Outlines

A Moon Day Memory

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A student asked about outlines; so using my own essay, I created a possible outline I might have done before writing the essay. In time, one does outlines in one's head or as quickly jotted down reminders, like before one goes shopping. I don't want to interfere with others' teaching, but I dislike formal outlines; especially among young students; because students may spend more time on outlining than on writing. I think it's sufficient to keep an orderly reminder of what to include, always revising of course as one writes. I doubt if this outline would have been complete on first inspiration. Rather as I wrote and read what I wrote I would have quickly jotted down new ideas to remind myself to include them in the next version.

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1. My father's walk.
2. The way he held food. (Maybe put in present tense for a feeling of intimacy.)
(Note: In my final essay, I purposely change tense from past to present to bring the grandfather up close, as if he were living today.)
3. Include some foods.
4. Our hungry wait for my old grandfather to cook the food.
5. My father's attitude toward Grandfather.
6. Grandfather cooking.
7. We pretend his cooking is good.
8. Compare with the way Dad cooks; much more efficient, but something is also lost in his efficiency. Father is the better cook, but he can't replace our fond memories of Granddad.

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