Reverse Outline Workshop

Reverse Outline Workshop An Activity that Focuses on the Organization of a Written Draft

How to Start

Number each of your paragraphs
On another sheet of paper, write down #1 and list the main points of the first paragraph
Do this for each of your paragraphs
Now you have an overview of your paragraph's main points

Questions to Ask Yourself

Are there multiple ideas within a single paragraph?
Are there any irrelevant ideas within a paragraph?
Are there any ideas mentioned repeatedly in more than one paragraph?

Keep Analyzing Your Reverse Outline

Overall, does the organization reflect what you mentioned in your introduction?
Does the logic of your argument flow from paragraph to paragraph?
Should you move any information around to come earlier?

A reverse outline will assist you in finding problems with organization, flow, and thesis support within your paper. Once you've located the problem areas, it's time to revise.

Time to Revise!

Don't forget to make an appointment with one of the Responders at the Writers' Center. We'd love to collaborate with you!

Schedule Now

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by Scott Webb - "untitled image" • David Pisnoy - "untitled image" • Taelynn Christopher - "Mural mess" • Nadine Shaabana - "Making my way to Castro District (a famous LGBT community in San Francisco, California), was like maxing out a saturation slider" • Alice Dietrich - "Man holds painted mess"