The outline should not be too minute and detailed. It should be sufficient only to cover the various divisions of the subject-matter, and to prevent the confusion of subtopics. A too detailed outline tends to make the composition stiff and formal.
The outline should have proportion. The essential features of the subject should be the main topics. Minor subjects should not be given too great prominence, but should be subordinated to the main topics.
181. The Beginning of the Composition. To choose a method of beginning a composition often causes trouble. Usually a simple, direct beginning is the best. But sometimes an introductory paragraph is necessary in order to explain the writer's point of view, or to indicate to what phases of the subject attention is to be given. Examine the following methods of beginning.
THE INDUSTRY OF LAWYER
Oddly enough, hardly any notice is taken of an industry in which the United States towers in unapproachable supremacy above all other nations of the earth. The census does not say a word about it, nor does there exist more than the merest word about it in all the literature of American self-praise.
MY CHILDHOOD FEAR OF GHOSTS
Nothing stands out more keenly in the recollection of my childhood, than the feelings of terror which I experienced when forced to go to bed without the protecting light of a lamp. Then it was that dread, indefinite ghosts lurked behind every door, hid in every clothes-press, or lay in wait beneath every bed.
THE USES OF IRON
No other metal is put to so many uses and is so indispensable as iron.
The opening sentences of a composition should be able to stand alone; their meaning or clearness should not depend upon reference to the title.