CAS 100A Standard Storytelling Outline Format
(fill in the “blanks”)
(Adapted from Stephen Buzard Storytelling Paper CAS 280W, September, 2002)
Note Name and Assignment on Outline: Stephen Buzard
Storytelling Paper
September 30, 2002
I. Introduction
Opening sentence to introduce the central idea, or thesis.
Sometimes when someone insults or threatens us, we jump right into physical confrontation.
Story or description that gives Audience an imaginative experience.
One student in my dorm used to go the the bars looking for a fight. He would come home disappointed sometimes, blustering loudly about “not having anyone in town with the guts to face him.” Yet there were other nights when he arrived home tanked, black and blue, sometimes even bloody. It was clear that physical violence didn’t work because he was an average to small build. I always thought that it would be wiser for him to use his brains instead of his brawn, perhaps using a game of pool or a video game to show his “enemies” up.
Close with a Transition to the Central Idea/Thesis, and do the same for each paragraph. (Sum up the idea in the paragraph that matches the thesis which follows immediately at the beginning of the next pgh.. This can be as short as a sentence closing the first paragraph, or as long as another paragraph.)
My friend never seemed to get the idea. The rest of us in the dorm did, however. We all decided to use our heads from something other than a battering ram.
II. Central Idea/Thesis at the Beginning of a Paragraph (2nd or 3rd):
The theme of the story I will present is one of outsmarting your adversary by using your head instead of your muscles. ( Or as a Moral: It is better to use your head and not your muscles to solve a problem.)
III. Preview/Partition in the Central Idea/Thesis paragraph covering Setting, Characters, Plot, and Language. [One sentence or Phrase for each of the topics linking them to the theme. This may be one sentence for each section, or longer as below.]:
The theme can be seen in the dangerous chasm the goats much cross, in the scary appearance of the troll versus the more reasonable goats, the action showing the troll’s arrogance changing to defeat, and in the language that describes
[Transition: Last sentence signals the end of the preview, and guides the reader to the first point – the author’s relationship to the theme – by mentioning Kingsolver.]
These themes can be found reflected in the actions suggested by the story, beginning with those that “act out” the story’s setting.
IV. Body (With Topic Sentences Beginning Each Paragraph, Each Linking to a Theme like “using your brain rather than your brawn.”)
A. Setting. The setting of the story suggests a passage in life that is blocked by a difficult obstacle.
(Follow with three ways in which you can “show” the setting to the audience. For each you should have a line or event in the story that suggests the action, a description of the action in concrete terms---smiling, emphasizing a word--- and a reason for doing it that matches your theme. All these emphasize “using brains rather than brawn to solve problems.”).
1. The action takes place is along side a great chasm near a big grassy hillside where there is a stone bridge. I will be able to suggest to the audience how wide the chasm is by using my arms and expanding them wide for all of the audience to see.
2. For the stone bridge I will be able to advocate that it is long and flat by using my arms with my palms facing down and spreading my arms out to create distance from one hand to the other.
3. I can also show how the goats long for the long grass on the other side by licking my lips.
[Summary/Transition:] These actions should suggest that the goats had a difficult task to perform.
B. Character: The four characters in this story exemplify the theme through the image of the bully, the small but wiley billy goats, and the big brother of billy goats. [The main point “B.” opens the idea of character with a reminder of the theme. ]
(Follow with one action of voice or body for each character and/or “teller” in the story.)
1. The first is the scary troll who is ugly and short. I will use a raspy deep voice for this character to show to the audience that the troll is wicked.
2. The first of the billy goat gruffs is the little one. I will use a small humble voice to show that he is small and vulnerable.
3. The second goat is the big billy goat gruff, for him I will use a deeper voice to show that he his bigger than the first goat.
4. The final and third billy goat gruff is the biggest, for him I will use a great deep voice to show that he is the biggest and strongest.
[Summary/Transition:] The audience should be able to see the theme in the loud troll compared to the less imposing smaller goats, as well as the threat to the troll when the Big Billy Goat arrives.
C. Plot: The plot of this story suggests that it is better to use mind than muscle.
(Follow with three actions that can “show” the audience key moments in the story)
1. The first billy goat gruff shapes the idea because instead of trying to fight with the troll, he simply outsmarts him.
a. He does this by telling the troll to wait for his bigger brother who has more meat.
b. I can nod slowly with wide eyes to show that this makes sense to the troll, and so he lets the Little Goat go.
c. I can then use a gravelly quality as I describe the trolls stomach rumbling as he awaits the meatier brother.
2. The second billy goat gruff comes across the bridge as promised by his little brother.
a. He too is faced with the option of facing the troll. Knowing he has no chance of winning, he simply outsmarts the troll.
b. He tells him to leave him alone and again wait for yet his bigger brother. I can show his clever thinking by widening my eyes like an enthusiastic salesman.
c. The foolish troll can “think” with a wrinkled eyebrow before he agrees and lets him leave.
3. Now the biggest billy goat gruff is on the bridge.
a. This billy goat is the biggest and is stronger and smarter than the troll.
b. He knows what awaits him on the bridge. So he simply sneaks up and knocks the troll off the bridge.
c. Now everybody can pass the bridge if they desire. In this way the plot is molded through the interaction of the goats and the troll.
[Summary/Transition:] The first two goats simply outsmart the troll and let the more capable goat of the brothers face him.
D. Language: There are many actions of voice or face that can help an audience imagine, through the parts of the story, that using your head is better than using your muscle.
(Describe actions that can highlight important words or images).
1. Throughout the story I will suggest the goats as smart and savvy creatures, while the troll is a little slow of mind.
a. I will do this by showing the goats as self-confident through big smiles with bright eyes, especially when they are thinking of the next thing to say to the troll.
b. The troll will have to stop with a puzzled look on his face in order to consider the goats’ arguments, and his voice will have a slight “old boxer” quality suggesting his head is stuffed up.
2. Another important image is the change in power relationships suggested by a change in posture and focus.
a. For the smaller goats I will look up slightly as if seeing the troll above me, while the troll will look down slightly at them.
b. Then when the last goat arrives he will look down at the troll, and the troll will look up at him.
3. The mood of the story will be recognizable to the audience through the delivery of slightly overdone shyness and timidity to confidence and bravery.
a. I will perform with a smile the description of the goats safely and happily eating the grass on the giant hillside along the bridge.
[Summary/Transition:] Then the audience will recognize that the goats tricked the troll until the Big Billy Goat could defeat him.
V. Conclusion
[A Summary of Main Points is not required, but is often helpful. The important element is a concrete example/story/quotation that gives the audience one more image or experience with the theme.]
So through the setting, characters, plot and language of the story, the storyteller conveys the message that brains triumph over brawn most of the time. The student from my dorm often came home stiff and sore because he worked out his frustrations by fighting. Others of us went jogging, played basketball, or working on weight machines. In the end we were sore, too, but we ended up with a stronger body and greater endurance as an added benefit. We also had fewer visits to the doctor. So remember the Billy Goats Gruff when you get frustrated by school or jobs. Find a way to work it out so that the results don’t beat you up in the end. [The concluding line signals the end of the paper with a mention of the theme.]
(Revised 1/24/08)