Reverse Outlining

What is reverse outlining?

Reverse outlining is the practice of outlining a paper AFTER it is written.

This helps you to easily visualize your paper for revision instead of having to reread it multiple times or get lost in large blocks of text.

To reverse outline, you will...

  1. Pull up your paper. Whether you printed it or have it on your computer, put the paper in front of you.
  2. Have a way to write or comment on the paper that you can see clearly.
  3. Read each paragraph one at a time. Next to the paragraph, write down a short phrase or a few small sentences that summarize what that paragraph is about.
  4. Between every paragraph, circle your transitions.
  5. After you have summarized every single paragraph, read just the summaries in order and the transitions between them.
  6. Do they make sense in that order? Are they all related? Do the transitions work?
  7. If you see any issues, now you can easily see which paragraphs need to be revised and reorganized, and you know which transitions are not working.