If you read the subject of this post and thought “oh no, an outline! What a waste of time,” you’re probably not alone.
Many times, we just think it is easer to sit in front of our computers and let the words flow. But having an outline can really save a lot of time and frustration when you’re working on your next essay. An outline is a roadmap to your paper. When you’re sitting in front of the computer and you suddenly can’t figure out what to write next, take a look at your outline for a clue.
An article published at the popular Website Lifehacker advises that we remember to create full outlines. We tend to only create outlines based on topics or questions, but as the article suggests, including answers to your questions will make for a more pleasant writing experience.
Say, for example, we are writing an essay about Braille. One question or topic we might discuss is: how do you form the Braille alphabet. Instead of writing that in our outline and moving onto the next topic, we would first describe how the Braille alphabet is formed. That way, the details are al there, waiting to be worked into our paper.
Here’s the link to the Lifehacker article.
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2012/08/save-time-when-writing-with-better-outlines/