# The Mirrored-Outline Template (Chapter 4)

**Use when:** the RFP is parsed and you are building the response outline.

The rule, verbatim: the outline mirrors the RFP exactly. Same section names, same order, nothing added. The panel compares your document to the RFP side by side; a missing section or a reordered one reads as an unanswered question.

## The outline

```
1. [RFP SECTION NAME, VERBATIM]
   Response: [DIRECT ANSWER FIRST, THEN THE EVIDENCE]

2. [RFP SECTION NAME, VERBATIM]
   Response: [DIRECT ANSWER FIRST, THEN THE EVIDENCE]

3. [RFP SECTION NAME, VERBATIM]
   Response: [DIRECT ANSWER FIRST, THEN THE EVIDENCE]

4. [RFP SECTION NAME, VERBATIM]  (add rows until the RFP is covered)
   Response: [DIRECT ANSWER FIRST, THEN THE EVIDENCE]
```

## The shape of one section

- One line: the direct answer to the section's question.
- The evidence: the record, the reference, the number, each traceable.
- Nothing added. If it is not in the RFP, it is not in the outline; extra sections are extra questions you answered that nobody asked.

## Before you draft

Check the outline against the parsed checklist: every checklist line item has a home in exactly one outline section, and every outline section traces back to a checklist line. The outline and the checklist should agree without you explaining the link.

A filled example (parks contract, three-section RFP): section one "Experience" answers the direct question in one line, then lists the 41 audits with the project log reference. Section two "Approach" states the method, then the deliverables and the measurement. Section three "Staffing Plan" names the on-site roles and their qualifications. No extra sections, no appendix of enthusiasm.