Note down the main thesis, or argument, of the written report. The thesis will serve as the header to your outline and as a guidepost as you develop the rest of the outline. The thesis normally appears in the first paragraph of the report and comes near the end of that paragraph, giving a strong and decisive argument or conclusion about the topic.
Make a note, or underline within the paper if possible, the topic sentences of each paragraph. Written reports should have clear topic sentences for each paragraph. Usually, each paragraph will have a specific topic and emphasis. The topic sentences will serve as the main headers within your outline. Sometimes more than one paragraph is needed to discuss a main topic in the report. In this case, use the first, main topic sentence to cover all of the paragraphs related to the same argument or topic.
Write down the final conclusion, or argument, from the end of the written report. If there are any new findings, or calls for future work, include these in your information for the conclusion section of the outline.
Format the outline using the notes from Steps 1 to 3. Begin the outline with roman numeral "I" and the title "Introduction." Place the thesis statement of the essay underneath the title. Add relevant details, such as facts or figures if you wish, or leave the thesis statement as is. On the next line type out a roman numeral "II" followed by the title of the topic. For instance, if the report is about rainforest preservation a topic title could be "Deforestation and Landslides." Underneath the main header include the main topic sentence for the topic, and any relevant facts or details. Continue creating headers with roman numerals, titles and arguments for each topic covered until you reach the conclusion of the essay. Title the final thoughts of the report as the "Conclusion" and place the re-emphasis of your thesis, final arguments or calls for additional work in the space below the header.
Flesh out any areas of the outline which need more information or even photos. At its most basic, the outline can serve as a skeleton for the main body of the written report. If you are giving a talk and want notes, add more details underneath each topic heading to serve you as you go through the report.