Writing Strategies

noun a general description or plan giving the essential features of something but not the detail

verb to give a brief account or summary

• The professor provided a detailed outline of the course material for the semester.
• Can you give me a quick outline of the plan for tomorrow?
• I need you to sketch out the outline of the project before we start working on it.
• She outlined her goals for the year, painting a clear picture of what she hoped to achieve.

noun a secondary plot or storyline that is subordinate to the main plot in a literary work or film

• The novel contains a complex subplot involving the protagonist's family history.
• There's a side story in the movie that focuses on the supporting character's romance subplot.
• Did you catch that subplot about the secret agent in the TV show? It's so cool!
• The subplot of betrayal adds an interesting twist to the main storyline.