Outlining-No A without a B in subtopics????

[Mom in High Heels]

We're working on outlining ancient history. It is a ton of work, let me tell you. In Hist Ody, level 2, it states you cannot have a subtopic A by itself. It states that while you may not always have a subtopic, if you do, you must have at least 2 subtopics. There can be no A unless there is also a B. Huh? I've never heard that before. Sometimes there is no need for 2 subtopics. What do you think?

[MomatHWTK]

I was taught this rule. If there is only one subtopic, then wouldn't that just be topic? Subtopics would just be necessary if a particular section or paragraph covered more than one topic. Does that make sense?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I think if there is just one detail under a topic you can put the detail in with just a hyphen and no letter or number.

[SilverMoon]

.

Edited June 2 by SilverMoon

[Mom in High Heels]

Well, seriously, I've never heard it. And to what end?

 

I actually went and looked at an old grammar book that Iwas mine a million years ago and it is in there. I guess I just forgot. Age and all. I don't recall ever getting graded on an outline. The only time I ever used them was in note taking (I love note taking!) which no one ever saw but me, and to help organize thoughts. So, why is the rule so important? I suppose if I were using an ouline to write a paragraph I'd need more than one sub-topic, but for outlining history, it doesn't make sense.

[Cosmos]

I was taught this rule. If there is only one subtopic, then wouldn't that just be topic? Subtopics would just be necessary if a particular section or paragraph covered more than one topic. Does that make sense?

 

 

It makes sense to me, and that's what I was taught too. If the main topic is "Trade in the Ming Dynasty" and the only subtopic is "Trade of Silver", then really the section isn't about trade in the Ming Dynasty. It's about the silver trade during that time. I would outline it like this:

 

III. Trade of Silver in the Ming Dynasty

. . . A. Trade with Europe

. . . B. Trade with Japan

. . . etc.

 

On the other hand, if there is some general information about trade and then silver is an extended example, I would probably outline it like this:

 

III. Trade in the Ming Dynasty

. . . A. General Practices

. . . B. Trade of Silver

 

But I'm no expert on outlining. (Or on the Ming Dynasty. Please excuse any errors in my made-up example.) I'd be interested to see more examples.

[Cosmos]

Well, seriously, I've never heard it. And to what end?

 

I actually went and looked at an old grammar book that Iwas mine a million years ago and it is in there. I guess I just forgot. Age and all. I don't recall ever getting graded on an outline. The only time I ever used them was in note taking (I love note taking!) which no one ever saw but me, and to help organize thoughts. So, why is the rule so important? I suppose if I were using an ouline to write a paragraph I'd need more than one sub-topic, but for outlining history, it doesn't make sense.

 

 

Can you give an example where there would be only one sub-topic? I posted an example above, and it seems to me that the one sub-topic is actually the main topic. Are there cases where that doesn't happen? You can use a made-up example like I did.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Can you give an example where there would be only one sub-topic? I posted an example above, and it seems to me that the one sub-topic is actually the main topic. Are there cases where that doesn't happen? You can use a made-up example like I did.

 

 

Having one subtopic makes more sense in a larger outline where there are more levels of parallelism. And now that I think more about it, I think the hyphen is on the same line as the heading, making it detail for the heading rather than a subheading

 

Standardized tests for high schoolers

 

-College Entrance Tests

---SAT

---ACT

 

-Course Validation Exams

---SAT Subject Tests

---AP Exams

---CLEP Tests

 

-Specialized Exams

---National Latin Exam

-------Intro to Latin

-------Latin I

-------Latin II

-------Latin III

-------Latin III-IV Poetry

-------Latin III-IV Prose

-------Latin V-VI

 

---Medusa Mythology Exam

---PSAT - Used for National Merit qualification

 

In the above example, "Used for National Merit qualification" provides more detail on PSAT, but isn't a subheading because there is only one detail.

 

Having said that, the occasions for needing a proper, totally correct outline are few and far between. Nice to know the rules but content is more important than specific form in most cases. (imho)

 

One thing that an outline might help a student see is that they have made an assertion, but not presented enough evidence for the claim. If there is only one detail, then they need to consider finding another example or combining that point with something else. (And with that note, I'm off to grade more coop papers.)

[lauracolumbus]

It's funny b/c I remember virtually nothing from my elementary school (or high school for that matter) years, except for this rule. Probably b/c it struck me as silly. I guess one of I've wanted to do only one subtopic it probably counted as a detail than an actual topic...but then again, maybe not.

 

Laura

[Professormom]

My take on this is that outlining is a tool. You use the tool in the manner that it helps you to do the job well. In this case, the job is breaking down a piece of writing in order to understand it better, retain information, and/or pull out main points/connections.

 

In my view, there are also 2 main uses for the outline, one involves breaking down an already written piece. This is where a student is more likely to come across work where they will need to use only one sub point. However, when they are creating an outline from which to generate their OWN writing, I would argue that they absolutely need more than one supporting point. A student will not typically have enough experience under their belt to stray from what is usually the better form.

 

Bottom line, I think the word 'never' is a strong one in this case, however, best practice typically calls for more than one sub point and it is probably best for students to learn in that manner because it will help them PRODUCE a more clearly written piece. Just my $0.02:-)