Online Technical Writing: Planning Reports—Outlining


Outlining Stage Finishing the Outline Exercises Model: Example Report Topic Proposal (memo)

This section shows you an important technique for the early stages of your report-writing project: developing a detailed outline for a report project

Outlining stage
When you write a technical report, not only must you think of the right information to include (or exclude); you must also find a good way to arrange it. The first task involves invention (or brainstorming) and narrowing; the second, outlining.

Outlines for technical reports are usually hard to handle solely in your mind; it's a little like trying to add a list of large numbers in your mind. You must get report outlines on paper in order to think about the arrangement of the topics within them. A good working outline serves you in at least four important ways:

Exploratory reading. If you have trouble getting started on the rough outline, do some exploratory reading in nonspecialist encyclopedias, introductory chapters of general audience books, or articles in science magazines for nonspecialists. If necessary, move on from these resources to more specialized ones like the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology or Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia. As you do this exploratory work, read briskly without taking detailed notes; try for a general sense of the subject.

Step 6. If you need a general introduction to your report subject, refer to nonspecialist encyclopedias listed above, or see the section on finding encyclopedias.

Arranging the parts of the outline. If you went through the brainstorming and narrowing steps, you have a list of topics that you can rearrange into a rough outline. It will be a "rough" outline because it may still need further rearrangement and addition of other topics or subtopics. The topic list below concerns cocombustion, which is the incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) with conventional fuels to reduce conventional fuel consumption costs and related MSW disposal problems. Imagine that you had developed a topic list on this subject and then had narrowed the list to these topics: 

   Advantages of cocombustion         Steps in cocombusting MSW
   Disadvantages of cocombustion    Historical background on cocombustion    
   Economics of cocombustion          Special components for cocombustion
   Composition of MSW
The next step in outlining is to arrange the items in an appropriate order. There are so many different patterns of arrangement that only most common ones can be reviewed here.

Step 7. Arrange the topics you selected in Step 5 using the strategies discussed in the preceding section, and then identify the patterns (for example, chronological or simple-to-complex) you've used.

Elaborating the rough outline. When you "elaborate" a rough outline, you divide and subdivide the items already listed. Even without having done much research, you'll have a fair idea of what these second- and third-level items will be. 

1. Historical background
        rising costs of conventional fuels
        problems with coventional MSW disposal
        alternatives
2. Composition of MSW
        properties
        sources
        energy content
        ...
3. Special components of the cocombustion plant
        component 1
        component 2
        component 3
        ...
4. Steps in the process of cocombustion with coal
        step 1
        step 2
        step 3
        ...

Notice how the basic kinds of writing and organizational patterns (covered in Part 1) are used in elaborating the rough outline. With an elaborated outline, you can begin to read and take notes: each item represents a question mark that you need to get information on. As you get this information, you can make the wording of outline items more specific: for example, "Component 1" would change to "Collection receptacles." Here's an excerpt of the same outline above, but much further along: 

3. Special components of the cocombustion plant
   a. collection receptacles
   b. power compaction unit
   c. storage pits
   d. incinerator feed system
      1. gravity chute
      2. ram feeder
      3. hopper
      4. furnace
      5. charging gate

Elaborating the rough outline is essentially a process of dividing that outline using two basic principles:

With an outline this well developed, the next step is to begin doing some serious reading, researching, investigating, and note-taking. During this next phase, however, the outline will continue to change as new and different information turns up.

Step 8. Use the strategies described above to elaborate the rough outline you developed in Step 7.

Finishing the outline
You need not be concerned about the finishing touches for your outline until after you've written and revised the rough draft. Writing the rough draft is the true test of an outline: during that stage you are likely to discover parts of the outline that don't work, are out of place, or do not belong at all. When you "finetune" an outline after writing the rough draft, however, you are actually transforming it into a table of contents that you can use in the finished, bound copy of the report. Here are some specific things to look for in your final work on an outline:

Comparing the outline to the rough draft. Even the most carefully prepared outlines rarely match the resulting rough drafts. Even the most straightforward of technical subjects can take off in their own unexpected directions. Therefore, you must compare your completed rough draft to the original outline in the following ways:

  1. A good way to start is to insert the outline phrases into your rough draft; in other words, insert the headings into your report, if you have not already done so.
  2. Make sure that the sequence of items in the outline matches the sequence of topics in the rough draft of the report.
  3. Check to see if any items in the outline did not get discussed at all.
  4. Check to see if any new topics cropped up in your rough draft but do not appear in your outline.
  5. Look for longer-than-usual sections in your rough draft for which there are few outline items. Try to find additional outline items within those pages. Here is an example of a longer section; notice that in the original version, there is only one outline item (or heading) whereas there are seven in the revised version: 

                    Passage without headings

                    II. SOLID WASTE GENERATED

   This country is a great producer of solid waste. In the
U.S. in 1980, each person will produce about 8 pounds of solid
waste a day, whereas in Europe the average production rate is
3 to 4 pounds per person per day. An added difference is that
in Europe there 243 facilities to utilize solid waste
(although none are for the production of electricity), whereas
in the U.S. there are only about 20.

   As can be seen in Table 1, this country has increased the
generation of waste from 1970 to 1980 by 50 percent, and will
increase another 50 percent from 1980 to 2000. These
 quantities represent only that portion which is collected;
there is another 5 to 10 percent that is not collected. These
percentages add up to an undeniably large quantity of
potential energy that goes almost totally unused in the U.S.

          Table 1. Quantities of Municipal Waste
                   Generated in the U.S.

  Year            Lbs/person/day          Tons/year x 106

  1950                 3.5                        102
  1965                 4.5                        156
  1970                 5.3                        199
  1980                 8.0                        314
  2000                12.0                        526

 Disposal of solid waste is by far the most useless method of
eliminating the refuse. Most methods of disposal currently
employed do not utilize the waste material. Disposal costs in
this country amount to over $1.02 billion per year.

   Sanitary landfills involve the placement of solid waste in
valleys, ravines, or other natural depression in the earth.
The waste is placed in the landfill in 18- to 24-inch layers
and then covered with soil. This process is repeated until the
hole is full and a new location is needed. The average life of
a landfill is 5 to 10 years.  The cost of a landfill varies
from $1.35 to $2.70 per ton of refuse. This rate involves
disposal cost only; collection costs are omitted.

   Land spreading is a method of waste disposal in which waste
is placed in a field and then is plowed into the soil. This
method is used only when small quantities of waste are
generated because large land areas are required for such
operations. The process is a clean one, but the life of such
facilities is only 2 to 5 years. Disposal costs range from
$0.60 to $4.05 per ton of waste, depending on the quality of
the land.

Open dumping, one of the most undesirable of all methods of
disposal of solid waste, involves placing the waste in open
pits or on level areas. The refuse is in constant exposure and
is a haven for vermin. Open dumping costs from $0.65 to $1.00
per ton of refuse and is illegal in most areas.

Incineration in which no energy is recovered is the most
commonly used method of solid waste disposal in the U.S. The
primary purpose of incineration is to reduce the volume of the
waste before it is carried to a landfill. The cost of
incineration ranges from $6.75 to $20.00 per ton of waste and
represents an enormous waste of both money and energy.

                   Revised outline

              II. SOLID WASTE GENERATED
                  A. Quantities of Solid Waste
                  B. Methods of Solid Waste Disposal
                     1. Sanitary landfills
                     2. Land spreading
                     3. Open dumping
                     4. Incineration

                Passage revised with headings
               (to indicate new outline items)

                 II. SOLID WASTE GENERATED

This country is a great producer of solid waste. In the
U.S. in 1980, each person will produce about 8 pounds . . . .

Quantities of MSW Generated

As can be seen in Table 1, this country has increased the
generation of waste from 1970 to 1980 by 50 percent . . . .

Methods of Solid Waste Disposal

Disposal of solid waste is by far the most useless method
of eliminating the refuse. Most methods of disposal currently
employed do not utilize the waste material. Disposal costs in
this country amount to over $1.02 billion per year.

Sanitary Landfills. Sanitary landfills involve the
placement of solid waste in valleys, ravines, or other natural
depression in the earth. The waste is placed . . . .

Land Spreading. Land spreading is a method of waste
disposal in which waste is placed in a field and then is
plowed into the soil. This method is used only when . . . .

Open Dumping. Open dumping, one of the most undesirable of
all methods of disposal of solid waste . . .

Incineration. Incineration in which no energy is recovered
is the most commonly used method of solid waste disposal in
the U.S.  The primary purpose of incineration is to . . . .

Figure 8. An example of using rough drafts to elaborate outlines

Step 9. When you have written a rough draft of your report, compare it to your outline, and update your outline using the suggestions discussed above.

Eliminating one-item outline entries. Here is an excerpt of an outline with a one-item entries: 

                 Outline with single item entry

 II. Characteristics of municipal solid waste
     A. Composition
        1. Food waste
        2. Paper
        3. Other rubbish
III. Current methods of disposal

                    Revised outline

 II. Characteristics and Composition of MSW
     A. Food waste
     B. Paper
     C. Other rubbish
III. Current Methods of Disposal

In this example, there is no "B" to go along with the "A". To fix this problem, either (a) insert additional items, or (b) delete the single item by combining some of its phrasing into the preceding item.

To insert additional items into the outline, you try to add at least a "B" for any unaccompanied "A"; at least a "2" for any unaccompanied "1"; at least a "b" for any unaccompanied "a". Of course, any Cs, Ds, 3s, 4s, cs, ds, and so on are also welcome. Here is an example of a single-item entry and its corresponding report section: 

               One-item outline entry problem
              and corresponding report excerpt

              IV. Solid Waste Characteristics
                  A. Energy Content
               V. Processing Solid Waste


        IV. SOLID WASTE CHARACTERISTICS

   The amount and characteristics of solid waste vary consider-
ably over a year and in different locations. In the fall, for
example, leaves change the nature of solid waste in a significant
way. The figures discussed below are averages that account for
both the variations in time and in location.

Composition

   Municipal refuse is composed of a vast array of products that
have lost their usefulness. These wastes include home wastes,
commercial wastes, and city wastes. While home and commercial
wastes are usually placed in receptacles for periodic removal by
collection agencies to landfills or incinerators, city wastes
usually collect elsewhere and require special handling and
disposal.

    Home wastes include such diverse products as glass bottles,
cans, plastic toys, cellophane, paper, cardboard, nails, small
appliances, tools, light bulbs, clothes, rubber products, and
wood and food items. If these wastes are not separated into
classes, such as metal, glass, and paper, they are described as
"heterogeneous" wastes.

   Commercial wastes are generated by retail businesses and
institutions such as hospitals, banks, and schools. Although
these wastes are also considered heterogeneous, they contain high
percentages of office waste and packing materials . . .

   Energy content is often referred to in British Thermal Units
(BTUs) per pound of waste.  A BTU is the amount of energy
required to raise one gram of water one degree centigrade.  With
moisture present in the material the energy content decreases in
the heating value by approximately 30 to 40 percent. The range in
energy content of typical municipal solid waste is from 3
thousand to 60 thousand BTUs per pound, with an average value of
4500 BTUs per pound. This last figure assumes a moisture content
of from 15 to 40 percent and an average of 20 percent.

   In comparison, coal has an average heating value of 1100 BTUs
per pound and a moisture content of 20 percent on the average.

               V. PROCESSING SOLID WASTE

   Processing MSW involves certain modifications to existing
incinerator designs....

               Revised outline and corresponding passage
        (with headings revised to show the new outline item)

          IV. Solid Waste Characteristics
              A. Composition
              B. Energy Content
           V. Processing Solid Waste

        IV. SOLID WASTE CHARACTERISTICS


   The amount and characteristics of solid waste vary consider-
ably over a year and in different locations. In the fall . . .

Composition

   Municipal refuse is composed of a vast array of products that
have lost their usefulness. These wastes include ...

Energy Content

   Energy content is often referred to in British Thermal Units
(BTUs) per pound of waste. A BTU is the amount of energy ...

               V. PROCESSING SOLID WASTE

    Processing MSW involves certain modifications to existing
incinerator designs....

Figure 9. Solving the one-item outline entry problem

One way to revise the problem in Figure 9 would have been to delete "A. Energy Content" altogether and rephrase the preceding item as "IV. Solid Waste: Characteristics and Energy Content." But another and usually better way to handle the problem is to scan the corresponding passage for at least one other item, in this case, "Energy Content."

Adjusting items in an outline. You should also make sure that items in your outline are on the right level. Here is an example of this problem and a revision: 

        Unadjusted outline              Revised outline


A. Plant Modifications for Coc-      A. Plant modifications for Co-
   combustion                           combustion
   1. Storage areas                     1. Storage areas
   2. Conveyor lines                    2. Conveyor lines
   3. Boiler modifications              3. Boiler modifications
   4. Air control equipment             4. Air control equipment
B. Economic Benefits                 B. Benefits of Cocombustion
C. Environmental Benefits               1. Economic benefits
                                        2. Environmental benefits

In this revision, the problem was solved by adding a more general item ("Benefits of Cocombustion") and downshifting the original "B" and "C" items. Now, here's another example: 

        Unadjusted outline              Revised outline

B. Environmental Benefits            B. Environmental benefits
C. Reduction of Landfill Needs          1. Reduction of landfill
D. Economic Benefit                        needs
                                        2. Reduction of Coal
                                           Consumption
                                     C. Economic benefits

Here, "Reduction of Landfill Needs" is really a subdivision of "Environmental Benefits". Downshifting it to a "1" creates a single-item entry, however. Therefore, we might add a second item like "Reduction of Coal Consumption."

Checking for parallel phrasing. The phrasing of any related group of outline items must be "parallel." To be "related," the items must be on the same level and make up a separate group of items. Parallelism is explained in detail elsewhere, but essentially it means sticking with similar kinds of phrasing in related outline items. In the example of a non-parallel outline below: 

 Non-parallel outline excerpt           Parallel version

 I. Municipal Solid Waste Gener-      I. Municipal Solid Waste
    ated in the U.S.                     Generated in the U.S.
    A. What is the total output?         A. Total Output of MSW
    B. Disposal methods                  B. Disposal methods
       1. Sanitary landfills                1. Sanitary landfills
       2. Spreading MSW in open             2. Open spreading
           fields and plowing it under      3. Open dumping
       3. Open dumping               II. Characteristics of MSW
II. What Are the Characteristics of
    MSW?

Figure 10. Revising for parallelism in outlines

Making outlines self-explanatory. The wording of outline items should clearly indicate the content of the corresponding sections. Items like the following simply don't say enough about the contents of the sections that they represent: 

   Background              Discussion
   Applications            Technical Discussion
   Description             Function
   The Future              Operation
   Economics               Review
Here is an outline excerpt revised with much more self-explanatory phrasing: 

   Weak outline phrasing           Revised outline phrasing

  I. Background          I. Background: Rising Utility Costs
 II. Composition        II. Composition of MSW
III. Processes         III. Processes in Cocombusting MSW with
                            Coal
 IV. Components         IV. Basic Components of Cocombustion
                            Plant Facilities
  V. Economics           V. Economics of Cocombustion: Construc-
                            tion, Conversion, Operation, Return

Adjusting the graphics. The final step in outlining is to make the numbering, lettering, spacing, and capitalizing—the graphics of the outline—consistent.

Step 10. Use the strategies above to (a) locate and eliminate one-item outline entries, (b) make sure that the items in your outline are on the right level, (c) make the items in your outline parallel, (d) locate and rephrase items that are not fully self-explanatory, and (e) make the graphics of your outline consistent.

Exercises
  1. Revise the outline here using the finishing-up suggestions discussed in this section. 

                    A report on weather forecasting

        I. Historical
           A. Weather Lore
                1. what phase the moon is in
                2. reactions of people to weather
                3. reactions of animals to weather
                4. optical phenomena
                5. Rainbows
                 6. Certain sequences of weather conditions
           B. Technological advances have changes weather
              forecasting practices.
                1. predicting storms was the early concern.
                2. use of radio to collect information
                3.Radiosondes for upper atmosphere information
                4.computers

        II. BASIC PRACTICES
            A. Observations and Reports
                1. reports of land stations once or twice a day
                   to a central bureau
            B. Analyzing weather charts
                1. Examination of well-defined pressure systems
                        i. low pressure areas
                       ii. high pressure areas
                      iii. troughs of low pressure
                       iv. ridges of high pressure
                        v. cols, or saddle-backed regions
        III. Techniques Used in Short-Range Forecasting
             A. Computation of Displacements
             B. Forecasting Based on Physical Theory
             C. Analogues and types
             D. Regression equations and diagrams
             E. Time-series analyses
             F. Success rate of time-series analyses

         IV. Extended-Range Forecasts
             A. The Namias chart
                1. use of several days' averages
                2. comparsons to long-term normals
                3. limited usually to 30 days
        V. SPECIAL WEATHER FORECASTS

  2. Find an encyclopedia article of at least 3 pages or more on a subject you know something about or have an interest in, and create an outline of that article. Include as many levels of detail in your outline as possible.

  3. Outline one of the following descriptions of a report project. Beware, however: the ideas are scattered, mixed up and fragmentary. 

                    A Report on the Greenhouse Effect

This report is concerned with the greenhouse effect, the way
in which atmospheric carbon dioxide is increasing and leading
to a group of potentially catastrophic consequences for this
planet. It discusses the climatic effects of increased carbon
dioxide which include changes in local weather patterns,
drought, increased tropical storm activity, and sea level
increases. The report uses the 1930s as an analogue, or model
of comparison; the 30s was a period of unusually higher
temperature. The report also discusses what can be done if
anything about the greenhouse effect, such as reducing fossil
fuel use, reduction of the burning of wood and other
substances, use of cleaner fossil fuels, development of solar
and nuclear power resources, massive reforestation on a global
scale, and further research into the carbon cycle. The report
discusses the basic steps in the natural greenhouse effect, in
which a certain amount of carbon dioxide is trapped in the
atmosphere, causing higher global temperatures than there
would be without the effect. The report discusses the major
contributors to increased concentrations of carbon dioxide:
deforestation, burning of fossil fuels, burning of wood, etc.,
and it also discusses how there is a positive feedback
mechanism in which increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
increases the trapping of more carbon dioxide.

             A Report on the Saccharine Controversy

In this report, the controversy over saccharine as a cancer-
causing substance is discussed. Important in the report is the
discussion of a number of carcinogenicity studies, in
particular, the Canadian rat studies which nearly led to the
ban on saccharine in the 1970s, the Ames test for mutagens and
a group of studies generally referred to as promotion studies.
One section of the report discusses health risks associated
with saccharine such as bladder cancer; risks of other cancers
such as uterus, ovary, breast and lung cancers are also
reviewed. The health benefits of saccharine are also
discussed; these include reducing sugar intake which is
helpful or necessary to the overweight or diabetic. The
clinical aspects of the studies and the risks and benefits
that they found are also discussed--how the studies were run,
their findings, the implications of those findings, and their
reliability. The report discusses the original synthesis of
saccharine in 1879, the chemical structure of the substance,
its metabolic effects. The report also discusses what the
legislation has been on saccharine--the Food, Drug and Cos-
metics Act of 1938 and the Food Additives Amendment of 1958
(this amendment contained the Delaney Clause which states that
no substance found to be carcinogenic to man or animal can be
added to food). The report goes into the history of the
proposed ban on saccharine in 1977 upon publication of the
Canadian rat studies and then the postponement of that ban a
few weeks later after public outcry, lobbying--lobbying in
particular by the Calorie Control Council, a group of Japanese
and American manufacturers of saccharine.

Interested in courses related to this page or a printed version? See the resources page. Return to the main menu of this online textbook for technical writing.

Information and programs provided by hcexres@io.com.