Hierarchy of Concepts in your Outline

Several students have stopped by our offices this week to get advice about outlining. Sometimes, students include a wealth of information that is in paragraph form, and I suggest they use a traditional outline format instead of paragraphs because this format differentiates between levels. The structure of an outline forces you to rank concepts and identify main topics and sub-topics. Remember, the law is essentially a set of categories: each principle you learn belongs “somewhere” in the scheme which you need to create.

A failure to properly understand and define the hierarchy of concepts in your outline often manifests on the exam with difficulty in identifying and sequencing issues for discussion. There is a logical sequence to follow in analyzing a problem based on the construction of the rule and it’s essential that this hierarchy be worked through in the process of creating your outline. The ranking system inherent in an outline format forces you to arrange the material in a hierarchy.

One way to get started in creating your hierarchy is to look at The Table of Contents in your casebook. It’s written in outline form. Some casebooks include a Summary of the Table of Contents which is even better for your purposes since it contains only the main topics and sub-topics, eliminating the cases and notes. From here, you can really see the big picture.

It also might be useful to coordinate the Table of Contents with your syllabus to find your starting point and use it as a template to form your skeleton outline. Of course you’ll need to make adjustments based on how your professor presents the material, but the Table of Contents provides the overview you need to begin putting things together. This should give you the major headings.

You may also want to consider a hornbook to help you identify the sub-headings. This is the real work of outlining: synthesizing the material so that you can differentiate between main and sub-issues. Don’t be afraid to go outside your casebook and class notes for help in this regard. Most of us need the help to be found in hornbooks. A hornbook will explain the material in a way that is incredibly valuable in helping you understand it.

Once you have a sense of the main topics and sub-topics, you can begin to fill in the pieces to provide substance and meaning.