FORMAT: 1.Your name, course etc. should go at the top left of your paper in MLA format

2.Your document should be double spaced

Your document should follow this pattern:

Title (centered)I. Roman Numerals    A. Capital letters         1. Arabic numerals             a. Lowercase lettersII. Roman Numerals               

I. Thesis statement of chapter or article here    A. Sub topic #1         1. Evidence             a. Commentary

B. Sub topic #21. Evidence

a. Commentary**Note—Roman Numeral I and its contents

should give an overview of the whole chapter

Note: Every Roman Numeral after I should correspond to the sub-topics, and should go in-depth on that sub-topic

II. Subtopic#1 Topic SentenceA. Evidence

1. CommentaryIII. Subtopic #2 Topic Sentence

A. Evidence

Janet OrtegaProf. OgdenE400-884312 Sept. 2010

Outline: “First Thoughts” by Natalie GoldbergI.  First thoughts are most important for your writing.

A. Timed exercises1. The Rules of Writing2. Following the rules helps you explore yourself better.

B. First thoughts are not about your ego.C. You need writing discipline.

1. Its like Zen meditation.D. First thoughts are the best because they’re “fresh”

II. ”The basic unit of writing practice is the timed exercise.”A. There are rules for the writing practice known as “freewriting.”

1. “Keep your hand moving.”2. Don’t cross out.3. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar.”4. Lose Control5. Don’t think. Don’t get logical.6. Go for the jugular.

In that previous example, note how the first section gave an overview of ALL of the subpoints, and then each Roman Numeral that follows gives specific details about the sub points.

TIP: Don’t get caught up in thinking the “paragraphs” equal Roman Numerals or Letters. It’s your job to EXTRACT the key ideas.