Chapter 8 – Organizing and Drafting was nothing that hadn’t been drilled into in middle school, high school and ENGL 106. Have a beginning middle and end, tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em, etc. I would say by now that after having to write papers and reports for almost every class that this is all common sense and even habitual.
I did like the “Smoking Gun” memo. As stated in the reading, it was a very good example of organization. While I stated that organization was common sense, it is always a good idea to look at good examples of other people’s writing.
I thought the section on using presentation software to outline your writing was unnecessary. The only reason I would use presentation software to outline my writing would be if I were going to give a presentation on my writing. Otherwise it seems like way more work than needed just to outline a report.
In past classes I have used much more effective ways to organize my writings. Some of the different things I’ve done have been filling out a basic outline to using note cards with facts on them. However I have found that the thing that works best for me is to use a web. Being able to visually see how my writing will be structured allows me to see where my arguments are weak and where I have too much information.
I really liked the section about writing for international audiences. I never considered the fact other countries would write documents in a different fashion. This is a prime example of writing with your audience in mind as discussed in earlier writings. While this isn’t relevant to my writings now as the primary readers are all in North America, I’m sure that once out in the globalized business world this will certainly be something to consider.
PowerPoint Efficiency
It's good to finally see somebody's opinion on the shortcomings of drafting an outline in PowerPoint. Although I can understand that some people need a more visual method for organizing their ideas, organizing them into a slide show seems less efficient than traditional drafting. Being that PowerPoint is more visual, I wonder how many of these people would be more concerned with the background, font, and aesthetic appeal of the presentation, rather than the content. As Andy said, unless the writer is giving an oral presentation along with the report, much of these efforts will be wasted. In drafting an outline, I think it's important to remember that the informational content is much more important than the aesthetics, so don't spend 20 minutes choosing your favorite layout.
Ever used your Student ID as a Straight Edge?
For some people, if used correctly, slide presentation software could be an effective outlining tool. The key is to recognize that you are writing a rough outline and not creating a presentation. PowerPoint doesn't force you refine your language to be more fancy, or to make the slides look ornate. If you get caught up doing those things when you are trying to write a simple outline, I'd be concerned with your ability to focus on your own objectives. What PowerPoint does force you to do is think about your message in terms of separable points, which helps you organize and concentrate your content. It probably doesn't work for everyone, but I think that's what the writer was getting at.
To each their own
I do not see how one could use PowerPoint to make an outline. It would be easier to go into word and do the basic outlining structure of
I.
A.
B.
II.
A.
B.
Also, Word does not care about fancy language or refined grammar when you are doing an outline. In the end the outline will be replaced by your final paper. I guess what it comes down to is which program you are most comfortable writing an outline in. For myself I could not use PowerPoint for outlining papers as I would get distracted by the fancy colors, pictures, and animations. I find it much easier to just go into Word and either start typing or do a basic outline. To each their own.
Jeff
Power Point
I agree with you. I think that the point of using Power Point as an outlining tool has been missed. The authors presented the use of Power Point as a basic outlining tool. I do not think they intended people to make a presentation of their outline. If you are going to use Power Point as an outlining tool for writing a paper or document, and are more worried about the background and font type than you need to get your priorities straight. However I also think that using Power Point to outline a paper rather than a presentation is a bit excessive.
Possibly but not when I had a ruler
PowerPoint does offer a variety of unadvertised purposes. Just about every flyer or sign that I have created has been made in PowerPoint. Just as you have chosen, I chose PowerPoint to make these documents because objects are easier to manage and manipulate. I however do not see PowerPoint as an effective outlining tool compared to others offered in the Microsoft Office suite. In all of the outlines that I have created, I have never incorporated an image or video. Instead I have chosen to reference these objects. While outlining I chose to use Microsoft Word because it too is offered with all installations of Microsoft Office, of which you get PowerPoint. Microsoft Word allows for almost all types of outline formats. In the end however, I feel that it comes to too your personal preference as to how you create your outlines.
Organizational examples
I also found much of the information to be a review and I really agree with your statement about looking at examples of other people's writing. When writing papers in the past, I have frequently looked at others' papers for guidance. Sometimes I did this before I started writing, which gave me different ideas on how I wanted to order my thoughts into my own paper. I have also used this strategy after I have started writing but started to experience writers block. If I get stuck on a particular spot, it sometimes helps to look at the flow of someone else's thoughts to figure out what direction I want to go next. Either way, I have always found it helpful to look at other peoples examples when trying to organize my own papers.
PowerPoint = Outline??
I agree, I do not think I would ever use presentation software such as PowerPoint to outline a writing. It may be helpful, like you said, if I were giving an oral presentation over it. However, I still don't think this would help me when writing unless I was a visual person, which I am not. I prefer just the normal layout of an outline with Roman numerals and letters. This seems much easier and faster. Using a web sometimes is helpful, but if it is a larger paper I have lines and circles going everywhere and I get confused.