1)  Introduction:

a)    Why do we write?

(1)  Writing is a technology to extend the reach of our ideas.

(2)  It’s also a major part of how you advance your career.

(a)  You will be expected to do more and more of it, while other obligations pile up. You'll be writing proposals on top of papers on top of collecting data, possibly on top of teaching…

(b)  Waiting for the muse to visit and inspire you isn't going to work: you need method, not myth to achieve the goals of writing.

b)    What makes good writing?

i)      Good writing is clear, efficient, and persuasive.

c)    What is an outline?

i)      Outlines are the skeleton of a text; they establish its scope and structure. They are the essential framework that authors can then hang details on.

ii)     They are nested sets of headings for smaller and smaller units of an argument and may lack transitional language.

d)    Who do outlines help and how?

i)      Outlines help writers

(1)  Identify what's important.

(2)  Clearly set up the relationship between ideas and the logical flow of a text.

(3)  Determine if one text is better off being several texts.

(4)  Easily re-organize a text by keeping it in logical blocks rather than organic threads.

ii)     Outlines help readers

(1)  Decide how to approach a text.

(2)  Understand arguments.

(3)  Retain information.

iii)    Outlines help others, too:

(1)  Reviewers have an easier time engaging with a text. (This is really a benefit for the writer.)

(2)  A reputation for and tradition of clear writing in a discipline helps its idea influence other parts of society.

e)    Why are outlines underused?

i)      Authors have gotten the message of "create a logical flow" and just want to get straight to putting words on paper.

ii)     Authors think that broad headings, like Introduction and Discussion provide enough structure to their writing.

iii)    Authors find outlines restrictive and want to be more creative in their structure. (Authors in general overestimate their skills.)

f)      Thinking of outlining as a process rather than a product maximizes its effect.

i)      Outlines transform ideas from the messy world of extemporaneous speech into the organized world of fixed text. When you speak, you always have an opportunity to clarify what you mean; when you write, the text can't defend itself any further than what's fixed on the page.

ii)     If we think of outlines as an object, we’re likely to skip past them. If we incorporate them into the earliest planning stages of a project, they can help guide the whole experience.

2)  How do you outline to maximize effect?

a)    Write several of them

i)      If you don’t have a clear structure in mind, brainstorming radically different outlines will bring clarity. They can even be useful in determining a research question. Taking time to brainstorm outlines can be useful in the proposal writing process to better understand the potential papers that could come out of a project. This knowledge can also influence data collection. (Of course, be open to change.)

ii)     If you do have a clear structure in mind, the exercise can show you aspects of the topic you haven't fully considered. Making contrasting outlines can reveal your biases in a topic and get ahead of counter-arguments.

b)    Go deep

i)      The deeper you go on the levels of your outline, the more a text writes itself. In the best-case scenario, the topic sentences of your paragraphs will emerge from the outline.

ii)     Deep outlines make it easier to strategize the beginnings of paragraphs so that important ideas pop out for casual readers.

iii)    Deep outlines make reorganization of a text easier because ideas can be more easily transported in blocks.

c)    Make it a habit

i)      Creating a reliable method for writing reduces both stress and the time it takes to write:

ii)     As with anything, the more you do it, the more naturally it will come. Establishing the habit early pays dividends in the future.

iii)    A habit of mental outlining is also useful for breaking down and solving problems elsewhere in the research process.

3)  Conclusions

a)    We write to expand the reach of our ideas., but our writing must be clear and persuasive in order to be effective. Outlines help writers by organizing thoughts and improving the signal-to-noise ratio of a text.

b)    On a practical level, they provide a repeatable method for academic writers who are required to regularly produce texts and don't have the luxury of time. They also help readers by improving the clarity and logical flow of a text. Good outlines also help guide readers on whether or how to engage with a text. Clear, logical flows with effective paragraphing allow readers to scan a text quickly.

c)    Outlining is a simple habit that has big payoffs for writers, readers, and others.

d)    Overcoming resistance to an outline by reframing it as a process rather than a product can improve writing and make it into a repeatable confident craft rather than a repeated source of stress.

e)    The ability to reach for a tried-and-true method for creating text becomes more and more important as both the pressure to produce and the demands on your time increase in your career.