Outlining & Half the Battle

This week, I was especially struck by Boice's outline of the next couple of sections in Chapter 2.  I have never been enthusiastic about outlining my papers - while I spend a lot of time and effort taking notes from my sources, I rarely organize them according to how I plan to structure my paper.  This is due in part to the fact that I enjoy writing papers as the ideas come to me, and then going back and revising where I went off track or fine tuning my thesis to match the body of the paper.  Upon seeing Boice's outline, though, it became evident to me how much a truly detailed outline could help me write my papers in a more effective and comfortable manner.  Instead of spending time revising the actual paper, I could work my ideas out in the outline and then revise them while writing the draft of the paper. This method seems less time-consuming and more thought-provoking to me, and I intend to try it out this semester.  I am hoping that it will make paper writing a more enjoyable, though less "glamorous" experience for me.

On the other hand, I thought Rodgers made an excellent point when she said that "formulating the problem or question itself is half the work" (853).  I often begin my research without even being sure of what the question is that I seek to answer or begin my writing without being sure of what the answer to the question is.  While this does not necessarily make me feel uncomfortable, as I know that I will usually discover it in the process, I can definitely see how this uncertainty could make my students feel uncomfortable.  Paper writing can be formidable, and picking a topic, even if given some ideas, can feel like a nightmare.  Rodgers helped me understand how to articulate that it is okay to feel uncomfortable with this process, and that finally finding the question is an accomplishment in itself - in fact, it is half the battle.  This sense of accomplishment at the beginning or in the middle of the research process can give my students the drive that they need to get excited about researching and writing.