I feel like the general approach that's been introduced to me, in terms of learning how to write, is to create an outline in which you list all your main points. It doesn't matter what type of outline it is, everything could be listed chronologically or based on the arguments that will be presented, but generally the outline is used to make sure that there's structure when you write. The structure itself of the outline is based on the type of writing you're making. For example, in a story you could list things out in a linear fashion, or start things in medias res to bring more interest to the work. Another example of when an outline would be useful would be in a compare contrast essay, because it allows you to list all the points neatly and see how they directly tie into one another. This is essentially the first phase within the writing process because you're planning out what you're going to write.

Personally, creating an outline is a bit of a hit or miss strategy for me because there are certain times when it makes my job harder. For example, my go-to when writing a research paper is to list the main points, yes, but everything beyond that is done as I go. However, outside of thesis papers, outlines prove very beneficial because you don’t have to work out how you’re going to go from point A to B as you’re doing it. Outlines help keep writers on track because it prevents rambling and reduces the chance of needing to go back and rearrange or delete points, thus saving time. Additionally, it also saves time on the later parts of the writing process, because it gives more space for you to focus on reviewing and revising the other aspects of writing such as sentence structure and grammar.