Before writing a paper, in addition to grasping the topic, it is also necessary to construct the framework of the paper, divide the paper into several parts, and make a general design of what to write in each part, that is, the process of drafting an outline. The outline of the paper is convenient for sorting out the writing ideas, observing whether the overall structure of the paper is reasonable and clear, and avoiding deviating from the original intention and scattered ideas in the writing process.

(a) the contents of the outline

The drafting of the outline includes the preliminary determination of the topic of the paper, the control of the central idea of the paper, the arguments to discuss this central point or solve important problems, that is, what arguments are there in each part and how to prove them.

The drafting of the outline should be as detailed as possible, and the titles, viewpoints and arguments of each part should be written as much as possible. There should be a preliminary forecast of how much space each part should have and how each part should be connected, not just a simple directional instruction, which will not play a role in drafting the outline. It can be refined step by step from simple to detailed, and it will be scrutinized, checked and revised repeatedly after writing, until the whole structure and logic are perfect.

(B) the type of outline

The common types of outline writing echo the "syllogism" of "asking questions-analyzing problems-solving problems" in paper writing, and need to follow the progressive reasoning logic, that is, the progressive outline that embodies "ontology-introduction-conclusion". Generally speaking, there are three parts: introduction, text and conclusion. This type is suitable for writing most papers, especially problem papers.

Another kind of syllabus is a vertical syllabus, which is written in the order of research or development and is widely used in natural science or history.