Revising for Argument and Organization:
The Reverse Outline
The reverse outline can be used at any stage of your
drafting/writing process to check your argument, to organize,
or to shape your ideas into an outline. The same principles of
the reverse outline for reading are used for writing but for a
slightly different reason. Reverse outlines are useful in
checking drafts for possible revision. For example, you may
find that one paragraph stands out because it does not relate
directly to the essay's main thesis statement. It may be an
interesting aside, for example, that would be better suited in
the conclusion or counterpoint in another paragraph.
To revise a draft:
Once your draft is written, you will want to check it for
content and for the cohesion of its argument. The following
steps can be followed working either in the margins of the
essay or on a separate sheet of paper. As you respond to the
following questions, mark or note the main thesis and
paragraph topic sentences. Can you use this outline to
explain your essay to a friend?
1. Highlight, bracket, or underline the essay’s main
thesis statement.
2. Does this thesis suggest a broader topic area and is
this topic sufficiently introduced?
3. Does the first sentence of each paragraph make a
claim that is supported by the rest of the paragraph or
does this sentence encapsulate what the paragraph
says and does? Is it a topic sentence? If not, you may
need to revise your topic sentence to more accurately
reflect what the paragraph is saying and doing.
4. Do the topics and claims of each paragraph each say
something different about and develop aspects of the
essay’s main thesis, not the main topic?
5. Is there a conclusion or does the essay stop when the
evidence runs out? Use your conclusion to tie up
loose ends and remind the reader that you have
said/argued what you set out to say/argue.
Your reverse outline should reveal passages that are
misplaced or insufficiently developed. Once you are satisfied
with the way your thesis and topic sentences flow together as
an outline, you will be better equipped to spot gaps in your
evidence or critical argument.
Example
In The Golden Spruce, John Valliant presents an intriguing
story about the 1997 destruction of a unique and legendary
tree. He interweaves multiple narratives about the Haida
peoples, the history of the logging industry, evolutionary
biology, and the biography of the man responsible for cutting
this important tree on Haida Gwaii in British Columbia.
Valliant’s research spans from earliest records of contact
between European explorers and the Haida peoples to current
technological advances in forestry. He interviewed biologists,
community members, foresters, and the family and friends of
Grant Hadwin. The solid research is communicated by
detailed description and startling imagery of the beauty and
devastation of B.C.’s old-growth forest. Unfortunately, the
organization of his paragraphs can, at times, be confusing as
he jumps between topics and different periods of time.
Lessons from the reverse outline
The author presents Grant Hadwin as a reflection of the
complex environmental reality in coastal B.C. forests.
Hadwin was a forestry scout, and he was very comfortable in
nature. However, he disappeared while crossing Hecate
Strait, on his way to the trial at Haida Gwaii. Hadwin cut
down a protected tree as an act of protest, sparking outrage
from local aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities, forest
industry executives, and environmentalists. Valliant presents
evidence to show that Hadwin acted defiantly to protest
forestry and logging practices; he argues that this tree was
protected because of its beauty and rarity, but all around it,
the forest was clear-cut and devastated.
Using the reverse outline, we can see that the main point of
this review is unclear. No thesis or assessment of the book is
offered in the introductory paragraph; instead it is presented
in the third and fourth paragraphs. These statements should
be made in the introductory paragraph to establish a clear
direction for the paper.
This book is important because it asks the reader to consider
the environmental paradox we all confront in modern society:
can we respect the environment but participate in a consumer
culture that promotes the destruction of the environment?
The main points of the second paragraph are clear, but a topic
sentence is necessary to introduce the ideas of the paragraph.
With the addition of more specific arguments in the first
paragraph, key details like the identity of Grant Hadwin and
his role in the story are clearer, and they do not need further
description in the second paragraph (which was a concern
identified in the reverse outline).
In the third paragraph, there is a clear topic sentence, but we
are able to identify problems with the order of the sentences
in the biographical description. Hadwin’s criminal act should
first be introduced before his trial can be discussed.
In this brief example, the usefulness of the reverse outline is
clear. Writing a brief summary of each paragraph helps us to
see problems with clarity and organization and shows us how
we can revise our work to present an organized and clear
argument.
The Academic Skills Centre, Trent University
www.trentu.ca/academicskills
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