THESIS: Soap operas are popular among viewers of all ages for several reasons.
I. Potrayal of family problems
A. Divorce
B. Remarriage
C. Attitudes
1. Jealousy
2. Compassion
II. Reflection of cultural values
A. Youth
B. Beauty
C. Wealth
III. Emphasis on romance
Rules for Preparing an Outline
1.Roman numerals indicate the main ideas: I, II, III., etc.
Indented capital letters indicate supporting ideas: A, B, C, etc.
Indented Arabic numerals indicate details: 1, 2, 3, etc.
Indented small letters indicate even smaller details: a, b, c, etc.
2. If you have A, you must have B. If you have I, you must have 2, and so on.
3. Use parallel structure. For example, use sentences for every item, or, as is most commonly done, use phrases and words with the same grammatical form.
4. Capitalize the first word of every phrase.
5. Follow each number and letter with a period.
6.Indent parallel items the same distance from the margin.
Exercise 11. Outline the model essay at the beginning of this chapter.
I Have Three Days to Hear.
Thesis:
I.
II.
III.
Part II
Logical Organization
As you know, writing is an active thinking process. Understanding information in a foreign language is not easy. Writing about that information in a foreign language is even more difficult. To understand and to write in English you must carry on a continuous «thinking» process. You must take facts and opinions and arrange them, relate them to each other, and organize them. There are different logical methods of organization of the writing process. You will learn and practice using these logical relationships. When you are familiar with different logical methods of organization and the vocabulary you need to express your ideas, then you will be able to apply these methods of organization in your writing to any subject. Furthermore, if you will be able to choose and to combine different methods to achieve fluency and logic, the end result will be your own individual writing style.
Now let us consider logical methods of writing organiza-tion in details.