Outlining Academic Texts

Study Notes

Outlining Academic Texts

An outline visually represents the structure of a text
Outlines act as a blueprint for the text, helping readers to understand the key concepts and arguments
Outlines can also be used by writers during the pre-writing stage

Topic Outline

Uses keywords and concept phrases to organize main ideas only
Suitable for shorter pieces of writing
Does not use full sentences
Example:
- Research topic: Narratives of Local Filipino Generation Z vloggers
  - Introduction
    - Vlogging
      - Influencing/Content creation
      - Different vloggers in the Philippines
      - Stories and reasons why vloggers started
    - Framework
    - Statement of the Problem
      - What inspired the vloggers to start content creation?
      - What were the difficulties of the vloggers when starting with content creation?
      - How do you create content for vlogs?
  - Methodology
    - Qualitative study
    - 3–5 Generation Z Filipino vloggers
    - Metro Manila
    - Interview and focused group discussion
    - Open and axial coding
  - Results
    - Results for SOP 1
    - Results for SOP 2
    - Results for SOP 3
  - Discussion
    - Significant findings per SOP
    - Impact of Generation Z Filipino Vloggers

Sentence Outline

Uses complete sentences to express main ideas
Can be more helpful in clarifying complex information
Uses numbers and letters to represent the hierarchy of information
Example:
- Research topic: Case Study of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of a Small Business in Davao
  - Introduction
    - Presentation of related studies of corporate social responsibility
      - The definition of corporate social responsibility will be outlined
      - Different types of businesses will be explored
      - Small businesses will be specifically defined
      - This research will examine foreign literature about CSR
      - This research will examine local literature about CSR
    - Framework
    - Statement of the problem
      - What aspects of CSR does the business promote?
      - How does the business promote its CSR?
      - What is the feedback of the business’s clientele regarding its CSR?
  - Methodology
    - This research will utilize a case study approach
    - The subject of the case study is a small business
    - The study will take place in Davao City, Philippines
    - Data will be gathered through interviews, surveys, and document analysis
    - Open and axial coding and descriptive statistics will be applied to analyze the data
  - Results
    - Results for SOP 1
    - Results for SOP 2
    - Results for SOP 3
  - Discussion
    - Significant findings per SOP will be discussed
    - Impact on the customers of the business will be analyzed
    - Impact on the beneficiaries of the CSR will be explored
    - Impact on the business will be examined

IMRaD Outline

A common structure for academic writing
Stands for Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion
Used for research papers
Examples for topics:
- Narratives of Local Filipino Generation Z vloggers
- Case study of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of a Small Business in Davao
- Impact of raising awareness about issues in the Philippines on student perceptions
- Government policies for eco-friendly packaging in public markets
Both topic and sentence outlines can be used to structure the IMRaD sections
An introduction does not always contain a thesis statement, but rather three statements of the problem or research questions
The methodology section should include the research design, the participants, the instruments used, and the data analysis techniques
The results section outlines the key findings for each research question
The discussion section includes the analysis of the results and the interpretation of their significance
The discussion section should address the impact of the study on the audience and the direction for future research