How to Find Problems in Your Draft with a Reverse Outline
Have you ever reviewed a document and felt that the organization could be improved but you couldn’t pinpoint the problem? Most writers have experienced this feeling a time or two (or more). A great way to help you find the problem is to create a reverse outline.
What is a reverse outline?
A reverse outline is a useful tool for identifying problems in a draft. To create a reverse outline, you simply make an outline after a paper has been written. This process helps you to strip away all the supporting details to reveal the bones—the main points and structure—of the paper.
What are the benefits of a reverse outline?
A reverse outline can help you more objectively:
Distill the main ideas of a document into short, clear statements
See the logic of your arguments
Assess the overall organization of the paper
Discover areas to expand on (or condense)
Notice repetition in the writing
Uncover where readers might be confused
How do you create a reverse outline?
1. Start with a complete draft
If you start with a complete draft, you can get a fuller picture of the overall story in your document. You can also create a reverse outline from a partial draft to help you review the organization of the paragraphs you have written so far.
2. Identify your one core idea
Write the core idea of your document at the top of the page. You might even write the core idea in the header of the outline so that it repeats on every page as a helpful reminder.
3. Add headings
Write the headings for each section and subsection of your draft (eg, Introduction, Discussion, Approach, descriptive headings).
4. List the main ideas
Under each heading, use bullet points to list short sentences that capture the main idea of each paragraph in your draft. If your paragraph has a short topic sentence that states the paragraph’s main argument, you can add that sentence to the list. Otherwise, write one short sentence that summarizes the main point of the paragraph.
What do you do with a reverse outline?
After you create your reverse outline, you can use it to identify problems in the writing, such as disorganization, disjointed flow, or gaps in logic. See below for some ideas to help you with this process.
Compare the content to your core idea
Each part of the document should have a clear purpose in supporting the core idea. If any content (figures, paragraphs, sentences) does not support the core idea, consider deleting that content.
Look for “problem” paragraphs
Review the outline of each paragraph. If you notice that a paragraph has more than one main idea, separate the details so that each paragraph has only one main idea. If you notice that a paragraph has too much information, weed out unnecessary details. Or if all the details are needed, break the paragraph into two (or more) paragraphs. If you notice that a paragraph had too little information, add that new information to your outline.
Move paragraphs and sentences into a logical order
Once you have the content of your paragraphs fine-tuned, think critically about the order in which that content appears. Does the structure smoothly guide readers through the document? Do your paragraphs make or build logical arguments? Could you revise any paragraphs to more effectively make or build arguments?
Ensure the main idea of each paragraph supports the core idea
If needed, revise the main idea (or topic sentences) of each paragraph to support the core idea of your document.
Compare the content of each paragraph to the paragraph’s main idea
Make sure that the main idea or topic sentence of each paragraph clearly describes the information contained in that paragraph.
Check the transitions between paragraphs
The best transitions are often strong topic sentences. Review your topic sentences and revise them to clearly connect ideas between paragraphs.
