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Appendix 6: Backwards Outline Workshop Essay 3

  1. Take out a sheet of paper and write down your thesis statement or a sentence defining your purpose in writing the essay.
  2. Divide the rest of the paper into three columns
  3. In the lefthand column: for each paragraph write one brief phrase of summary of either the content or purpose of the paragraph. If there are two distinct ideas or purposes in the paragraph, write a brief phrase for each.
  4. Review the list in the lefthand column and see if similar things show up in different parts of the paper. For example, are number one and number ten the same thing? If so, make a note about a possible way to re-organize and put these similar places together.
  5. In the middle column, write a sentence which explains the connection between what this paragraph is/does and the thesis/purpose statement at the top. If you don't know or it isn't clear, write a question mark.
  6. Using what you wrote in the middle column, and the reading from the PHG, write a transition that can make that connection for the reader.
  7. In the third column write a connection between:
  8. Examine the sentences you wrote in the third column: Would any of these statements work as effective transitions in the essay itself? If not, use the information in the 3rd column and the reading from the PHG to write a transition that makes that connection for the reader.