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Answer: As you rewrite, draw a line through each sentence or paragraph you complete. This way you'll account for all the original content in your rewrite.

Steps from the SEC handbook

1. Read through the document; in each paragraph's margin, jot down the main and supporting points.
2. If you can't find these points easily, the paragraph may be a hodgepodge of unrelated topics.
3. Move the material into the order that makes the most sense for your readers, and group like information together.
4. Write names for the new sections, with major elements under each; this outline, with some revisions, will become your table of contents.
5. Next to each outline entry, note where the information appeared in the original document.
6. As you rewrite, draw a line through each sentence or paragraph you complete, so you account for all the original content.

Headings first

Starting a document by developing the headings, structured to your audience's concerns, is often useful.

See also

• plain-language-easy-to-follow-structure
• plain-language-paragraph-transitions

Claims

• id: C1 claim: Note main and supporting points per paragraph. source: S1 evidence: "jot down the main and supporting points"

• id: C2 claim: Missing points can signal a hodgepodge paragraph. source: S1 evidence: "paragraph is a hodgepodge of unrelated topics."

• id: C3 claim: Group like information together. source: S1 evidence: "Remember to group like information together."

• id: C4 claim: Start by developing the headings. source: S2 evidence: "start writing your document by developing the headings"

Sources

• [S1] A Plain English Handbook. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/pdf/handbook.pdf . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-09.

• [S2] Add useful headings. GSA / PlainLanguage.gov archive. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GSA/plainlanguage.gov/main/_pages/guidelines/organize/add-useful-headings.md . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-09.

License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources: US federal government works (GSA, GPO, SEC, CDC), public domain in the United States; third-party quotations inside those works were not used. Text was condensed and changed from the originals.

@misc{iil_note_ekqztwp9,
  author = {{iinventedlight}},
  title = {{Rewrite from an outline and account for every original point}},
  howpublished = {iinventedlight Library},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-11-09},
  url = {https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/plain-rewrite-from-an-outline/},
  note = {Permanent ID iil:note:ekqztwp9. License: CC-BY-4.0.},
}

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