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Reverse Outlining

Whether you are reading a published text or peer reviewing a paper, reverse outlining can help you process information by distilling the main ideas of a text into short, clear statements. Put simply, when reverse outline the reader tries to summarize each paragraph of a text in two sentences. This process will not only help you analyze the material you are reading, it will also allow you to organize your response. You may use reverse outlining to revise your own work, revise the work of others, or to annotate a text.

Reverse outlining follows a two-step, repeatable process:

  1. In the left-hand margin, write down the topic of each paragraph. Try to use as few words as possible.

When reading, these notes should work as quick references for future study or in-class discussion.

When revising your own work or the work of your peers, these notes should tell you if each paragraph is focused and clear.

  1. In the right-hand margin, write down how the paragraph topic advances the overall argument of the text. Again, be brief.

When reading, these notes allow you to follow the logic of the essay, making it easier for you to analyze or discuss later.

When revising work, these notes should tell you if each paragraph fits in the overall organization of the paper. You may also notice that paragraphs should be shifted after completing this step.

Remember to be brief. You should try to complete each step in 5-10 words. When reading a published text, you should be able to summarize the topic and the manner of support quickly; if you can’t, you should consult a dictionary, an encyclopedia, or other resources to help you understand the content. When reading your own work or the work of a peer, you should consider revising any section that does not have a clear point that is easy to re-articulate.

When reading a potential source, you should consider which points you agree or disagree with and make notes that help you formulate your opinion. However, when reading work with the goal of revision, the objective is to communicate an understanding of the writer’s main ideas, not to critique or correct these points. When reading your own work or the work of a peer, if the paragraph does contain an easily identifiable point, but it does not relate to the thesis or topic of the paper, it may be appropriate to remove this section entirely.

This exercise can be expanded by rewriting/typing your outline with comments or further suggestions, but writing in the margin might be sufficient.

This exercise is adapted from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/689/1/ by The OWL at Purdue

Literacy Narrative Assignment

Using the examples you viewed on the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives (DALN) as inspiration, you will compose your own literacy narrative. This should be a personal story of how you learned to read and write with a specific focus on the tools that helped you in this journey.

Your audience is your classmates, but you will have the option to upload these to the DALN, so consider a broader audience of students and teachers from around the world as well.

Your narrative should include specific dates, people, places, books, devices, and moments from your personal history. You should focus on 3-5 moments from your history that had the greatest impact on your literacy journey and describe these moments with vivid details and thorough explanations. Begin with an introduction explaining who you are now. Organize your supporting examples details chronologically with clear transitions to aid the reader. Your conclusion should explain how this process will influence your future.

You should aim for 2 pages, single spaced, in Times New Roman 12.

Along with the writing, your narrative should include media. This can include videos (featuring you speaking to the camera, interviews with people from your narrative, clips from movies/shows you mention in the narrative), a series of pictures, a timeline, a short animation, a combination of all of these elements, or anything else you can dream up! If you include videos, GIFs, or images from an outside source please provide the link and a citation.

Combine both the writing and the media into a blog post with a clever title. Use the category “blog” and the tag “narrative” when posting to the site (if you fail to do this I cannot grade your work!). You may also include any tags you feel describe your narrative (you can use the categories and labels from the DALN for inspiration).

This paper is worth 20 points. Here is the grading rubric.

You will present this narrative in class. You will have 3 minutes each. Please practice before you present. You should aim to be interesting, engaging, and professional.

The presentation is worth 10 points.

We will recite the academic integrity pledge in class before your presentation:

“I pledge on my honor that I have neither given nor received

unauthorized assistance on this assignment.”