He who fails to plan, plans to fail

Those of you who know me know that I basically live out of my planner. You can flip through the used pages in my planner and (through lines and X’s to cross off the completed tasks) you could essentially discover exactly what I have been doing, as well as when, where, and with whom I was with. I carry my list-making skills and desire to plan ahead to my writing assignments as well. For me, when I have all of my ideas written on paper in the order I want to present them, it's so much easier to create my actual paper. When given a big assignment, like the WID paper, for example, I always start by creating a plan and an outline. I advise my tutees to do the same. I have noticed that some tutees feel over whelmed when they have all of their ideas scattered in their head but they just don’t know where to start. I usually suggest the formal outline that I have been taught for many years:

I.

                A.
                                i.
                                ii.
                                iii.

                B.

                                i.
                                ii.
                                iii.

                C.

II.

A.     

While Mr. Clark admits that he doesn’t work from a formal outline, he still writes a plan. He claims that “an informal plan is nothing more than the Roman numerals required by a formal outline” which serve to help him see the big parts of the story. Mr. Clark exemplified his advice by creating a plan for an obituary of Ray Bolger, the scarecrow of The Wizard of Oz:

“I. Lead with image and dialogue from Oz.
II. Great moments in his dance career other than Oz.
III. His signature song: ‘Once in Love with Amy.’
IV. His youth: how he became a dancer.
V. His television career.
VI. A final image from Oz.”

The next time you hear the moans and groans and sighs from a tutee, fellow classmate or struggling friend after you have suggested that they should write an outline, propose the creation of a plan instead!