You’ve got great ideas for your first or the next course. But chances are you don’t know where to start or what to include in your content.

You’re not alone. Even experienced creators often struggle with how much content they need and how it fits together in the overall structure of their course. Plus how much content is too much or too less? Add too much, learners may not be able to or want to finish the course, add too less and they may not be able to achieve much with it.

What is A Course Outline?

Simply put, a course outline is a plan, a list of all the topics that will be covered in your course. It details the sections and chapters you choose to cover, helps you plan how much time would be devoted to each course topic, and how the different sections are connected.

This also helps learners understand what they’ll learn, the order in which they can expect the information, and their takeaways from a particular section.

Should you Create A Course Outline Before The Content?

This step in your course creation journey can be time-consuming, but it’s worth the effort. A course outline acts as your compass or map during the course development – guiding you on where to go next when creating your course, while allowing enough flexibility to make necessary changes along the way. It will help you quickly see if there are any gaps or areas that need more attention before publishing your course. Plus it’s an essential tool for helping your future potential learners understand the unique selling points of your course.

That’s why if you do not plan your course outline well, you may end up with a disorganized mess that fails to meet the needs of your learners.

If you’ve never created a course before, it can be difficult to know exactly what information should go into your outline and how to plan it out.

In this guide, we’ll provide everything you need to create an effective course outline for any type of online course. We’ll explain the importance of planning ahead, offer helpful tips for creating a successful plan, templates and provide real-life examples that show how an outline can help you develop high-quality content quickly. Let’s get started!

Considerations Before Creating A Course Outline

Start With The End Goal In Mind – The Outcomes Of The Course

It sounds counterintuitive but it is true. Any learner takes up a course with a certain outcome in mind. They are looking for a transformation. A transformation with your course, that will take them from being zero in the subject matter to truly becoming a hero.

So it’s critical to be clear from the onset what you want your learners to gain from the course, and whether they’ll be able to do it by the end of it. To get to that clarity faster, ask yourself questions such as:

The answers to these simple questions will provide insights into what type of topics should be included in each section, the learning objectives you should set, the duration of your course or your programs, and the kind of content and assessments that should be integrated throughout the course.

When considering what topics to cover and how deep into a subject you should go, creating an outline helps you remember that not every learner will have equal experience. For example, if your goal for anyone who takes up your course is to become an expert in the domain, then you need to make sure your content covers all levels: from novice to expert. Include basic definitions and explanations for beginners, as well as more challenging materials for the experts to find value in the course.

Once you have a solid comprehension of what remarkable transformation will your learners gain by taking your course, you’ll have a better sense of how everything needs to fit together in your outline. This will also help you determine what content to create and which sections need more or less content so that your students will be able to achieve the desired outcomes.

How to Write a Course Outline: 3 Most Important Steps

So now that you know what is a course outline and why you need one for your online courses, it’s time to understand how to build the outline itself:

Master Your Subject Matter

Goes without saying, before you create a course, you need to become an expert in it. Because the amount of knowledge and insights that an expert shares is very different from what an average coach does. The results are also evident with the learner’s increased engagement which ensures more effective learning.

So make sure to choose a topic that you are great at, not just good. This will enable you to develop a comprehensive course that covers all the essential topics, concepts, and skills related to your subject matter.

Break Down Your Course Into Sections

The next step is to break down your course content into segments such as sections, and chapters so that you can easily define what needs to be covered during each stage of learning. Also, consider how each topic and section links to the overall learning objectives.

Breaking down your course into smaller segments, as shown above, allows you to map the entire content and all the different assets needed to make the course. This includes:

• Content Schedule
• Topics/ Modules / Section Names
• Chapters that you need to include
• Approximate duration that you think the content will be of
• Type of the content you plan to use
• Any additional downloadable course content that would be shared with the user.
• Assessments that need to be incorporated

This would then give you a clear picture of how much content is to be created, for what duration, and the amount of your personal time and effort it would probably take to get this done.

Choose The Best Methods To Deliver That Information

After you have identified the sections and chapters in your course outline, it is time to decide the content types that will best deliver that information. Whether it’s a video tutorial or an assessment, make sure to choose the best possible approaches for engaging your learners and helping them retain what they learn during your course.

Now as you know, videos are the most commonly used content types. It’s safe to say that you will also have to create several videos for your courses. However, to offer the complete learning experience and engage learners, go beyond just recorded videos and offer the complete learning experience with multiple types of content for your course. Here are a few course content types that most creators use to cater to different types of learning styles:

• Checklists
• Mindmaps
• PDFs
• Documents
• Templates
• Swipe Files
• Ebooks
• Live Webinars
• Mastermind Sessions
• How To/ FAQs
• Case Studies
• Guides
• Slides
• Quizzes/ Assessments
• Podcasts
• Live learning activities

Ensure to add as much valuable content as you can to give your students every opportunity to master the subject.

Bonus Insight: Always ask yourself – before my learners move to the next module, does the current module share enough learning, and will they master the concepts shared? If you believe the answer could be a no, add an assessment in the module to check for their understanding. Analyze the results and improve the course content as needed to ensure learners do well.

More than anything, this planning may take some time. And yes, of course, there will be edits, changes, and modifications as you go along.

But, by following these three key steps, you will be able to create a great course outline that covers all the essential topics related to your subject matter enabling them to achieve the desired learning outcomes from taking up your course.

3 mistakes to avoid when planning an online course outline

Now that you know the process of creating an effective outline, here are 5 common mistakes that you must avoid to ensure you build a great online course.

Including too much content and not focusing on the key topics

How much content is needed to ensure your learners learn the concept well – is a constant struggle most creators go through. This usually leads to an incoherent learning experience that makes it difficult for learners to identify what is crucial in the course. 

Based on your target audience’s knowledge and expertise, it’s essential to highlight only those topics that are absolutely necessary to the courses and leave out anything that isn’t 100% relevant or needed at this stage.

Not developing a clear and logical structure with an effective introduction

Planning the course outline haphazardly will make it hard for learners to remain engaged and follow where each lesson is headed. For this reason, you must create an outline that progresses logically from the introduction to a conclusion to keep students interested and motivated throughout the program.

Writing vague titles that don’t excite

Every element of your course must help learners grasp how it helps them. You cannot rely on just the landing page or the course description to help learners discover what the course is about. 

So make sure to go beyond a catchy course name, and write attention-grabbing names for sections and chapters as well so that each chapter becomes an irresistible content piece. Vague sections or chapter titles with no indication of what’s included in the section will not push the learners to look forward to the next piece of content coming their way.

These are some of the common mistakes that should be avoided when creating an online course outline. Take the time to create a comprehensive outline and make sure to have an organized and well-structured online course that students can easily follow and learn from.

Real-Life Outline Examples Of High Performing Courses

Need inspiration to create yours? Here are a few examples, of course, outlines that you could get inspired for yours.

1. Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s Good Gut Health Program Course

A course by sanjeevkapooracademy.com on good gut health, clearly outlines the course structure and what learners will get to learn from the individual chapters. Based on the 4-week learning plan created, learners get to view the final course curriculum in its entirety and the content types, assessments, and more.

2. Edifypath’s Course On Soft Skills

Broken down into multiple modules, the soft skills course by Edifypath.com and all other courses on the website, clearly list the content structure and timeline. They also list the different sections and chapters included in the course making it convenient for potential learners to discover what’s in it for them.

3. Professional Development Course

For those aspiring to develop their professionalism, it can be difficult to pinpoint specific areas in which they should focus on enhancing. This course curriculum by 51KGrowthHub clearly outlines the information they need to excel in their careers.

With a logical step-by-step progression, learners can better comprehend the concepts they will get to learn and also discover what else they could be missing out on.

FAQs

What is a course outline for an online course?

An online course outline provides learners with an overview of what topics and objectives are part of your course. This roadmap also lists any assessments, additional resources, or activities that pertain to each lesson so learners know exactly what they will be expected to do. With a detailed plan like this in place, you can ensure that everyone who takes your course is receiving comprehensive instruction throughout every phase of their educational journey!

What is the difference between an outline and a course syllabus?

Course outlines serve as the bare bones skeleton on top of which a course is built. Similar to an essay’s format, an outline maps out what will be covered in each session and how long its discussion should take. In contrast, a course syllabus or curriculum offers a more intricate illustration of your class that establishes learning objectives and further details assessments, resources, and other aspects of instruction.

Getting Started With Your Course Outline

Now that you have all the insights, it’s time to assemble your course outline. To make creating your course outline easier, we have crafted an example for you to follow and included a download-ready template to help get you started.

Tailor your course outline today using our convenient template!