Exercise 1: Directories and Outline Form

Subject directories on home pages of websites use some of the principles of outlining. For example, if you go to a website like that of the Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org/ref) reference section, you can take a broad topic like "Education" (main head), narrow it to "Higher Education" (a sub-head) and narrow that to "Undergraduate Education" (a sub-sub-head). Using the reference section, see if you can start with a directory in the reference section and narrow the subject as you would in an outline.

Exercise 2: Hyperlinks and Outline Form

Just as subject directories on home pages of websites use some principles of outlining, so do sites that use hyperlinks. Usually broad subjects (main heads) appear on the home page with hyperlinks to more specific areas (sub-heads) that are hyperlinked to still more specific information (sub-sub-heads). Start with the homepage for your own college and see how the hyperlinks lead to successively more narrow categories of information.

Exercise 3: View Your Draft in Outline Format

After you have composed a draft of your sentence outline, move your cursor to "View" on your toolbar and click on "Outline" to see how your work would look in outline form. This simple method of checking your work allows you to see better if you have used complete sentences, if main heads are truly broader than the sub-heads, and if you have at least two sub-heads under each head.