How to Write an Article Outline

An outline helps you get to the point and stay on track. It's an important time saver as you prepare to write any article. An outline helps you organize your thoughts as well as the flow of information if you make it a necessary part of your writing process.

Instructions

1. Figure out the purpose of your article. An outline is a plan. An effective plan serves to accomplish a specific goal. Determine what type of article you want to write, why the information is important and details about your reader to help you formulate data that is catchy and relevant to your audience.

2. Formulate a working title. Keep in mind that your title or headline is subject to change and is a work in progress. The ultimate goal is to provide your reader with a catchy headline that grabs the individual's attention and then goes on to deliver relevant content that satisfies the reader's curiosity.

3. Create a bullet point that includes your topic sentence or the main idea of the article. This serves as the crux of your introduction and guidance for the rest of the outline.

4. Develop three or more generalized relevant points in bullet form as the road map for the body of your article. Formulate specific subheadings under each point that further expand the thought of the main headings as they relate to the topic sentence.

5. Include a bullet for your conclusion. Write this part of your article as a brief summary of your main points. If you write a piece that requires the reader to take action, issue the call at this point in the article.

Resources

• Sample article outline