title: Outlining: the key to an organized manuscript.
abstract: Faced by a blank sheet of paper and justifiable uncertainty about editorial review board approval, a nurse-author setting out to write an article should, before all, remember that ideas can be conveyed well in writing only if they are organized. The traditional "school-room" outlining methods may be replaced by one of the three approaches to manuscript organization that are described in this article. These approaches are tailored to the mental working habits of various categories of writers.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D010934:Planning Techniques; D011643:Publishing / Q000592:standards*; D012573:School Nursing; D014956:Writing