53b. Organizing ideas with a rough outline

53bOrganize ideas with a rough outline.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR HANDBOOK

It’s helpful to start off with a working thesis and a rough outline—especially when writing from sources.

image Draft a working thesis: 1c

image Draft a plan: 1d

The body of your paper will consist of evidence in support of your thesis. It will be useful to sketch an informal plan that helps you begin to organize your ideas. Anna Orlov, for example, used this simple plan to outline the structure of her argument:

  • Electronic surveillance allows employers to monitor workers more efficiently than they could do with older types of surveillance.
  • Some experts argue that companies have important financial and legal reasons to monitor employees’ Internet usage.
  • But monitoring employees’ Internet usage may lower worker productivity if workers feel their privacy is violated and begin to distrust their employer.
  • Current laws do little to protect employees’ privacy rights, so employees and employers have to negotiate the potential risks and benefits of electronic surveillance.

After you have written a rough draft, a more formal outline can be a useful way to shape the complexities of your argument (see 1d).