Reverse outlining is a helpful strategy for improving an essay’s organization. While writers often complete a regular outline before writing a paper, it is beneficial to write a reverse outline as well. Writers make reverse outlines after writing a first rough draft. This outline allows you to examine your main ideas and organization to improve your writing process.
To create a reverse outline, turn your first rough draft into a list of bullet points. Write one sentence or phrase summarizing the main idea of each paragraph:
Thesis statement (Introduction)
Main Point 1(Body Paragraph)
Main Point 2 (Body Paragraph)
Main Point 3 (Body Paragraph)
Counterargument (Body Paragraph)
Concluding Thought (Conclusion)
Keep in mind: Your outline may look different depending on the genre and length of your paper. Some assignments may call for a body paragraph in which you summarize a source, for a paragraph that provides background information on your topic, or for a paragraph in which you suggest future research or solutions to an issue. This outline is merely a sample that can be adapted to any assignment. If your instructor has asked you to organize your paper using a specific method or has required that you include specific sections or information, you can structure your reverse outline to be sure you have met these requirements.
Consider the following sample reverse outline and how it has been adapted to fit a specific assignment:
Thesis statement (Introduction): Attention-getter quote about Google from Smith’s article; leads to the thesis position, “Smith and his contemporaries make unfair assumptions about how the Internet affects learning by failing to recognize its positive impact on higher education and adult learners.”
Background & Counterargument (Body Paragraph): Summary of Smith’s article (for background info) that highlights all the negative impacts of e-learning.
Main Point 1 (Body Paragraph): The surge in college enrollment of the last decade correlates to the surge in available online programs.
Main Point 2 (Body Paragraph): Online college degrees appeal to those who might not otherwise attend college (cheaper for those with lower incomes, more flexibility for working adults, etc.).
Main Point 3 (Body Paragraph): Learning online develops life and job skills that benefit students after college (autonomy, problem solving, communicating effectively online, etc.).
Main Point 4 (Body Paragraph): How Smith’s article fails to recognize these benefits and, instead, examines e-learning through too narrow a lens.
Concluding Thought (Conclusion): While Smith has some valid points regarding K-8 grade students trying to learn online, he fails to see how much the Internet has done for education overall by ignoring HS students, college students, and adult learners (continuing education). Looking at all areas of education and considering them separately is a fairer approach to judging the Internet’s impact on education. Refer back to the quote from the introduction.
This example demonstrates how the sample structure presented on page one can be modified to suit a student’s unique assignment or topic. Perhaps more main points (body paragraphs) were added because the paper needed to be longer or because the instructor required these specific sections. Or, these additions may simply have been the student’s choice, considered necessary to prove their thesis.
The same possibilities exist for the change in the first body paragraph, where background information and a counterargument are presented together. This change may have been at the instructor’s request or listed as a requirement in the assignment prompt (typical in a “reader response essay”). It is equally likely that the nature of the thesis made the student choose to order the paragraphs in this way. After all, if your thesis states that you will discredit or show the limitations of previous research (in this case, “Smith’s article”), it seems logical to first introduce the article where the research was presented and then to make points against it. Adding this context for the reader before diving into your main points just makes sense. You may need to adapt your reverse outline to fit your unique assignment well.
After making a list of bullet points for your Reverse Outline, ask yourself:
Does each main idea make sense?
Do ideas flow in a logical order? (Rearrange any paragraphs that seem out of order.)
Does each paragraph express one main idea? (If you have a paragraph with multiple ideas, separate them into different paragraphs to avoid combining too many ideas at once.)
Does each main idea support the thesis? (Revise or delete any ideas that do not support the thesis.)
Do any ideas need to be added to adequately support the thesis?
Does the assignment prompt ask for any sections or information that are not included in the draft? (If your instructor asked for specifics, like background information or a section that addresses counterarguments, be sure they are included.)
By creating a reverse outline and asking yourself these review questions, you can improve your essay’s organization. Feel free to add, delete, or move any ideas to follow a more logical order and to make your essay stronger. Reverse outlining is an effective and efficient way to ensure you are on track to writing a strong essay.
Source consulted: Upswing Writing Lab
Guide created by: C. Jones 2/4/2021, E. Raley 5/6/2021
Revised by: J. Brown 1/22/2024
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