Outlining is a skill that will help you to study your textbook more carefully and to prepare more completely for your tests. When you read a chapter in your textbook, do not just read it. Read and outline it. Outlining is an organizational skill that develops your ability to think in a clear and logical manner. Some of the skills needed to outline are: understanding the relationship between headings and subheadings, identifying main ideas and supporting details, and understanding how to use the outline form.
One very effective way to outline an article that has headings and/or subheadings is to turn those headings into questions to be answered. Use the outline form to answer these questions, and you will then have the main points down on paper.(first image)

Here is an example. If the first heading in an article on dieting was “Foods to Avoid”, you could turn that into a question and put it into the outline.(second image)

In A and B above you would probably place answers to the question about what foods to avoid. Underneath it you would list reasons why you should avoid those foods, using the fewest words possible.
You have practiced using the correct outlining form. You know that headings and subheadings can be used as part of the skeleton in your outline. You also know that finding the main idea of a paragraph can be done by turning the headings or subheadings into a question. The answer is usually the main idea.
It will take some practice with these skills to feel completely comfortable using them on a regular basis. At first it will seem like outlining a chapter in your textbook will take too long to be helpful. If you practice enough, you will get faster at outlining and more comfortable with the process. Then you will see that outlining actually speeds up the time it takes you to read and study a chapter.
There is an outline on the next page which you will use to create your outline. Please remember to follow the guidelines explained to you over the last two pages. Feel free to add on to the outline form if necessary.