Paragraph

#1 (Thesis
Statement)

#2

#3

#4

#4

WP2 Reverse Outline

Final, Revised Submission
What you added/omitted and why
The authors of all three articles criticize I changed my thesis because my
internal and external factors for their
initial one did not pass the
roles in criminal activity, giving readers arguability test. I added in the
the impression that criminals are not
names of the articles and the authors
actually responsible for their
to help the reader follow each source
wrongdoings.
without having to restate the entire
name of the article each time. I also
changed my rhetorical questions to
better tie into my thesis and argument
as a whole.
Even across different disciplines and
Initially, I only explained the
genres, similarities in writing style and
similarities between the scholarly
structure can be seen.
articles and didnt compare them to
the magazine article. Adding in
comparisons between these two
genres gave my essay more flow.
There are many dissimilarities between
I condensed my original two
the scholarly articles and the magazine
paragraphs about dissimilarities into
article, and also between all three of the one, which improved the flow of my
articles.
essay. I also omitted some
dissimilarities because they were
irrelevant to my point.
Despite the differences in content, none
of the authors seem to blame the
criminal outright for the criminal
activity that occurred.
The obvious difference between the
three articles is subject matter and
content.

#5

Each author uses diction in a way that

makes criminals seem like the victims
instead of the offenders.

#6

The underlying purpose of all of the

article is to convince the reader that
there is a logical explanation for the
criminal mind.

I explained the different factors each

article blamed for criminal activity.
This tied the paragraph back to my
thesis.
In this paragraph, I added in some
sentences explaining where the
authors placed the blame for criminal
activity. This made my argument
more consistent with my new thesis.
I added in a quote from the course
readings explaining the importance of
word choice and quotes from each of
the three sources exemplifying the
diction the authors used. Direct
evidence gives my essay more
credibility.
I added in a quote about audience
from one of the course readings and
also offered more of my own analysis

#7

In the Linking Psychological Traits

article, the author makes certain moves
to prove that different psychological
traits may be at fault for criminal
behavior.

#8

In the Cases of Indiscriminate Killing

and Society article, the author makes
moves to prove that social factors may
be at fault for criminal behavior.

#9

The author of the Wall Street journal

article makes certain moves to show the
reader that multiple different things
could contribute to criminal activity.
There are downfalls and limits to both
scholarly and non-academic genres.
Despite the many dissimilarities
between the three articles, the authors of
each article used rhetorical devices,
certain moves, and common
conventions to pin the atrocities of
criminal behavior on factors
uncontrollable by the individual.

#10
#11

in the paragraph to balance out the

evidence to analysis ratio.
At the end of the paragraph, I
explained that the author made
certain moves to prove that
psychological traits are to blame for
crime, which ties this paragraph back
to my thesis more explicitly.
I added in a quote from the article to
give an example of one of the
authors moves. I also explained that
the author made certain moves to
prove his theory on why crime
occurs, which ties this paragraph
back to my thesis more explicitly.
I keep this paragraph the same,
because it tied into my new thesis
without revision.
I kept this paragraph the same,
because it answered the prompt well.
I added in a satirical comment at the
end of my conclusion to make my
paper more memorable for the reader
and to hint at my own feelings on the
argument I made.

I completely restructured both of my essays. Instead of introducing a source and then explaining
different components of that source, I introduced an idea in each paragraph and then
incorporated each of the sources. I also re-wrote my thesis, which changed both the break down
of my argument and my argument as a whole. Reverse outlining allowed me to see how each
paragraph of my essay tied into my thesis statement. In some cases, I found that my argument
wasnt completely consistent with my thesis, and I was able to revise my work so that it made
more sense. Reverse outlines are a tool that allow you to see if you covered all the bases while
writing your essay.