For this assignment, we were asked to employ a technique called “reverse outlining” to gain a deeper understanding of how writers structure their work across various genres. Instead of focusing on what the writer was saying, we were paying attention to how each paragraph functioned within the larger text.
As my group members and I read through the article we would be responding to, “‘Neuroaesthetics’ Reveals How the Arts Help with Dementia and Trauma,” we paused after each paragraph to write a sentence or two, in plain language, about what the writer was doing in that section. Were they setting the context? Presenting data? Maybe offering a comparison or building an argument?
This process helped us break down the underlying structure of the piece and made it easier to see how ideas were organized and developed. We gained useful tools for applying these structural strategies to our writing, which aimed to give a well-structured response that highlighted our standpoint on the topic presented, in this being the impact of the arts as a form of therapy for patients suffering from dementia and trauma.
