What does an outline demonstrate?

An outline is primarily a tool that illustrates the structure of a work, showing how various topics are organized and highlighting the relationships between them. It effectively communicates the hierarchy of the topics, indicating which are more critical or foundational in relation to others. This visual representation helps writers and readers alike to understand how the content is interrelated, ensuring that the flow of ideas is logical and coherent.

The other options touch on aspects that may not accurately represent the purpose of an outline. Personal opinions, creative thoughts, and random ideas can be part of the writing process, but they do not reflect the structured nature of an outline, which is designed to organize thoughts systematically.