How to Create an Elementary Outline for Research

• 1

  Gather the general information about the topic you are researching. For example, if the subject of your research is volcanoes, collect information from at least ten sources. Read each source thoroughly and keep track of important notes or points on index cards with the source of the note written on the back. You'll find information on the composition of lava, the difference between magma and lava and many other fine details about volcanic structures.

• 2

  Narrow down the topic for research. Obviously, the amount of research and experimentation you put into the project depends on the importance of the project. For a high school or college research project, there will be time limitations that will prevent extremely thorough study of the general topic of volcanoes. You can narrow the research down to the environmental effect of volcanic eruption to the intensity of volcanoes in one hemisphere in comparison to another. Choose this avenue carefully and read closer on the material available for that area.

• 3

  Write out of the overflow. It is an old axiom for writers and researchers that advises writing from the overflow of information. Any research project will include basic information that can be found and reworded to sound original. For a research project to stand out, find the information beyond that which most people study and make that information a key part of your work.

Outline Form

• 4

  Use a parallelism form for one type of outline. In parallelism, if the first word of the first heading is a verb, then the second and third headings should be a verb as well. For example, if the first heading reads, "Comparing the Force of Volcanic Eruptions" the second can read, "Studying the Force of Volcanic Eruptions in Relation to Hemispheres."

• 5

  Use a coordination form for another type of outline. In a coordination form, the information revealed under the first heading should have the same importance as the information in the second and third headings. The first heading could read, "Volcanic Eruptions in the Northern Hemisphere" and the second, "Volcanic Eruptions in the Southern Hemisphere."

• 6

  Add subheadings or a subordination to the existing coordination form of outline. The subheadings in this research could relate to the time period of the eruption, a comparative of the force generated by each or the effects on the local environment after the eruptions ceased.