Outline

3 3’s of Outlining

The students will learn to write an effective outline to use for both speeches and papers.

Steps:

Take topic and divide into 3 main points
For each main point find 3 interesting/informative points
Find something that ties each main point together (transitions)
Write two paragraphs, one explaining what you’re speech/ paper is about and the second showing how you explained what the speech/ paper was about

Each outline should have 3 types of transitions (intro, transitions, and conclusion), 3 main points, and 3 interesting/informative points for each main point, the 3 3’s of outlining.

After this lesson the students should be able to make useful outlines for both speeches and papers without any assistance.

Jessica Ball

Outlining

Framing Your Speech for Action

Objective: For their speech or paper, students will write an outline consisting of up to four points deep.

Materials: Students need to bring a topic idea for their speeches.
Teacher will assist lesson plan with the help of the website Developing an Outline – The OWL at Purdue

Steps:

1. First, the teacher will explain why an outline is an important step one should take when writing a paper or speech.
It is the backbone or skeleton of the speech. It lays out everything that will be said within the speech without the details; that just need to be popped in with some transitions and the speech is complete. Outlines will help to save the student time and energy.

2. The teacher will then pull up the hyperlink to the Owl website and walk the students through the page given on outlines.

3. Ask the students if there are any questions.

4. If the students seem confused, or seem to not fully pick up on how to develop an outline, there is a link within the Owl website that provides a Sample Outline. Click on that link, and walk the students through the Sample Outline.

Result: Ask students to create an outline for their selected topic they brought to class for the remainder of the class time. Let them know the outline is expected to be four points deep, which was explained when we looked at the Owl website. They must be able to turn these outlines in at the end of the period; they will be graded and checked.

The Pillars of the Outline: How the Parts of an Outline Support a Speech

Outlining

OBJECTIVE: After completing this activity, the students will be able to identify the significance of all the parts for the working and formal outline, and they will be able to construct their own working and formal outlines for their speech topics.

MATERIALS: The Format for a Working Outline Handout, The Format for a Formal Outline Handout, The Parts of the Working and Formal Outline Handout, The Completed Formal Outline Handout, Overhead projector (The Formal Outline Activity Handout), dry erase marker board, 5 masking tape dispensers, twenty slips of paper (information that coincides with the bold headings of The Formal Outline Activity Handout), classroom clock, bucket.

STEPS:

1. Give each student The Format for a Working Outline Handout, The Format for a Formal Outline Handout, and The parts of the Working and Formal Outline Handout.

2. Randomly call on different students to read the information on The Parts of the Working and Formal Outline Handout.

3. Ask the students if they have any questions over the handout. Then, explain to them that they can keep the handout and use it to help them understand the parts of a working and formal Outline. (For example, a student might not understand what the “main points” are on the outline handouts. The Parts of the Working and Formal Outline Handout, explains that the “main points” are the most prominent ideas of the speaker’s message.)

4. Have the student’s look over The Format for a Working Outline Handout. Explain to them that the working outline is a plan for their speeches that helps them structure their speeches. It also helps them to identify areas that can cause trouble in their speeches. Furthermore, it shows the relationship among their ideas and it helps them arrange these ideas. Let the students know that they can keep the handout for future reference when they do a working outline.

5. Then have the students refer to The Format for a Formal Outline Handout. Explain to them that it is the final step in planning the structure of their speech, and that it demonstrates that the research and planning phase of their work is completed. Tell the students that the handout is theirs to keep for future reference when they do a formal outline.

6. Ask the students if they have any questions over the two outline formats.

7. Once their questions have been answered, begin the outlining activity.

8. Divide the students into five even groups and have them take all their handouts with them. Tell them that they can use these handouts to guide them with the outlining activity.

9. Give each group a masking tape dispenser and The Formal Outline Activity Handout.

10. Select one student from each group to draw four paper slips out of the bucket. (Have the students come to the front of the room one at a time and then tell them to go back to their groups.)

11. When all the groups have drawn four slips of paper, clarify that the slips of paper coincide with the bold headings on The Formal Outline Activity Handout. (For instance, one slip of paper would state, The Greenhouse Effect. This would coincide with the bold heading, “Topic”.)

12. Tell the students that they will work with their groups and that they will use The Formal Outline Activity Handout to complete this activity. Clarify that they will have ten minutes to match the slips with their correct bold headings.

13. Once the ten minutes are up, tell the students to stop working and to place tape on the back sides of the paper slips.

14. Use the overhead projector to project The Formal Outline Activity Handout onto the dry erase marker board.

15. Select one student from each group to come to the overhead projector and instruct them to tape the four paper slips onto the handout and next to their correct bold headings.

16. When all the groups are done taping their slips onto the projector handout, have the students hand back The Formal Outline Activity Handout.

17. Tell the class to reconvene. With the projector still displaying the completed formal outline, explain to the students what areas are correct and which ones are not and why.

18. Then, give each student The Completed Formal Outline Handout for future reference.

RESULTS: After identifying the significance of all the parts for a working and formal outline, the students will understand that making an outline is a process that helps them structure their speech and objectify their thinking. Each student will be able to apply this knowledge and construct a working and formal outline for their speech topics.

Format for a Working Outline:

A Plan and Tool To Help You Arrange Your Ideas (Reference)

Topic: ________________________________________________________________________________________

Specific purpose: ___________________________________________________________________________

Thesis statement: __________________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION

Attention material: __________________________________________________________________________

Thesis statement: ___________________________________________________________________________

Preview: _____________________________________________________________________________________

(Transition to body of speech)

BODY

First main point: ____________________________________________________________________________

Subpoint: _______________________________________________________________________________

Sub-subpoint: ____________________________________________________________________

Subpoint: _______________________________________________________________________________

(Transition to second main point)

Second main point: _________________________________________________________________________

Subpoint: _______________________________________________________________________________

Sub-subpoint: ____________________________________________________________________

(Transition to third main point)

Third main point: ___________________________________________________________________________

Subpoint: _______________________________________________________________________________

(Transition to conclusion)

CONCLUSION

Summary statement: _______________________________________________________________________

Concluding remarks: _______________________________________________________________________

Format for a Formal Outline:

Final Step in Planning the Structure of Your Speech (Reference)

TITLE

Topic: _______________________________________________________________

Specific purpose: _______________________________________________________________

Thesis statement: _______________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION

Attention material: _______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Thesis Statement: _______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Preview: _______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

(Transition into body of speech)

BODY

I. First main point: ________________________________________________________________________

A. Subpoint or supporting material: ___________________________________________________

B. Subpoint or supporting material: ___________________________________________________

1. Sub-subpoint or supporting material: ___________________________________________

2. Sub-subpoint or supporting material: ___________________________________________

(Transition into next main point)

II. Second main point: ____________________________________________________________________

A. Subpoint or supporting material: __________________________________________________

1. Sub-point or supporting material: ______________________________________________

2. Sub-point or supporting material: ______________________________________________

B. Subpoint or supporting material: __________________________________________________

(Transition into next main point)

III. Third main point: ____________________________________________________________________

A. Subpoint or supporting material: _________________________________________________

B. Subpoint or supporting material: _________________________________________________

1. Sub-subpoint or supporting material: ________________________________________

2. Sub-subpoint or supporting material: ________________________________________

a. Sub-sub-subpoint or supporting material: ________________________________

b. Sub-sub-subpoint or supporting material: _______________________________

(Transition into conclusion)

CONCLUSION

Summary Statement: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Concluding remarks: ________________________________________________________________

WORKS CONSULTED

The Parts of the Working and Formal Outline (Reference)

Title: Attracts listeners to a presentation (Arouses curiosity and makes people want to hear your message.) Wait until you have outlined your speech before you select a title.

Topic: The subject matter of the speech.

Specific Purpose: The speaker’s particular goal or the response that the speaker wishes to evoke.

Thesis Statement: The speech’s central idea.

Introduction: The first part of the speech, intended to gain the audience’s attention and to prepare them for the rest of the presentation.

Attention Material: The facts in the speech that draw your audience in.

Preview: The part of the introduction that identifies the main points to be developed in the body of the speech and presents an overview of the speech to follow.

Transition: Connecting elements used in speeches.

Body: The part of the speech used to develop main ideas.

Main Points: The most prominent ideas of the speaker’s message.

Subpoints: More specific statements that explain and support the main ideas. The major divisions of a speech’s main points.

Sub-subpoints: Divisions of subpoints within a speech. The result of breaking the subpoints into a more detailed level.

Conclusion: The ending of the speech, which summarizes the message and leaves listeners with something to remember. Also, the final statement of the relationship between the major and minor premises of the argument.

Summary Statement: The speaker’s reinterpretation of the speech’s main idea at the end of a presentation.

Concluding Remarks: The final comments that reinforce and reflect on the meaning of the speech.

Works Consulted: A form of a bibliography that lists all the sources of research considered in the preparation of the speech. These sources are evidence for your claims about your subject and they authenticate what you have said.

Online Guides to Citation Style:

* http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/citing.htm

* http://www.columbiaedu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html

*http://www.rhetoric.umn.edu/Student/Graduate/%7Emstewart/citations

*http://www.apastyle.org/elecref/html

Abbreviated Source Citations: Within your outline. Reminds you of the importance of documenting points as you speak. Integrating your research into your speech.

Guidelines for making brief citations within the outline:

* List the name of the author plus the page number when more than one page is cited: (Kluger 34)

* List the author’s last name with an abbreviated title if you are citing more than one work by the same author: (Kluger, “Climate”).

* If the “author” is a group, list the name: (Union); if the author is not provided, list the first word of the title (Summary).

The Formal Outline Activity Handout (Hand back to the teacher)

Title: ________________________________________________________________

Topic: The Green House Effect

Specific Purpose: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Thesis statement: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION

Attention material: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Thesis Statement: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Preview: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

(Transition:______________________________________________________________)

BODY

1. The greenhouse effect is a process by which certain gases in the atmosphere

retain the heat of the sun (Summary).

A. __________________________________________________________________________

B. Process is now unbalanced by human activities. (Schneider)

1. _______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

2. Artificial heat wave is breaking all temperature records.

a. 1990s were the warmest decade of the last thousand years.

b. ____________________________________________________________________

C. This threatens Earth’s climate and many living things—including us!

(Transition to second main point: “Let’s examine the causes, one by one.”)

II. _____________________________________________________________________________________

A. Cutting the woods and rain forests for timber is a major global problem.

B. Cleaning the land for development compounds the problem (Thompson).

(Transition to third main point:_____________________________________________ )

III. Agricultural and industrial emissions accelerate the greenhouse effect (Union)

A. Farming is an important part of the problem.

1. Frequent tilling releases massive CO2.

2. ________________________________________________

3. Cattle ranches and more methane.

B. ______________________________________________________________________________

1. Smokestacks strain to produce more energy.

2. Fleets of trucks crowd the nation’s highways.

3. Flocks of airplanes crisscross the skies.

(Transition to fourth main point: “Finally, let’s consider the most important cause of the runway greenhouse effect—ourselves.”)

IV. __________________________________________________________________________________

A. _______________________________________________________________________________

1. More people means more energy consumption.

2. Improved living standards around the world add to the problem.

B. Personal energy consumption is the single largest cause of the greenhouse

effect (Myerson).

1. Fossil fuels account for 90 percent of America’s personal energy

consumption.

2. __________________________________________________________________________

(Transition: “In conclusion”)

CONCLUSION

Summary statement: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Concluding remarks: ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

WORKS CONSULTED

Begley, Sharon. “Ice Cubes for Penguins.” Newsweek 3 Apr. 1995:56.

“Feeling the Heat.” Time 9 Apr. 2001:22-39.

______________________________________________________________________________

Lemonick, Michael D. “One Big, Bad Iceberg.” Time 20 Mar. 1995: 65.

Myerson, Allen R. “U.S Splurging on Energy After Falling Off Its Diet,”

New York Times Online 22 Oct. 1998. 24 April 2001

<http://www.nytimes.com/library/financial/>.

Completed Formal Outline: Imposes discipline on your preparation and demonstrates that the research and planning phase of your work is completed. (Reference)

Title: LIFE IN THE GREENHOUSE

Topic: The Greenhouse Effect

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the significance of the

greenhouse effect.

Thesis statement: We must understand the greenhouse effect before we

can hope to control global warming.

INTRODUCTION

Attention material: Gigantic icebergs melting in the Antarctica. The

elephant seal vanishing in many areas. These are

symptoms of global warming, the great environmental

disease of our planet. This artificial heat wave is

happening because of a remarkable phenomenon called

the “greenhouse effect.”

Thesis Statement: We must understand the greenhouse effect before we

can hope to counter global warming.

Preview: We need to be concerned, first, about the loss of

woodlands, second, about harmful agricultural and

industrial practices, an third about or own, personal energy consumption.

(Transition: “Let’s begin by understanding the greenhouse effect”)

BODY

1. The greenhouse effect is a process by which certain gases in the atmosphere

retain the heat of the sun (Summary).

A. This natural process makes the Earth livable.

B. Process is now unbalanced by human activities. (Schneider)

1. High concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane have collected in

the atmosphere.

2. Artificial heat wave is breaking all temperature records.

a. 1990s were the warmest decade of the last thousand years.

b. 1998 was the hottest year of the millennium.

C. This threatens Earth’s climate and many living things—including us!

(Transition to second main point: “Let’s examine the causes, one by one.”)

II. The loss of the woodlands adds to the greenhouse effect (Kluger 34).

A. Cutting the woods and rain forests for timber is a major global problem.

B. Cleaning the land for development compounds the problem (Thompson).

(Transition to third main point: “An even greater cause is agricultural and industrial emissions.”)

III. Agricultural and industrial emissions accelerate the greenhouse effect (Union)

A. Farming is an important part of the problem.

1. Frequent tilling releases massive CO2.

2. Rice farms add methane.

3. Cattle ranches and more methane.

B. Industrial from fossil fuels are a major part of the problem.

1. Smokestacks strain to produce more energy.

2. Fleets of trucks crowd the nation’s highways.

3. Flocks of airplanes crisscross the skies.

(Transition to fourth main point: “Finally, let’s consider the most important cause of the runway greenhouse effect—ourselves.”)

IV. Our personal energy consumption magnifies the greenhouse effect (Schute).

A. Both population and prosperity fuel the problem (Kluger).

1. More people means more energy consumption.

2. Improved living standards around the world add to the problem.

B. Personal energy consumption is the single largest cause of the greenhouse

effect (Myerson).

1. Fossil fuels account for 90 percent of America’s personal energy

consumption.

2. The number of personal cars has more that tripled since 1950.

(Transition: “In conclusion”)

CONCLUSION

Summary statement: Step outside into the greenhouse. Listen for the falling

Tress, watch the smokestacks darkening the sky, smell the rich bouquet of fumes.

Concluding remarks: Future generations will ask: “Why did we carelessly, willfully, ignorantly allow this to happen to their world?

Why did we poison planet Earth?”

WORKS CONSULTED

Begley, Sharon. “Ice Cubes for Penguins.” Newsweek 3 Apr. 1995:56.

“Feeling the Heat.” Time 9 Apr. 2001:22-39.

Kluger, Jeffery. “A Climate of Despair.” Time 9 Apr. 2001: 30-36.

Lemonick, Michael D. “One Big, Bad Iceberg.” Time 20 Mar. 1995: 65.

Myerson, Allen R. “U.S Splurging on Energy After Falling Off Its Diet,”

New York Times Online 22 Oct. 1998. 24 April 2001

<http://www.nytimes.com/library/financial/>.

All handout information was derived from Osborn and Osborn the Seventh Edition Public Speaking textbook.

Abby Wolf
September 9, 2009