The next step, to make a really thorough, high-quality index, is to go through each paragraph, one at a time, and execute a somewhat complex and thought-provoking set of actions.
For sake of making it simple, let us look at the actions required to index one paragraph.
We will use as an example a paragraph taken from a popular article about weight loss entitled How to Lose Ten Pounds Fast. The paragraph reads:
"Why water? Your body is made up out of 60-65 percent water. Water is responsible for transporting important nutrients to the body's cells and transporting the waste out. When you are not drinking enough water, your body tends to save it. This is where water weight comes from, along with high-sodium diets and water retention caused by a woman's menstrual cycle. Basically, to rid yourself of water weight, you will have to drink water! It sounds almost contradictory, but it makes sense when you realize your body is holding onto it because there is a lack of it. You will be surprised how much difference just drinking enough water can make on your weight."
To help you really get how to do this indexing, we will use this paragraph in an exercise that follows that will illustrate the thoughts and actions required to create a good index. For this example, we will assume that this article is a part of a larger publication. We will assume it is a SECTION in a CHAPTER about weight loss, and the chapter is a part of a BOOK on care of the human body. These are important contextual facts that will modify how our index evolves.
Here are the steps using the above paragraph as an example:
