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I Organizing your ideas 23

Formal outline
I A forrnal outlinc not only Iavs out main ideas and their-support
also sho\vs the relative importance of all the essay's elcments. On 3b
basis oI her scratch oulline (prel.ious page), Katy Moreflo prepared
rtailcd formal outline for her essay on the global job market:

Thesis statement
rl
l4y mother's experience of having herjob outsourced taught a tesson that
Thomas L. Frjedman overtooks: technicat training by itsetf can be too narrow to
produce the communicators and probtem solvers needed bycontemporary
bu5inesses.

formaloutline
I. Summary ofFriedman's articte
A. Reasons for outsourcjng
1. Improved technology and access
2. r retl-educated workers

3. Prod uctive workers

4. Lowerwages
B. Need forimproved technical training in uS
II. Experience of my mother
A. 0utsourcing ofjob
1. l{other's education, experience, performance
2. Emptoyer'scostsavings
B. Retention of fi anagers' jobs
1. Ptanning skiLts
2, Communication shtts
1II. Conctu5ions about idea I ed ucation
A. Needs ofuS busiresses
1, Techiicatskitts
2. Managementsh[[s
a. Communication
b. ProbLem solving
c. Versatility
B. Consideration of personaI goals
1. Technicattraining
2. Engtjsh and history courses for management skills

This example illustrates several principles of outlining that can

ensure completeness, balance, and clear relationships:
. All parts are systematically indented and labeledr Roman numerals
(I,II) for primary divisions; indented capital letters (A, B) for sec-
ondary divisions; further indented Arabic numerals (1, 2) for sup-
il porting examples; and small Ietters (a, b) for details.
. Th€ outline divides the material into several groups. A long list of
points at the same level should be broken up into groups.
t r Topi6 of equal generality appear in parallel headings, with the
same indention and numbering or lettering.