Two methods of outlining are suggested for college-level students of English as a second language (ESL) who need the tools to master rhetorical patterns of academic written English that may be very different from those in their native languages. The two outlining techniques separate the four logically distinct tasks in the process of outlining: (1) information or idea gathering; (2) logical grouping of the information or ideas; (3) labeling the groups according to a common denominator; and (4) placing the groups and the information within them into some logical order. The techniques separate the four tasks and deal with them one at a time. The first technique, box outlining, combines a modified brainstorming technique, called a scattergram, designed to gather ideas about a topic, with the task of organizing the ideas into boxes of related ideas, which the student then orders and the teacher checks. This technique can be used to introduce rhetorical patterns as well as organize ideas. The second technique, the card outline, allows more experimentation with classifying ideas by having ideas, printed on small cards, easily arranged and rearranged until the student arrives at an appropriate organization. Both techniques allow students to learn the separate elements of outlining and the logical development of English academic and professional writing so that linking ideas becomes a simpler task. (MSE)