How to Write an Outline of a Dateline News Report

Learn while you watch TV with a Dateline news report.

"Dateline" is an NBC news magazine that explores everything from scientific discoveries to cultural phenomenon. While the intent of this show is not purely educational, many teachers elect to use the program in their class as it presents information in an engaging, multimedia fashion. To organize the information found on the program into manageable parts, and develop a deeper understanding of the content, students can create an outline of the program. This outline can be consulted later if the student encounters any questions regarding the program or the information that it contained.

Instructions

1. Title your outline with the title of the "Dateline" episode, along with the original air date. If the episode does not have a distinctive title, it is permissible to use only the original air date and omit the title all together.

2. Create a roman numeral-headed section for each topic discussed during the show. While some dateline shows only have one topic for the entire hour, most have 15 to 20 minute segments. If the episode that you are outlining contains segments, create a section for each segment, marking each section with a roman numeral followed by a period. For example, if the first segment is about alcohol abuse, you would begin your outline with "I. Alcohol Abuse."

3. Place a sub-point about the main topic below the roman numeral heading. Consider the main points that are presented about each topic. If, for example, the program begins the discussion of alcohol abuse by talking about drinking and driving, you would place the sub-point "drinking and driving" below the first roman numeral. Before each sub-point, place a capital letter followed by a period, and indent the sub-point five spaces. In this example, your second line would read "A. Drinking and Driving."

4. Include any evidence to support the sub-point below the point. As you move down your outline, your information should increase in specificity. So, information you place under the subheading "A. Drinking and Driving" would be more specific information about that topic. To delineate this information, you indent five more spaces and mark the information with a number, followed by a period. In this example, your evidence could read "1. On the rise among teens."

5. Continue in this fashion until you have outlined the entire program. Creating an outline is a systematic process. Follow this pattern to outline the entire program, continuing your use of roman numerals, capital letters and numbers as necessary to capture all of the important information from the program in your outline.

References

• MSNBC: Dateline Homepage