Fact · Dictation
In the same 1988 experiments, preparing a written outline before writing led to higher-quality documents than not outlining, as rated by judges.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“preparing a written outline, compared with not doing so, led to higher quality documents as indexed by ratings of judges”
Attentional Overload and Writing Performance: Effects of Rough Draft and Outline Strategies, Ronald T. Kellogg, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 1988, Abstract.
Open the original- What it measures
- The second experiment found that a mental outline improved quality as much as a written outline.
- What it does not show
- Judged quality of short laboratory documents. The abstract does not give effect sizes.