Center for Writing Excellence Blog

Reverse Outlining

Hi, my name is Avery and I’m a class of 2024 Writing Center consultant. I’m studying English Literature with a minor in Poverty & Social Justice. At Elon, I’m part of the Honors Fellows program and a member of Danceworks.

Have you ever found yourself with a completed draft that doesn’t say what you want it to? Enter: the reverse outline.

The reverse outline is a technique for condensing a paper down to its main points. Often, seeing a zoomed out, deconstructed piece can help you see the forest for the trees. The piece will be less overwhelming if you break it down into its component parts, and this technique is useful for eliminating roadblocks. Reverse outlines are great for helping with organization and structure; they can help determine the effectiveness of a thesis statement or main idea and show you the strengths and weaknesses of your argument.

To write a reverse outline, start with a completed draft. Then, list one sentence or bullet point for each of the main points as they work in your draft. And remember, you can visit the Writing Center for help with this step. As you go, you might ask yourself questions such as: “Does each paragraph relate to and support my argument?” or “Am I repeating myself?”.

There are many reasons why reverse outlining can be an effective technique in the writing process. One good reason is that reverse outlines force you to evaluate how your ideas are actually flowing in a fully-written draft. They can help you determine if evidence is situated in its most effective place. Sometimes, reorganizing can get points you’ve already written to pack a bigger punch. Reorganizing becomes less overwhelming when you can clearly see the individual elements of a greater structured piece of writing, and that’s exactly what a reverse outline gets you.

You can also use them to make sure your structure is logical and all of your supporting evidence connects back to your thesis statements, which is critical in an effective piece of writing.

For more information, check out this article from the University of Wisconsin-Madison:

Happy reverse outlining! I hope this strategy works for you.