Authors Brittany P. Battle, PhD
7 days
30 days
All time
Recent
Popular
Folks asked about my reverse outline process so here's a thread..
Simple concept, go through each substantive chapter & log the topic of each paragraph in one line. I do this by hand on a legal pad, so the description has to be super brief. 1/
#SocAF #PhDChat #AcademicChatter
As I go, I write out the subheadings within the chapter with the title & a brief description of the content there (few words). I also note how many paragraphs of "set-up" are at the start of each chapter. 2/
For each paragraph, if it contains empirical data, I make a note of the case/example/quote..still only on a single line. This is indented under the paragraph topic line. For these lines, I wrote 'data' in the margin to flag where empirical data were included. 3/
I use post-it strips to flag things that I think of as I go...cite X or include Y example here or this needs to be fleshed out. 4/
Initially, this outline allows me to see where I'm light on data, when the set-up of sections isn't parallel (e.g. 3 paragraphs for one chapter and 5 for another), where I can include better examples, where my paragraphs are redundant or don't flow well one to the next. 5/
Simple concept, go through each substantive chapter & log the topic of each paragraph in one line. I do this by hand on a legal pad, so the description has to be super brief. 1/
#SocAF #PhDChat #AcademicChatter
Reverse outlined my book manuscript today...highly recommend doing this for any manuscript. It allows you to see things you might not see otherwise and really consider the organization. #SocAF #AcademicChatter #PhDChat
— Brittany P. Battle, PhD (@Dr_B_Pearl) November 1, 2020
As I go, I write out the subheadings within the chapter with the title & a brief description of the content there (few words). I also note how many paragraphs of "set-up" are at the start of each chapter. 2/
For each paragraph, if it contains empirical data, I make a note of the case/example/quote..still only on a single line. This is indented under the paragraph topic line. For these lines, I wrote 'data' in the margin to flag where empirical data were included. 3/
I use post-it strips to flag things that I think of as I go...cite X or include Y example here or this needs to be fleshed out. 4/
Initially, this outline allows me to see where I'm light on data, when the set-up of sections isn't parallel (e.g. 3 paragraphs for one chapter and 5 for another), where I can include better examples, where my paragraphs are redundant or don't flow well one to the next. 5/