Week 6 · Chapter

Chapter 6 — Outlining

Public Speaking Free sample edition

The module's primary reading · ~40–50 minutes · Objective 4 (organize a speech in a pattern that fits its purpose (chronological, spatial, topical, causal, problem–solution, Monroe's Motivated Sequence), build an introduction and a conclusion that do their jobs, and produce a preparation outline and a speaking outline that follow coordination, subordination, division, and parallelism and use transitions, signposts, internal previews, and internal summaries), Objective 3 (choose and narrow a topic, write a general purpose, a well-formed specific purpose, and a central idea, and support the speech with credible examples, statistics, and testimony that are evaluated for credibility and cited aloud in a complete oral citation naming who, what, and when — never fabricated, never plagiarized) · Read it first this week; the lecture, the slide deck, the tutorial, the quiz, and the Speech Workshop all build on it.

In plain language

This week your speech goes onto paper twice: first as a preparation outline (the full plan, in complete sentences, that you use to build and check the speech), then as a speaking outline (a few keywords on cards that you hold while you talk). Four outlining rules (simple checks on how the levels of an outline fit together) keep the plan honest. Four connectives (the bridges and markers that carry listeners from one part to the next) keep your audience with you. You finish by fixing five common outline errors and checking a chatbot's outline by hand.

Why you already care about this

Your cousin stands up to give a toast at a family dinner for 40 guests, holding a full page of about 300 typed words. Her eyes drop to the page after the first line. Her voice goes flat, and the room starts to drift toward the dessert table. Two minutes later, an uncle takes the floor holding one index card with 5 words on it, looks around the table, and has everyone laughing by the second sentence.

The cousin did more work. She wrote every word. But she brought the wrong document to the moment. A full page is a great place to build a speech and a poor thing to hold while you give one, because a page full of sentences pulls your eyes down and turns talking into reading.

So you need two outlines, each built for a different job. This chapter shows you how to write the full plan, how to test it with four rules, how to add the bridges a listener needs, and how to boil it down to a few cards you can glance at and then look up.

By the end of this chapter you will be able to:

tell a preparation outline from a speaking outline, and say which one goes to the lectern;
check an outline against the four outlining rules and write its symbols one way;
write a transition, a signpost, an internal preview, and an internal summary, and place each one;
write oral citations into a preparation outline and cue them on a card;
convert the running speech's preparation outline into five keyword cards;
fix five common outline errors, and check a chatbot's "great outline!" by hand.

Carry this line with you: build in sentences; speak from keywords — never the reverse.

Where we are

Already covered: Week 1 taught the rehearsal loop and extemporaneous delivery; Week 2 taught audience analysis; Week 3 wrote the specific purpose and central idea; Week 4 built the oral citation; Week 5 chose the pattern and the main points.
This week: the two outlines, the four outlining rules and the symbol system, the four connectives, the running speech outlined twice, and the full outline-error set.
How they connect: Week 5 gave the speech its shape, and this week that shape goes onto paper with every citation and every bridge in place.
Where we're going next: Week 7, Language and Style, works on the words inside the outline, so each sentence is built for a listener's ear.

Here is what each week gave you. Week 1 named extemporaneous delivery as the course's target: carefully prepared and practiced, then delivered from brief notes. This week makes those brief notes. Week 3 wrote the running speech's specific purpose, "To inform my audience about how our campus dining hall handles its plate waste," and its central idea, "A dining hall's plate waste is measured by weighing what comes back on plates, targeted by changing how food is served, and diverted through donation and composting." Week 4 built three oral citations, each naming who, what, and when before the evidence. Week 5 gave the body 3 main points in a topical pattern and previewed the four connectives. This week everything lands on one page, and then on five cards.

1. Two outlines: build with one, speak from the other

Think about a recipe card in a busy kitchen. The cook who wrote the recipe tested every step in full sentences in a notebook. But the card taped above the stove says "sear 3 min · flip · butter · baste." The notebook is for building. The card is for doing.

A speech works the same way, and the course names both documents.

A preparation outline is the finished, full-sentence plan of a speech, with every connective written out and every oral citation written in where its evidence appears; it is used to build and check the speech and is never taken to the lectern.
A speaking outline is the brief guide a speaker holds while delivering a speech: keywords and short phrases on cards, one card per section, plus any exact words that must be said exactly, such as the central idea or the clincher.

The preparation outline is where you think. Complete sentences force you to decide what each point actually claims. Writing out each connective forces you to plan how you will get from one idea to the next. Writing in each oral citation forces you to put your evidence beside the point it supports.

The speaking outline is where you deliver. Keywords trigger your memory without giving your eyes a sentence to read. That keeps you extemporaneous, the delivery method Week 1 named as the course's target: prepared and practiced, then spoken in a conversational way from brief notes.

Honesty note: some treatments also name an earlier, rougher outline, often called a working outline, that you scribble before the full-sentence version. In this course the preparation outline is the finished version, and the rough draft is whatever helps you get there.

Worked example — the same main point, written two ways. Here is main point I of the running speech, illustrative and attributed to no one, first as it appears in the preparation outline:

I. Plate waste is measured by weighing what comes back on plates.
- A. The scale sits at the dish-return window.
- B. Each day's weighed total is logged at closing.

And here is the same point on its card in the speaking outline:

weigh · scale at the return window · daily total at closing

In words: the preparation outline holds three full sentences you could check for accuracy, while the card holds three short cues that send your eyes back to the room after a glance.

Misconception check. Students often think the best way to be safe is to take the preparation outline to the lectern, "in case." That is tempting, because the full sentences feel like a safety net. But a page of sentences pulls your eyes down, and before long you are reading, not speaking. The cure is the card: keywords for the body, exact words only where wording matters, and enough practice that the keywords are enough.

Memory hook: the notebook builds it; the card carries it.

2. The four outlining rules and the symbol system

Picture a store's shelf labels. "Snacks" sits on one level with "Drinks" and "Frozen." Under "Snacks" you find "Chips" and "Crackers." You would be confused to see "Salt and vinegar" on the top level beside "Drinks," because it is a kind of chip, not a section of the store. An outline works the same way: each level holds ideas of the same size, and each smaller idea sits under the bigger one it belongs to.

The outlining rules are the four rules that keep the levels of an outline honest: coordination, subordination, division, and parallelism.

Coordination is the outlining rule that ideas placed at the same level of an outline carry the same weight, so no detail sits beside the speech's big ideas.
Subordination is the outlining rule that every lower-level item supports the item directly above it, which a speaker can test by asking whether the higher point is true because of the lower one.
Division is the outlining rule that a point which is broken into parts has at least two parts, so a subpoint A is always matched by a subpoint B.
Parallelism is giving ideas of equal rank the same grammatical form; as an outlining rule, every item at one level of an outline is written in the same form, such as all complete declarative sentences.

When division breaks, you get a lone subpoint: a single subpoint standing under a point with no partner beside it, which breaks the division rule and is fixed by folding it into the point above or finding a real second subpoint.

The levels are labelled with a symbol system: the fixed set of labels that marks each level of an outline. Roman numerals mark main points, capital letters mark subpoints, Arabic numerals mark the level below, and lowercase letters mark the level below that. Write it one way, every time:

The symbol system for an outline's four levels, with what each level holds
Level	Symbol	What it holds
Main points	I., II., III.	The speech's few big ideas
Subpoints	A., B.	The ideas that support one main point
The level below	1., 2.	Details that support one subpoint
The level below that	a., b.	Finer details that support one numbered item

Most classroom speeches never need the fourth level. Use only as many levels as your ideas really have.

Worked example — checking main point II against all four rules. Here is main point II of the running speech, illustrative:

II. Plate waste is targeted by changing how food is served.
- A. Trayless serving cuts how much food diners take.
- B. Portion-controlled serving lowers plate waste further.

Coordination: A and B are both serving changes, and they carry similar weight. Neither is a detail of the other. Pass.
Subordination: run the "because" test. "Plate waste is targeted by changing how food is served, because trayless serving cuts how much food diners take and portion-controlled serving lowers plate waste further." The sentence holds. Pass.
Division: point II is divided, and it has an A and a B. No lone subpoint. Pass.
Parallelism: A and B are both complete declarative sentences that start with a kind of serving. Pass.

In words: four checks, four passes, and each check took one sentence, which is why it is worth running them on every point before you practice.

Misconception check. Students often keep a lone subpoint "because it is the most important." That is tempting, because the idea feels too big to fold away. But a single A with no B tells the listener the point has parts and then names only one. Either fold the idea up into the point above, or find a real second subpoint. A second wrong turn breaks subordination: a subpoint that does not support the point above it. If the "because" sentence sounds wrong out loud, the subpoint is in the wrong place.

Pause and reflect. Choose one option and jot two or three sentences.

(a) Think of a list, menu, or website you used recently that broke coordination by mixing big sections with small details. Where did it put the detail, and where should it go?

(b) Look at the main points of a speech or paper you are working on. Which one would fail the "because" test first, and why?

Memory hook: same level, same weight; lower level, holds up the one above.

3. The four connectives: bridges and markers

Think about a long drive with a friend who keeps the conversation easy to follow. "Okay, that's the story about the flat tire. Now, the part you won't believe — the motel." You always know which story is over and which is starting. Speakers do this on purpose, with connectives.

A connective is a word, phrase, or sentence that carries listeners from one part of a speech to the next; this course names four kinds: the transition, the signpost, the internal preview, and the internal summary.

A transition is a connective that bridges two main points by naming the point the speaker is leaving and the point the speaker is entering.
A signpost is a short marker, such as "first," "second," or "finally," that tells listeners where they are in a speech without explaining how the ideas relate.
An internal preview is a connective inside one main point that tells listeners which subpoints are coming and in what order.
An internal summary is a connective at the end of one main point that pulls its subpoints together before the speaker moves on.

Where does each one go? The transition sits between main points. The internal preview sits at the start of a main point that has several parts. The internal summary sits at the end of a main point that carried a lot. The signpost can go almost anywhere a listener needs to know their place.

Worked example — the four connectives on the running speech. All of these are written for the running speech, which is illustrative and attributed to no one.

Transition, from point I to point II: "Once you know how the waste is weighed, the next question is how to bring the number down — which brings us to serving." It names where you were (weighing) and where you are going (serving).
Internal preview, at the start of point II: "Serving changes come in two forms: taking away the trays and controlling the portions."
Internal summary, at the end of point II: "So trays change how much diners take, and portions change how much comes back."
Signpost, inside point III: "Second, and separate from donation, the dining hall composts what cannot be donated." The word "second" marks the place, and the rest of the sentence names how this idea relates to the one before.

In words: the transition is a bridge with both banks named, the previews and summaries work inside one main point, and the signpost is a mile marker.

Misconception check. Students often treat a transition and a signpost as the same device. That is tempting, because both help a listener move along, and "second" can sit inside a transition. But a signpost alone ("Also, composting.") marks a place without saying how the ideas relate. A transition names both sides of the bridge. If your connective could be pasted between any two points in any speech, it is a signpost, not a transition.

Limitation: four connectives is this course's list. Some treatments sort connectives differently or add others, such as a spoken preview in the introduction, which Week 5 already named. The habit of building bridges matters more than the count.

Memory hook: a signpost says where; a transition says from where to where.

4. The running speech, outlined twice

Now put the week together. You will write the running speech as a full preparation outline, check it, and convert it to cards.

Worked example — the running speech's preparation outline. The speech and its speaker are illustrative and attributed to no one; the three oral citations come from the course's mini-source set, which Week 4 checked.

Specific purpose: To inform my audience about how our campus dining hall handles its plate waste.

Introduction

Attention: "Picture the dish-return conveyor at closing time." (an illustrative scene, flagged with "picture")
Topic and central idea: "A dining hall's plate waste is measured by weighing what comes back on plates, targeted by changing how food is served, and diverted through donation and composting."
Credibility: "I spent a semester volunteering on our dining hall's waste audit."
Preview: "I'll walk you through how the waste is measured, how serving changes target it, and where the diverted food goes."

Body

I. Plate waste is measured by weighing what comes back on plates.
- A. The scale sits at the dish-return window.
- B. Each day's weighed total is logged at closing.
[Oral citation 1: "According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Waste FAQ page, which draws on the department's Economic Research Service, between 30 and 40 percent of the food supply in the United States goes to waste."]
[Transition: Once you know how the waste is weighed, the next question is how to bring the number down — which brings us to serving.]
II. Plate waste is targeted by changing how food is served.
- [Internal preview: Serving changes come in two forms: taking away the trays and controlling the portions.]
- A. Trayless serving cuts how much food diners take.
- B. Portion-controlled serving lowers plate waste further.
- [Internal summary: So trays change how much diners take, and portions change how much comes back.]
[Oral citation 2: "In a study published in the journal Sustainability in December 2022, researchers Wenhao Zhang and Junehee Kwon found that a week without trays in a university dining hall, compared with a week with trays, reduced how much food diners took but did not show a significant reduction in food waste."]
[Transition: Reducing waste is half the job; the other half is where the food that still comes back goes — which brings us to donation and composting.]
III. Diverted food goes to donation and composting.
- A. Food that can still be eaten goes to donation.
- B. Food that cannot be donated goes to composting. (Spoken with the signpost "Second, and separate from donation, the dining hall composts what cannot be donated.")
[Oral citation 3: "As Associated Press reporter Dee-Ann Durbin wrote for PBS News in 2022, about 35 percent of the food available in the United States in 2019 went unsold or uneaten, according to ReFED, a group that studies food waste."]
[Transition: You have now followed the food from the scale to the serving line to the compost bin, so let me bring the whole route together.]

Conclusion

Signal: "As we finish."
Summary: "Plate waste is weighed at the return window, cut back by how food is served, and sent to donation and composting."
Clincher: "Every plate that comes back full was a choice somebody made — and every one of those choices can be measured."

Count the body. There are 3 main points, each with 2 subpoints, so 3 × 2 = 6 subpoints. Add the 3 main points to the 6 subpoints: 3 + 6 = 9 lines in the symbol system. Beside them sit 3 oral citations and 3 transitions, written as labelled lines, so they never break the symbol system. Then count the doors: 4 introduction functions + 3 conclusion jobs = 7 full sentences around the body.

Check it against the four rules. Coordination: each main point is one kind of handling, and they carry similar weight. Subordination: each subpoint passes the "because" test. Division: every divided point has an A and a B. Parallelism: each main point is one complete declarative sentence about one kind of handling.

In words: nothing in this outline is left to memory or luck. Every claim is a sentence you could check, every citation sits beside the point it supports, and every bridge is written before you ever stand up. This is the page the cousin at the family dinner should have built, and then left on the table.

From the preparation outline to five cards

Now shrink it. A card holds keywords, the citation cues, and only the exact words you must say exactly.

Worked example — the running speech's speaking outline. The cards are illustrative and attributed to no one.

Card 1, introduction: conveyor at closing · central idea, word for word · semester on the waste audit · preview: weigh, serve, divert
Card 2, main point I: weigh · scale at the return window · USDA FAQ, ERS, 30 to 40 · bridge to serving
Card 3, main point II: serving changes · trayless · Zhang and Kwon, Sustainability, Dec 2022, no significant waste reduction · bridge: half the job
Card 4, main point III: donation · composting · Durbin, AP for PBS News, 2022, ReFED 35 percent of 2019 · bridge to the close
Card 5, conclusion: as we finish · weigh, serve, divert · clincher, word for word

Count the cards: 1 introduction card + 3 main-point cards + 1 conclusion card = 5 cards. Each main-point card carries one citation cue, so the 3 oral citations all survive the conversion.

In words: the cards drop the full sentences but keep the three things a nervous speaker most often loses, which are the route, the sources, and the exact words of the central idea and the clincher.

Misconception check. Students often think a statistic can sit in the outline on its own and the citation can be added later. That is tempting, because the number feels like the important part. But a statistic with no citation beside it in the outline usually becomes a statistic with no citation in the speech. Write the oral citation in where the evidence appears, and cue it on the card, every time.

Memory hook: if the citation is not on the page, it will not be in the speech.

5. Five outline errors and a chatbot's "great outline!"

You met two of these errors in Week 5. Here is the whole set, on the running speech's topic. Each item is illustrative, contains one named error and no other, and comes with its corrected form.

Worked example — the outline-error set in full. Read each flawed version first, name its error, and only then read the fix.

A subordinate point promoted to a main point. "I. Plate waste is measured by weighing. II. The scale sits at the dish-return window. III. Serving changes reduce plate waste." becomes "I. Plate waste is measured by weighing. A. The scale sits at the dish-return window. B. Each day's weighed total is logged at closing. II. Serving changes reduce plate waste." The rule it breaks is coordination: the scale's location is not a coordinate idea.
Two main points that overlap. "I. Trayless serving reduces plate waste. II. Removing trays cuts how much food diners take." becomes "I. Serving changes reduce plate waste. A. Trayless serving cuts how much food diners take. B. Portion-controlled serving lowers plate waste further." The rule it breaks is subordination: the second "main point" restates the first from inside it, so it belongs under a broader point.
A missing transition. "…II. B. Portion-controlled serving lowers plate waste further. III. Diverted food goes to donation and composting." becomes "…II. B. Portion-controlled serving lowers plate waste further. [Transition: Reducing waste is half the job; the other half is where the food that still comes back goes — which brings us to donation and composting.] III. Diverted food goes to donation and composting." The device it lacks is a bridge that names both sides.
A signpost that names no relationship. "Also, composting." becomes "Second, and separate from donation, the dining hall composts what cannot be donated." A signpost marks the place; the sentence names the relationship.
A specific purpose written as a topic. "Food waste in the dining hall." becomes "To inform my audience about how our campus dining hall handles its plate waste." The fix is an infinitive phrase, audience-centered, with one idea, written at the top of the preparation outline.

In words: items 1 and 2 are level problems, items 3 and 4 are bridge problems, and item 5 is a goal problem, so each one tells you which part of the outline to check first.

The AI-critique: "Great outline!" beside a lone subpoint

You will use a chatbot as a rehearsal coach this term, so watch how it handles an outline. The exchange is illustrative and names no product.

Worked example — checking a chatbot's outline by hand. You ask a chatbot to outline main point III of the running speech. It returns this, and adds "Great outline!":

III. Diverted food goes to donation and composting.
- A. Composting.
- About 35 percent of food went unsold or uneaten.

Check it against the rules, one at a time.

Division: point III has an A and no B, so the A is a lone subpoint. That is 1 broken rule.
Citations: the statistic sits on its own, with no oral citation beside it. Who counted? When? That is 1 missing citation.
Count the problems: 1 broken rule + 1 missing citation = 2 problems caught.
Fix it: restore "A. Food that can still be eaten goes to donation." and "B. Food that cannot be donated goes to composting.", then write oral citation 3 beside the statistic. Point III now holds 1 + 1 = 2 subpoints.

In words: the chatbot's praise named no rule and no line, and two minutes with the four rules found two problems it did not mention.

Misconception check. Students often think a chatbot's "great outline!" means the outline passed. That is tempting, because the praise sounds confident and the outline looks tidy. But the praise names no rule and points to no line. Run the four rules yourself, check every statistic for a citation beside it, and treat the chatbot's outline as a draft you must test, never as a finished plan.

Memory hook: praise checks nothing; the four rules check everything.

Key terms

Preparation outline — The finished, full-sentence plan of a speech, with every connective written out and every oral citation written in where its evidence appears; it is used to build and check the speech and is never taken to the lectern. (first used: 1. Two outlines: build with one, speak from the other)
Speaking outline — The brief guide a speaker holds while delivering a speech: keywords and short phrases on cards, one card per section, plus any exact words that must be said exactly, such as the central idea or the clincher. (first used: 1. Two outlines: build with one, speak from the other)
Outlining rules — The four rules that keep the levels of an outline honest: coordination, subordination, division, and parallelism. (first used: 2. The four outlining rules and the symbol system)
Coordination — The outlining rule that ideas placed at the same level of an outline carry the same weight, so no detail sits beside the speech's big ideas. (first used: 2. The four outlining rules and the symbol system)
Subordination — The outlining rule that every lower-level item supports the item directly above it, which a speaker can test by asking whether the higher point is true because of the lower one. (first used: 2. The four outlining rules and the symbol system)
Division — The outlining rule that a point which is broken into parts has at least two parts, so a subpoint A is always matched by a subpoint B. (first used: 2. The four outlining rules and the symbol system)
Parallelism — Giving ideas of equal rank the same grammatical form; as an outlining rule, every item at one level of an outline is written in the same form, such as all complete declarative sentences. (first used: 2. The four outlining rules and the symbol system)
Lone subpoint — A single subpoint standing under a point with no partner beside it, which breaks the division rule and is fixed by folding it into the point above or finding a real second subpoint. (first used: 2. The four outlining rules and the symbol system)
Symbol system — The fixed set of labels that marks each level of an outline: Roman numerals for main points, capital letters for subpoints, Arabic numerals for the level below, and lowercase letters for the level below that. (first used: 2. The four outlining rules and the symbol system)
Connective — A word, phrase, or sentence that carries listeners from one part of a speech to the next; this course names four kinds: the transition, the signpost, the internal preview, and the internal summary. (first used: 3. The four connectives: bridges and markers)
Transition — A connective that bridges two main points by naming the point the speaker is leaving and the point the speaker is entering. (first used: 3. The four connectives: bridges and markers)
Signpost — A short marker, such as "first," "second," or "finally," that tells listeners where they are in a speech without explaining how the ideas relate. (first used: 3. The four connectives: bridges and markers)
Internal preview — A connective inside one main point that tells listeners which subpoints are coming and in what order. (first used: 3. The four connectives: bridges and markers)
Internal summary — A connective at the end of one main point that pulls its subpoints together before the speaker moves on. (first used: 3. The four connectives: bridges and markers)

Summary

Build with the preparation outline; speak from the speaking outline.
The preparation outline uses complete sentences and never goes to the lectern.
The speaking outline is keywords on cards, plus exact words only where wording matters.
Coordination: same level, same weight.
Subordination: a lower level supports the one above.
Division: an A needs a B.
Parallelism: same level, same grammatical form.
Write the symbol system one way: I, A, 1, a.
A transition names both sides; a signpost marks the place.
Internal previews and summaries work inside one main point.
Write each oral citation in where its evidence appears, and cue it on the card.
The running speech becomes five cards.
A chatbot's "great outline!" is not a check.

Check your understanding

Work these before looking at the answers — they are ungraded, and the answers (with reasoning) are at the bottom of the page.

A student's talk on urban farming has this body: "I. Rooftop gardens grow vegetables above city streets. A. Tomatoes. II. Community plots turn empty lots into shared gardens. A. Neighbors sign up for a bed. B. A volunteer keeps the shared tools." Which rule does the outline break, and where? Fix it two different ways.
A first-aid training talk has 4 main points, and each main point has 3 subpoints. How many subpoints does the body hold, and how many lines does the body have in the symbol system?
A talk about opening a campus coffee shop moves from "I. Students want a place to study late" to "II. The shop could stay open until midnight" with only the word "Next" between them. Is "Next" a transition or a signpost? Write a stronger connective.
A speaker plans a three-point talk for a neighborhood meeting and wants one card for the opening, one card per main point, and one card for the close. How many cards is that, and what exact words, if any, belong on the closing card?

Answers (worked reasoning — read after attempting)

It breaks division: point I has a lone subpoint, "A. Tomatoes," with no B. Fix it by folding the detail up: "I. Rooftop gardens grow vegetables, such as tomatoes, above city streets." Or fix it by finding a real second subpoint: "A. Tomatoes grow in raised boxes. B. Herbs grow in pots along the edge." Notice the second fix also repairs parallelism, because both subpoints are now complete sentences, like the subpoints under point II.
Multiply first: 4 × 3 = 12 subpoints. Then add the 4 main points to them: 4 + 12 = 16 lines in the symbol system. The count tells you how much the body holds; it says nothing about whether the talk is the right length, which only a timed practice can tell you.
"Next" is a signpost: it marks the place but does not say how the two ideas relate. A transition names both sides, for example: "So students want a place to study late — and that is exactly the gap a shop open until midnight could fill." Now the listener hears the point being left and the point being entered.
One opening card, three main-point cards, and one closing card: 1 + 3 + 1 = 5 cards. The closing card holds the signal and summary as keywords, plus the clincher written out word for word, because a last line is the one place where exact wording matters most.

Next up in this module: the Readings & Resources page, the lecture tutorial, the practice set, and the quiz; next week the words inside these outlines get their own rules, as Language and Style shows how to write each sentence for a listener's ear.

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