In school and up through college, I got frustrated when an instructor required an outline before writing a draft. Outlines as an assignment bugged me because usually I was in one of two circumstances:
1. I already had a solid plan in my head for what I wanted to write. Creating an outline with the same information felt like an unnecessary step when I was ready to jump into the draft.
2. I needed to do more research to figure out what I wanted to write. Requiring an outline at this point felt like committing to a piece that I wasn't sure about yet.
In both these cases, the outline step was in the wrong place for me. Too late or too soon. And so writing an outline felt like a barrier or a distraction, instead of part of the process.
I know that some outline assignments serve purposes to 1) teach students how to create an outline and 2) allow a teacher to verify the idea for the piece before the student writes a full draft.
But in these instances, there are other ways to accomplish the same things. 1) Reverse-engineer an existing piece into an outline. 2) Write a summary of your idea (but it doesn't have to be in outline form).
Instructors could teach how to work with outlines instead of shoehorning outlines into students' writing processes.
But, despite those forced, out-of-sync outlines in school, I find outlines useful now, as an adult, writing professionally.
I don't outline everything I write for work, but outlines are helpful when I'm shaping a piece of writing. I can lay out the information I want to cover before I write a full draft. Outlines help me find gaps where I need to do more research. I come up with questions to expand or clarify what I'm writing.
So, yes, I think outlines are useful when they are part of your process. When they help you get to a draft. But not when someone just wants an abbreviated version of what you're thinking about.
1. I already had a solid plan in my head for what I wanted to write. Creating an outline with the same information felt like an unnecessary step when I was ready to jump into the draft.
2. I needed to do more research to figure out what I wanted to write. Requiring an outline at this point felt like committing to a piece that I wasn't sure about yet.
In both these cases, the outline step was in the wrong place for me. Too late or too soon. And so writing an outline felt like a barrier or a distraction, instead of part of the process.
I know that some outline assignments serve purposes to 1) teach students how to create an outline and 2) allow a teacher to verify the idea for the piece before the student writes a full draft.
But in these instances, there are other ways to accomplish the same things. 1) Reverse-engineer an existing piece into an outline. 2) Write a summary of your idea (but it doesn't have to be in outline form).
Instructors could teach how to work with outlines instead of shoehorning outlines into students' writing processes.
But, despite those forced, out-of-sync outlines in school, I find outlines useful now, as an adult, writing professionally.
I don't outline everything I write for work, but outlines are helpful when I'm shaping a piece of writing. I can lay out the information I want to cover before I write a full draft. Outlines help me find gaps where I need to do more research. I come up with questions to expand or clarify what I'm writing.
So, yes, I think outlines are useful when they are part of your process. When they help you get to a draft. But not when someone just wants an abbreviated version of what you're thinking about.