Outlining is an effective way to organize thoughts and information. An effective outline can promote better understanding and retention of material presented in class. Microsoft Word software allows the user to organize information in outline form. Following is a description of the procedures you should follow to develop an outline in MS Word. Each outline you develop will contain written information that you select; however, the outlining procedures discussed below will not change.

From the start menu at the bottom left hand corner of the desktop, use the left mouse button to select START to PROGRAMS to MICROSOFT WORD.

In a new document, left click on  the View menu and then select Outline

Once you are in Outline view you will type your headings creating the outline. You will want to type your headings first before you begin to add subordinate text under each heading. To move headings, you simply use the arrows on the toolbar to promote and demote headings. The right arrow demotes a heading, the left arrow promotes a heading, the up and down arrows can be used to move a heading to a different location (the subordinate text under the heading moves with the heading).

Once you have typed and organized your headings, you can use the View menu to switch back to Normal view (refer to step two) to add detailed body text and graphics. At any time you can view your document in outline form by following the procedures in step two. As with all MS Word functions, you can get help with outlining by using the MS Word Help function. To learn more about using MS Word click here.