Age group:
Elementary School
Middle School
High School

Type of outliner:
Middle-of-the-Road Outliner

How do you use this outlining system?
On a single sheet of paper, make a big box. The box represents a paragraph. Make as many boxes as there are paragraphs. Inside the box, have your child outline her ideas using a Roman Numeral model. When this is done, the paragraph is done, and she should draw a line to the next box. On the line have her write how the two paragraphs fit together -- this is the transition idea and thus the transition sentence.

Other important information:
The box outlining method is a good middle ground for a student that thinks both linearly and non-linearly (the reality is most of us think this way). It's essentially a traditional Roman numeral outline with a visual element.

The above information was written by Jonathan Mooney.