Outlining

When summarizing a reading, it is often a good idea to make an outline. This can be especially helpful for summarizing the important details from a textbook, as the general organization is already laid out for you. Outlining and mapping can help you break down a text into the most important ideas and concepts, but it is also useful for organizing your thoughts before you begin to write. An outline will:

• Present information in an organized and logical manner
• Focus on main ideas and key details
• Show how information is related
• Cover a lot of material in a small space

Watch this video to learn how to create an outline for an essay, but you can use the same structure for taking notes or summarizing as well.

You can view the transcript for “Making an Outline” here (opens in new window).

Concept Mapping

Just as outlining is helpful for understanding the organization of a piece of text, mapping can help you visualize the important components of a passage. Mapping is similar to outlining in that the goal is to write out the main ideas and key supporting details of a text or map out ideas for something you want to write.

To create a concept map:

1. Write down the name of the text (or concept) you want to map.
2. Draw a box for the main idea.
3. Draw boxes for supporting ideas.
4. Draw more boxes for supporting details.
5. Draw arrows connecting the boxes. Organization flows vertically in this example, but concept maps can be organized horizontally, or even with the main idea in the center and supporting ideas and details surrounding it.

This video explains what a concept map is and how to create one.

You can view the transcript for “How to Create a Concept Map” here (opens in new window).