The world has gone digital, and as a writer, you’ll need to have a good pitch when it comes to writing the outline of an article. It has to be unique and straightforward as no one wants to read jargon. This is why I collated my ideas in giving you this piece.
Presently, most magazines are requesting a pre-submission outline before considering a possible feature article from you. And outlines are one heck of good stuff for both the writers and editors.
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An outline of an article is said to give the editor a chance to make their basis on whether the feature is likely to be top-catch when presented to readers alike—and it also shows if you’ll be able to handle that niche as well as genre.
What is an Article Outline?
A given outline of an article is said to let the writer sort out their ideas and maybe get some form of approval before writing the feature.
We could also put it this way too, an outline is a tool used to organize written ideas about a topic into a logical order. Outlines main purpose is to structure main headings, or subheadings and all of the details that would be included when it comes to writing an article.
Writers are known to use outlines when writing, so they’ll be able to have some direction when moving forward or simply knowing what the subject or topic covers.
Why do you need an Outline?
Have you ever tasted wine for the first time in a winery—those tangy wines that are just being poured out from the wooden barrels after centuries in there? The attendant gives you a taste of it, especially if you’re good in wine taste, and when you’re done with it, you give your approval. The wine is let out in the market for further consumption.
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So, when it comes to the outline of an article, that’s just the same way. An outline is a form of a taster for the finishing product which is the article itself. If it’s too long and fluffy, then you might have the wrong article, and your editor would blatantly refuse it.
This means that an article needs to be as brief as possible; a single page is necessary—while it provides a summary of the finished content.
Find out 6 effective ways of Writing the Outline of an Article
1. Research
We have search mediums that help in this. You need to head to sites like Google and begin your Google search for ideas on the topic you wish to write. Try to think of nice ways to address it, which means looking for a particular angle that works for you.
The easiest way to find an angle that works for your outline is by looking for specific knowledge gaps or things intentionally or unintentionally unwritten or written in scattered meanings when you scan your articles.
For example, if you decide to write on how to write an outline of an article; when searching for a subject, search to see what the others have written on how to write an outline of an article. Check out stuff, like the structure (how are the ideas are spelt out), fluency, and the likes; in essence, we are looking for weakness here, and that’s what you need to find out and make ample use of it to create your masterpiece—this is what I term angle.
While you read, make sure you take notes, and if you’re pretty talented absorbing ideas quickly, make good use of this too. Do not forget to write down the URLs; this is done to reference them with links in your Article.
Some of my friends keep their notes in Google doc; this is the same page on which they can tweak their ideas, create an outline, and write their Articles.
Titbits
Having all the information necessary in one place speeds the process of writing faster and delivering on time.
2. Decide
When writing an outline of an article, you need to know one thing. It’s a three-part document, and what I do mean is, it contains;
- The title—which is necessary
- The goal of the planned content
- And a brief statement of all of your credentials
Before you even begin to write the outline of an article, there’s one thing you need to be clear about, and that’s what the goal is. Now, I want to tell you here, what’s the goal of your Article?
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Suppose you want to instruct people on how to do something or tell people about a place. In that case, you need to make it as clear as possible without any prejudices of any kind. When writing an article, you need to let go of all your prejudices and emotional connections with something and write like some demigod—by the way, that’s my secret when I do write (winks).
And, if we do talk about this Article, I guess you have a little inkling of my purpose in writing this article. It’s simply to show readers how to do something relevant when plotting an outline of an article.
Titbits
Decide on what you want to tell and make the necessary arrangements
3. Give the Points
Well, this states the brainstorming process when writing the outline of an article. Don’t be in a rush; rush when it comes to this; take your time, for this, is a basic push for the next step. From my perspective, this is pretty under Decide; but I had to give it its section to make the points reach home.
4. Review the Given Points
Once step C has been duly done, congrats to you; your outline is pretty on its way to success. At this stage, it’s high time you ensure that your points are clear and precise and that nothing whatsoever is missing or at most excessive when it comes to your writing because remember, the longer that its excessive then, the more rejected your outline is going to be when presented to your editor.
In this stage, it is advisable to review your outline and do some ‘subtraction and addition’ to ensure points are either removed or added before you proceed in writing the outline of your Article.
5. Your Audience
Do you know the choice of your audience? You need to know the readers or audience you’re trying to reach out to when writing an outline of an article. For example, why is there summer? In this case, you need to set out the guidelines of how the sun travels from the north to the south and all the elements of nature that go with it. This topic is probably for geographical students or people who are laid down curious to know why.
6. Sieve it all Out
I love writing because it’s more like cooking—that’s why I had to use that word. Yes, you need to sieve it all out; you need to organize, revise and eliminate unnecessary details.
It’s time to organize all of your points. Make sure to figure out the basic structure of your Article before you even dare to present it to a magazine company or your editor. Ask yourself this question, would it work well as a listicle? In standard essay format> Numbered how-to-steps?
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Please make sure you look at the given points you’ve jotted down and begin by placing them in logical order. Do not forget to go over each of the points to ensure that it’s important to your goal. Suppose you feel you’ve strayed off and included fluffs or unnecessary information in any way. In that case, all you need to do is eliminate it.
There’s a likely tendency that you might come across a few stuff that doesn’t quite fit your Article as their sections but seem pretty important to be described in some way. Such elements can be used to make good sidebars.
And as you move ahead to revise your outline, make sure you place them in a standard format. And please, you don’t need to be too formal in the process; all you need to do is organize all of it in a bulleted list.
Do not forget to include the topic parts or segments. Under each topic segment, do indent and include the points that you’ll discuss in each paragraph. And you don’t need to get too intense when it comes to this; all you’re looking for when it comes to this is, getting the necessary information to help you remember your goal and keep you right on track.
Conclusion
Writing an outline of an article is the best thing for a writer as well as an editor. An outline is said to give the editor the chance to judge the feature of the Article, giving it the basis on the genuineness of the Article when being introduced in the market.
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Writing an outline for an article does help the writer to know how their ideas can be laid out.
Things you have to know when starting an Article;
- An outline has three parts
- And before you begin writing the outline, you need to have a goal.
- Do not forget the title and the hook; they are important to the Article.
- The outline should also include a structured list of all of the contents of the eventual Article.
- The final part of your Article should include a structured list of the contents of the final product.
- Do not forget to incorporate the writer’s credentials.
This article was illustrated by the outline stated above—it worked for me. And I wholly believe that I’m more than qualified to write this article, don’t you agree with me?
FAQ
What is the basic outline of an article?
An outline is known to present an essays main idea; this helps to guide the article writing process. It also helps in laying out all of the body paragraphs that do form the bulk of your article and closes those body paragraphs with an introduction and conclusion which guides the reader into and out of the essay.
What are the three types of an outline of an article, are there any?
Yes, we have the speaking outline, working outline, and full-sentence outline.
What is called an outline template?
An outline template is known to be filled with a sample that shows you what a final outline does look like.
What are the parts of an outline?
We have the introduction, the body and the conclusion.
What is the first step in making an outline?
- Choose your topic and establish a given goal.
- Create a list of all the main ideas.
- Organize your main ideas.
- Flush out your main points
- Then you review and adjust.
