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NEW - Outlining for science & technological topics/理科、技術のあらすじ

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Here are some notes for all of you about writing outlines (あらすじ). 

The picture at the top is an example - a screenshot of a finished academic presentation outline about university courses. This is a good example of a presentation outline. 


Overview about outlines
First, what is an outlineAn outline is like a guide or set of steps to what will be in a presentation or written composition (作文). Making an outline could help you greatly in  your presentation speaking.  

Because of this, the language in an outline should be shortno complete sentences and as much as possible, keywords and key phrases. It should be as concise (簡明) as possible.


Outlines are divided into an introduction, with main ideassupporting subheadings or pointssupporting details, and a conclusion.


So here is an example of an outline for a presentation comparing Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla and their research with electricity. 


Parts to an outline

Introduction
The introduction shows the key to what the presentation or paper is about. It has a Roman numeral (ローマ数字) - always, Roman numeral I. 

例えば:

I. The research of Edison and Tesla with electricity

Note: Write this in regular type - do not put in italics or in bold. Also, do not put a period (.) after - this is a guide point, not a full sentence. 


Main ideas - first main idea

The first main idea should show the first thing you will treat in your topic. It will have a Roman numeral II.

例えば:

II. Edison 

Note: It should be as short as possible - even a key word. Do not put in italics or in bold. Also here, never put a period (.) after it


Main ideas - second main idea

The second main idea should show the next thing you will treat in your topic. It will have a Roman numeral III.

例えば:

III. Tesla 

Note: It should be as short as possible - even a key word. Do not put in italics or in bold. Also here, never put a period (.) after


Supporting points

Your supporting points go with the main ideas, and they break down the main points. They will have capital letters with periods after (A., B., C., etc), and when typed, be indented around five (5) spaces

Here is an example of subheadings with the first main point about Edison:


例えば:

II. Edison
     A. Experiments with electricity
     B. Direct current (DC) research

Note: The supporting points should also be as short as possible - even key words are okay. Do not put in italics or in bold. Again - never put a period (.) after


Details

Details show, in a short way, some focused pieces of information about the main points

They have Arabic numerals (算用数字、アラビア数字), and are also indented five (5) spaces from the supporting points.


例えば:

II. Edison
     A. Experiments with electricity
     B. Direct current (DC) research
          1. Carbon filament
          2. Electric lamp

Note: The details should also be as short as possible - key words are okay. Do not put in italics or in bold. Also here, do not put a period (.) after. 


Not every supporting point needs to have details, but if they are important enough to be further broken down, then you should put in some details.  


Conclusion

The conclusion is a short sentence, or even a phrase, that shows the final point of your topic. It will have whatever the last Roman numeral is in your outline. 

In the example of the Edison and Tesla presentation topic, this one has the Roman numeral V. 


例えば:

V. Overall impact of Edison over Tesla

Note: Like the introduction, main ideas, supporting points and details, the conclusion should also be as short as possible. Also - do not put in italics or in bold, and do not put a period (.) after. 


Completed outline

Look at this example of a completed outline, with a title, labeled to show you what each part of the outline means. This is to show you what you should try for in your outline writing. 

While this example is a little small, you can expand it on your screen. Because this is a screenshot, you can also print this out:



Now here is the same outlinewithout the labels. This is how it should look. As this also is a screenshot, you can also print this out too:


So these are what the final versions of presentation outlines should look like - keywords and key phrases only

Images: Top - screenshot of University of Electro-Communications Intermediate Technical English course class handout page. All rights reserved/Other screenshots - personal handout pages. All rights reserved.

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