Writing Outline

I have written many “articles,” but none of them are written well. What does it take to communicate clearly? Communication should be focused on getting a point across without unnecessary words. This article will serve as a resource for me when writing future articles, and it begins with an outline.

• Planning:
  • Topic: what is it?
  • Audience: who is it for?
  • Purpose: why is it?
  • Scope: how much detail?
• Knowledge:
  • Internal: what do I already know?
  • External: what research is available?
• Organization:
  • Brain Dump: get all the ideas down on paper.
  • Order Ideas: combine into an outline.
    • Thesis: The purpose, from planning stage (it evolves)
    • Body: Organized ideas from brain dump phase
    • Conclusion: Restates the thesis, no new information
• Writing: using the outline, write from point to point until the end.
• Editing:
  • Content: comparison to outline.
  • Paragraphs:
    • Topic Sentence
    • Main Idea
    • Conclusion/Interpretation
  • Sentences:
    • Length: average in teens, frequent changes
    • Structure: Simple, Compound, Complex
  • Words:
    • Order
    • Choice
    • Cohesion/Location
  • Key terms: keep a similar term for the idea throughout
  • Transitions
  • Condensing:
    • Emphasize important information
    • De-emphasize or omit less important information
    • Replace or omit pointless words and phrases.
  • Reduce intensifiers and hedges
  • Avoid writing in the negative

Whenever I have time to write, I will pick the topic that is most interesting. My audience is my future self. I will do everything I can to communicate clearly and remove assumptions. The articles stop as soon as my point is made, because I respect my readers time.