Symbols
Some scheme of marking the entries is a great help. There is no fixed system. Every student may choose from among the many used. If there are many main topics it might be a mistake to use Roman numerals (I, XVIII) as few people can read them quickly enough to follow their sequence. Capital letters may serve better to mark the sequences, but they do not indicate the numerical position. For instance, most of us do not know our alphabets well enough to translate a main topic marked N into the fourteenth point. By combinations of Roman numerals, capitals, usual (Arabic) numerals, small letters, parentheses, enough variety to serve any student purpose can easily be arranged.
The following are samples of systems used.
Specimen 1
Introduction
Argument
I—————————————————————————
A————————————————————————
1———————————————————————
a——————————————————————
b——————————————————————
c——————————————————————
(1)————————————————————
(2)————————————————————
(3)————————————————————
2———————————————————————
B————————————————————————
1———————————————————————
2———————————————————————
II————————————————————————-
Conclusion
Specimen 2
A—————————————————————————
I————————————————————————
a———————————————————————
1——————————————————————
2——————————————————————
b———————————————————————
II———————————————————————-
a———————————————————————
b———————————————————————
c———————————————————————
1——————————————————————
2——————————————————————
3——————————————————————
Specimen 3
1—————————————————————————
11———————————————————————
21———————————————————————
a1——————————————————————
b1——————————————————————
c1——————————————————————
2—————————————————————————
12———————————————————————
22———————————————————————
a2——————————————————————
b2——————————————————————
c2——————————————————————
3—————————————————————————
13———————————————————————
23———————————————————————