:
Roman Numerals I
Capital Letters A.
Arabic Numerals 1.
Small Letters a.
Arabic Numerals in Parenthesis (1)
Small Letters in Parenthesis (a)
When typing indent subtopics so that all letters or numbers of the same kind will come directly under one another in a vertical line.
Begin each topic with a capital letter. Do not capitalize words other than the first in a topic or subtopic unless they are proper nouns or proper adjectives.
In a topic outline do not follow topics with a period.
There must never be, under any topic, a lone sub-topic. There must be either two or more sup-topics or none at all. Subtopics are divisions of the topic above. A topic cannot be divided into fewer than two parts.
Generally, main topics should be parallel in form, and subtopics under the same topic should be parallel in form. For example, if in a list of topics, the first is a noun, and the others should also be nouns. If the word is an adjective, the others should be adjectives. Topics in the form of phrases should not be mixed with topics in the form of nouns or a noun and its modifiers. Subtopics need not be parallel with main topics.
Do not mix the topic and sentence forms of an outline
For each number or letter in an outline, there must be a topic. Never place an a, for instance next to 1-1a.