Outlining Options
Beth Ann Erickson
You don't have much time, and you've got an article to crank out
ASAP. What do you do? You write fast.
A key to writing fast is to have effective organizational tools at
your fingertips, and one such tool is the outline. Here are some
quick ways to organize nearly anything:
* Organize your article chronologically. If your information lends
itself to presenting the information in a sequence of ideas or
events, select this organizational tool: this happened first, this
happened next, etc.
* Organize your article by space. Spatial order is good for using
in descriptive or informational articles. If you're explaining a
scene, place, person, or object, this organizational method works
well.
* Topic order works if you need to cover main points. You simply
select the point you want to present first, then second, then
third, and boom... you're done. You can refine this by going from
general information to more specific; most important to least
important; any order you decide.
* You can organize your article by problem/solution. Here, you
present a problem, then conclude with your solution. Very simple,
very effective.
Want a fun exercise? Take one topic and write one article using
each of the organizational methods. You'll really sharpen your
writing chops if you do this. Plus, it's fun. :)
~~~~~
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This article is courtesy of Filbert Publishing. Make your writing
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Enjoy!
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