What is the importance of outlining?

Answer 1

A writer is like a guide, leading the reader through a cluster of ideas. An outline is like a map showing the best path.

Some writers start with an outline -- just a list of the ideas the writer wants to present -- arranged in the order the writer thinks will be most effective. Other writers start with paragraphs, just explaining the ideas in whatever order they come, and then rearrange them in the most effective order. Then they write the outline, to see if one paragraph leads smoothly to the next, or if they've left something out.

Either way, the outline helps the writer to organize ideas for the reader.