By Shannon Stephens
I’m a big fan of reverse outlining. When a writer comes in with questions about structure or argument, I often invite them to begin by reverse outlining their draft, either collaboratively or on their own. I also find that it can be a useful strategy for dramatizing reader response: sometimes I make a reverse outline of what I see in each paragraph, ask the writer to do the same, and then we compare what the writer sees vs. what I, the uninformed reader, understand.
Depending on the writer’s goals, I often encourage them to take a “says/does” approach, noting both the content of each paragraph (“says”) and the function each paragraph plays in the overall argument (“does”). When using “says/does,” I put a lot of emphasis on the “does” aspect of the outline, conveying that each paragraph should develop, complicate, and/or propel their argument forward. I also stress that recognizing the purpose of each paragraph can help them identify the architecture of their argument, and troubleshoot larger questions of structure and logic.
Recently, however, I came across a new strategy for reverse outlining that complicated my thinking. While designing a structure and organization workshop for the Columbia University Writing Center, I found a method of reverse outlining that identifies the questions each paragraph raises and the expectations it sets up for the reader. In this paradigm, instead of reading a paragraph and noting what it “says” and “does,” the writer completes the following process:
- Read one paragraph at a time. Cover up what comes next.
- Beside each paragraph, note: What questions does this paragraph raise for you? What do you expect will come next? Why do you expect this – what clues does the paragraph give you?
- Read the next paragraph (and cover up the one after that). Were your expectations met? Were your questions answered? What new questions/expectations does this paragraph raise?
This strategy, like “says/does,” encourages writers to think of the role each paragraph plays in their argument. However, I’ve found that it does a better job of illustrating reader response – of helping writers understand how the relationships between paragraphs make an argument clear (or unclear) for their readers. Now, when a writer comes into the Writing Center unsure whether their argument is “clear,” I’ve started using “questions and expectations” reverse outlining to position them in the mindset of the reader. In this way, I am not so much dramatizing the role of the reader for them as I am providing them with a strategy for inhabiting reader response on their own.
I’ve found that this strategy can also be useful for helping writers see why commonly expected moves – providing context in an introduction, using clear topic sentences, gesturing at an argument early in the essay – play a vital role in their readers’ understanding, and are not just formulas they have to use because “my professor said so.” In one particular session, I observed that the writer’s introduction read like a body paragraph because it dove into close reading without establishing a sense of the argument. At first, the writer didn’t see why I was having trouble with this. However, after making a “questions and expectations” outline, she realized that a couple of paragraphs had made her ask, “why does this matter?” The idea of providing context and stating a thesis, then, became a matter of answering one of the most foundational questions in any essay: “why should we care?”
“Questions and expectations” reverse outlining does not replace “says/does” – I still find the latter very helpful when writers are uncertain about the overall order of their ideas or the wider logic of their argument. However, I’ve found that “questions and expectations” is a more incisive tool for writers who want to understand how their argument is relayed to readers as they move minute by minute through the text.
Published May 4, 2015
