Writing a College Paper Part III: The Extended Outline

You guys must be thinking: an extended outline? really? Yes really! Some people think this step in the writing process is unimportant, or tedious, and would rather jump right into writing their first draft. But trust me, your final paper will look, and sound, so much better if you do an extended outline first. 

After you compile all your research, and have typed your original outline into your computer, you're ready to begin. Since I use physical 5x3 notecards when I do research it's easy for me to physically sort them into groups, which is exactly what I do. I separate my notecards into the different topics I highlighted in my outline. If you virtually took your research notes, try and sort them as well, either with tags or just grouped together on a word document. 

Here comes the super easy part of an extended outline. Are you ready? All you have to do is type the information on your notecards into the correct sections on your outline, and you're done! (don't forget to add a little citation so you know where your information came from) 

click for the outline image photo credits 

That's it! Crazy right? Everyone always thinks extended outlines are a long process, but they really aren't. And having this simple extended outline will make writing your first draft super easy since all you'll have to do is turn your notes into complete sentences. 

If you're following along with this little 7-part series, let me know how you're using it, and if it's helpful! You may be featured in my final post of the series ;)!

xoxo

AME