V An outline, also called a hierarchical outline, is a list arranged to show hierarchical relationships

and is a type of tree structure. An outline is used[1] to present the main points (in sentences) or topics
(terms) of a given subject. Each item in an outline may be divided into additional sub-items. Each
organizational level in an outline has at least two subcategories as advised by major style manuals
in current use.[2] An outline may be used as a drafting tool of a document, or as a summary of the
content of a document or of the knowledge in an entire field. It is not to be confused with the general
context of the term "outline", which a summary or overview of a subject, presented verbally or written
in prose[3] (for example, The Outline of History is not an outline of the type presented below). The
outlines described in this article are lists, and come in several varieties.

A sentence outline is a compositional tool for writing a document, such as an essay, a paper, a book,
or even an encyclopedia. It is a list used to organize the facts or points to be covered, and their order
of presentation, by section. Topic outlines list the subtopics of a subject, arranged in levels, and
while they can be used to plan a composition, they are most often used as a summary, such as in
the form of a table of contents or the topic list in a college course's syllabus.
Outlines are further differentiated by the index prefixing used, or lack thereof. Many outlines include
a numerical or alphanumerical prefix preceding each entry in the outline, to provide a specific path
for each item, to aid in referring to and discussing the entries listed. An alphanumerical outline uses
alternating letters and numbers to identify entries. A decimal outline uses only numbers as prefixes.
An outline without prefixes is called a "bare outline".
Specialized applications of outlines also exist. A reverse outline is a list of sentences or topics that is
created from an existing work, as a revision tool; it may show the gaps in the document's coverage
so that they may be filled, and may help in rearranging sentences or topics to improve the structure
and flow of the work. An integrated outline is a composition tool for writing scholastic works, in which
the sources, and the writer's notes from the sources, are integrated into the outline for ease of
reference during the writing process.
A software program designed for processing outlines is called an outliner.

Contents
[hide]

1Types of outlines

o 1.1By style

1.1.1Sentence outline

1.1.2Topic outline

1.1.2.1A sample topic outline application: An outline of human knowledge

o 1.2By prefixing used

1.2.1Bare outlines

1.2.2Alphanumeric outline

1.2.3Decimal outline
 o 1.3By specialized purpose

1.3.1Reverse outline

1.3.2Integrated outline

o 1.4Hand-written vs computerized

2Applications

o 2.1Composition

o 2.2Summarization

o 2.3Personal information management

3Outliners

4See also

5Notes

6References

Types of outlines[edit]
Outlines are differentiated by style, the inclusion of prefixes, and specialized purpose. There are also
hand-written outlines (which are highly limited in utility), and digitized outlines, such as those
contained within an outliner (which are much more useful).

By style[edit]
There are two main styles of outline: sentence outlines and topic outlines.
Sentence outline[edit]
A sentence outline is a hierarchical outline composed of sentences. Its primary use is as a
compositional tool for writing a document, such as an essay, a paper, a book, or even an
encyclopedia. It is a list used to organize the facts or points to be covered, and their order of
presentation, by section. It can also be used as a publishing format, in which the outline itself is the
end product.
As an aid to students, the websites of many colleges and universities include instructions on how to
use an outline to draft a paper.
Topic outline[edit]
A topic outline is a hierarchical outline in which each entry is a subtopic of the subject of the outline.
Items are arranged in levels, and may objects, names, values, categories, and so on. While topic
outlines can be used to plan contents or draft a composition, they are typically intended for
publishing and distribution. One application of topic outlines is the college course overview, provided
by professors to their students, to describe the scope of the course. Another application is as a
subject outline, such as for an encyclopedia.
A sample topic outline application: An outline of human knowledge[edit]
Propdia is the historical attempt of the Encyclopdia Britannica of presenting a hierarchical
"Outline of Knowledge" in a separate volume in the 15th edition of 1974. The Outline of
Knowledge was a project by Mortimer Adler. Propdia had three levels, 10 "Parts" at the top level,
41 "Divisions" at the middle level and 167 "Sections" at the bottom level, numbered, for example, "1.
Matter and Energy", "1.1 Atoms", "1.1.1. Structure and Properties of Atoms".