An outline is based on coordination and subordination. That means the headings at the same level in an outline should be coordinate and parallel to each other (both the same kind of thing) and subheadings are subordinate to the heading they are under. Since headings are parallel in meaning, they should also be parallel grammatically. If one heading is a noun, the rest should be nouns, and so on.

The points of an outline can be full sentences, or they can be short phrases, but formal outlines should not contain both sentences and phrases. A student's goal is consistency. The main advantage of a sentence outline is that it focuses on the thesis and topic and transition sentences that provide the framework for an essay.

Main points are written in Roman Numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, and so on). Main subpoints are written in capital letters (A, B, C, and so on). For more information, see "Conventions of Outlining" and "Guidelines for Outlining (Hunter College)."

An MLA outline page should include a thesis written as a single sentence listed before the outline itself. The word "Outline" should be centered one inch from the top edge of the page. The page numbering for an MLA outline page contains the writer's last name plus a small Roman numeral (beginning with i) in the upper right corner ½ inch from the top edge of the page. The outline follows the title page and precedes the body of the research paper.

The following is a sample outline for "The Secret Lion" by Alberto Alvaro Rios. There are a number of approaches that can be taken to interpret this short story (see examples for "The Secret Lion" in Developing a Thesis for a Literary Analysis Paper). This outline focues on how the various elements of the story symbolize the theme of things getting taken away. Notice how each main point in the outline supports the thesis and how each subpoint provides evidence in support of each main point. Notice, too, how the main points and subpoints are structured grammatically parallel to each other.