Turn a topic into a source-backed outline
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Guide

Turn a topic into a source-backed outline

Turn a topic into an outline, then check whether each section answers a reader’s question. Practise with a fictional example first.

6 steps · work at your own pace

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1

Choose one reader and one useful promise

Choose one thing the reader should understand or be able to do after reading. Name the reader, publishing channel and topic boundaries. “Everything about AI” is a bookshelf, not an outline. Use the fictional brief below first. For your own topic, remove personal, confidential and unapproved information. Work in this worksheet and your own editor; an approved assistant is optional. This page does not generate an article for you.

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  1. Choose one reader and one useful promise

    Choose one thing the reader should understand or be able to do after reading. Name the reader, publishing channel and topic boundaries. “Everything about AI” is a bookshelf, not an outline. Use the fictional brief below first. For your own topic, remove personal, confidential and unapproved information. Work in this worksheet and your own editor; an approved assistant is optional. This page does not generate an article for you.

  2. Use a brief with facts and gaps

    Fictional teaching brief — not a real team or measured result. [B1] Reader: a new project coordinator. Channel: an internal how-to article. Topic: turning meeting notes into actions people can check. The reader should be able to separate decisions, action items and open questions. [B2] Fictional note: “The team agreed to test the checklist internally. The designer will bring two drafts on Friday. Someone suggested a public launch next week; no launch decision was made. Legal review is needed; no owner or date was agreed.” [B3] Keep the difference between a proposal and a decision. Keep the stated role and date; missing owners and dates stay unconfirmed. [B4] We have no measurements of time saved, error reduction or user satisfaction. Do not claim any. Do not recommend a paid product, invent a quote or make up a company case study. [B5] Desired next action: the reader tries the three groups on one set of permitted, non-sensitive notes, then asks the relevant people to confirm owners and dates. Keep B1–B5 beside the outline. An attractive heading still needs something useful underneath it.

  3. Ask for an outline with enough detail to write

    Use only the supplied brief and preserve its source labels. Give two accurate title options, one sentence naming the reader and what the article will help them do, four section headings with two concrete points each, a short opening paragraph and one next action. Link factual points to the actual source notes; use B1–B5 only when those are the supplied labels. If a point has no support, mark what evidence is needed. Keep fictional teaching examples separate from real evidence. Do not invent statistics, product claims, quotes or customer stories. Preserve stated decisions, owners and dates; keep proposals tentative and missing details unconfirmed. Follow the actual reader and channel. If either is missing, ask for it rather than assuming the example audience. Do not promise proven savings or guaranteed results. Brief:

  4. Compare with a complete worked outline

    Worked example, based only on the fictional brief: Title A: “Meeting notes: what was decided, who acts next, and what is still open”. Title B: “Turn meeting notes into three lists you can check”. Reader and promise: help a new coordinator sort notes into decisions, actions and open questions before asking colleagues to confirm them [B1, B5]. 1. Read the verbs before writing the summary. • “Agreed to test internally” is a decision; “suggested a public launch” is a proposal [B2]. • Keep proposals in open questions until someone confirms a decision [B3]. 2. Make three lists, using the actual notes. • Decision: test the checklist internally. Action: designer brings two drafts on Friday [B2]. • Open questions: public launch, and the owner/date for legal review [B2]. 3. Check the details instead of completing them by guesswork. • Keep “Friday” as written unless participants confirm a calendar date [B2–B3]. • Leave legal-review ownership unconfirmed; do not assign it to the coordinator [B2–B3]. 4. Confirm before sharing. • Ask the relevant people to check decisions, owners and dates [B5]. • Try the method on one permitted set of notes; no measured savings are available [B4–B5]. Opening: “The meeting ended. Your notes still contain an agreed test, a proposed launch and an owner nobody named. Put them in different lists before they turn into the same confident sentence.” [B2–B3] Next action: sort one non-sensitive set of notes and ask the relevant people to confirm it [B5]. Wrong title: “The proven method that halves meeting admin”. Repair: use Title B. The brief gives no measurement [B4]. These titles and the opening are authored examples, not quotes from a real user.

  5. Check the promise, sections and evidence

    Check your outline against B1–B5. Does each section help the new coordinator sort or verify notes? Are the agreed test, proposed launch and unassigned legal review still distinct? Does the opening avoid invented user quotes, companies or measured benefits? Does every factual point have the correct source label, with no number added just to sound convincing? Does the final action use permitted notes and ask people to confirm the details? If two sections repeat the same advice, combine them and keep the useful example. If a section needs outside evidence, list the question to research before drafting it. Rewrite first, then tick the checks; the ticks do not verify facts for you.

  6. Write one section, then check its claims

    Copy your checked outline before leaving; the worksheet does not save its text. Write the first section in your own editor and keep its source labels while drafting. Continue to the citation-check Task below if you add external facts: supply the actual passages you read, not just a list of URLs. If your raw material is meeting notes, the meeting-notes Task helps you prepare the three lists first. These links serve different needs; you do not have to complete both. An outline is ready to draft from when its promise, examples and gaps are clear, not when every heading sounds grand.

Turn a topic into a content outline with AI Check the facts you add to your article Prepare three lists from raw meeting notes

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