Final answer:
Outlining is a strategy for organizing main ideas and their connections in preparation for writing an essay or making a presentation. It involves brainstorming and organizing thoughts to anticipate what will come in the essay or speech. A mental outline can be developed by examining a text's structure or brainstorming to create a visual web of ideas.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process described where one examines the main ideas, identifies how they connect to each other, and prepares one's brain for later understanding, is commonly referred to as outlining. This strategy is crucial for organizing thoughts and insights before embarking on detailed work, such as writing an essay or preparing for a presentation. It involves determining the way how one idea connects with another, the linkage between different paragraphs, and how an idea supports or opposes another concept. Outlining helps in anticipating what is to come and is typically a preliminary step in the writing process.
One might begin outlining by brainstorming to gather basic ideas, which then become the structure of the essay or presentation. Outlining allows for a clearer arrangement of these ideas, which is beneficial when conducting research. Graphic organizers and brainstorming webs can be especially useful tools when selecting a topic, as they provide a visual representation of the ideas generating the most discussion and support for the thesis statement. By doing this early organizational task, you can ensure that the delivery of the ideas will have a lasting impact on your audience.