IWE: Genre Analysis and Reverse Outlining

Summary

In this Purdue Writing Lab video, Heather discusses two key strategies: genre analysis and reverse outlining. These tools are designed to help writers understand the structure and purpose of different writing styles, aiding in both drafting and revision. Heather explains how genre analysis involves breaking down sample texts to understand their components, while reverse outlining helps writers evaluate the organization and effectiveness of their own work. The video includes practical exercises and examples, empowering viewers to enhance their writing by identifying strengths and growth areas. It concludes with encouraging tips for revision.

Takeaways

• 📚 Genre analysis helps in understanding different components of a writing genre by examining its structure and style.
• 🔄 Reverse outlining is a revision tool used to reflect on and improve your own writing by evaluating the big-picture organization.
• 📝 Genre analysis breaks writing into parts to reveal conventions, audience, and purpose, aiding in the writing process for unfamiliar genres.
• 🔍 The CaRS model, which stands for Creating a Research Space, is commonly used in STEM introductions and has three rhetorical moves: establishing territory, establishing position, and occupying a position.
• 📊 Analyzing texts globally focuses on understanding major aspects like the thesis, audience engagement, and text organization.
• 🔎 Local-level analysis emphasizes sentence structure, word choice, and specific techniques like hedging, while also evaluating the active or passive voice.
• 🛠 Reverse outlining allows writers to summarize what each paragraph says and does, helping to identify logical progression and alignment with the main argument.
• 📖 Example-based learning: genre analysis uses sample texts to understand conventions, which can then be replicated in new writing projects.
• 🔗 Reverse outlining helps connect each paragraph to the main thesis, ensuring that every section supports the overall argument effectively.
• 🖍 Annotating your writing or other texts with ‘saying’ and ‘doing’ notes can highlight content organization strengths and reveal areas for improvement.

Q & A

What is genre analysis, according to the video?

Genre analysis is a method of studying and breaking down different genres of writing to understand their conventions and expectations. It allows writers to examine the components of a particular style or type of writing and apply that understanding to their own work.

How can genre analysis help in the drafting stage of a thesis or dissertation?

In the drafting stage, genre analysis can help writers understand the different components of successful writing in their field, guiding them in structuring their work more effectively and understanding the conventions they need to follow.

What is reverse outlining and how is it different from regular outlining?

Reverse outlining is a revision tool used after completing a draft. Unlike regular outlining, which organizes ideas before writing, reverse outlining helps identify the main ideas and structure of an already written text, allowing writers to see how well their paragraphs support their argument and pinpoint areas for improvement.

What is the CaRS model and how is it used in academic writing?

The CaRS model, which stands for 'Creating a Research Space,' is a framework used to write introductions in STEM-specific academic writing. It consists of three rhetorical moves: establishing a territory (the 'what'), establishing a position (the 'why'), and occupying a position (the 'how').

What is the first step in reverse outlining, as explained in the video?

The first step in reverse outlining is summarizing the content of each paragraph to determine what the paragraph is saying. This helps in understanding the document’s overall structure and organization.

What are global-level concerns in genre analysis?

Global-level concerns in genre analysis refer to the big-picture elements of a document, such as the thesis, organization, audience engagement, and how the argument is structured and supported throughout the text.

What are local-level concerns in genre analysis?

Local-level concerns focus on sentence-level elements, including sentence structure, word choice, the use of active or passive voice, and how concise and clear the writing is. It also involves examining how sentences are connected and the degree of certainty or 'hedging' present in the text.

How can genre analysis help someone tackle a new or unfamiliar type of writing?

Genre analysis helps by breaking down the components of a new writing style or genre, allowing the writer to understand its conventions and expectations. This knowledge can then be applied when creating similar documents, giving the writer more confidence in their approach.

How can reverse outlining help improve a document’s organization?

Reverse outlining helps improve organization by showing whether each paragraph supports the main argument and how well the content flows from one point to the next. Writers can use this method to rearrange paragraphs, clarify ideas, or eliminate content that doesn't contribute to the overall argument.

What is the purpose of annotating a paragraph during genre analysis or reverse outlining?

Annotating a paragraph helps writers critically assess what each section of their writing is saying (content) and doing (function). It aids in evaluating whether the paragraphs align with the document’s purpose and thesis, and whether they effectively support the overall argument.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Introduction to Genre Analysis and Reverse Outlining

In this introductory paragraph, Heather from the Purdue Writing Lab explains the focus of the video: genre analysis and reverse outlining. She emphasizes how these techniques can help students at various stages of their writing projects, whether they are drafting or revising. Heather encourages viewers to reflect on past experiences with unfamiliar writing tasks and to consider how they approached learning new writing styles by using sample texts as models.

05:03

📚 Understanding the CaRS Model for Introductions

This section introduces the CaRS (Creating a Research Space) model used in academic writing, particularly in STEM fields, to establish the scope and purpose of a research project. It outlines the three key rhetorical moves: establishing a territory ('what'), establishing a position ('why'), and occupying a position ('how'). Heather explains how genre analysis can help students recognize these moves in sample texts, which can guide them in writing their own introductions.

10:07

🔍 Global and Local-Level Genre Analysis

Heather explores how genre analysis can be applied at both global and local levels. At the global level, writers should analyze a text’s overall structure, thesis, argument, and audience engagement. At the local level, they should examine sentence structure, word choice, verb tense, and other micro-level details. By doing this, writers can understand how both big-picture elements and fine details contribute to a well-constructed text.

15:08

📝 Practicing Reverse Outlining

The paragraph introduces reverse outlining as a tool for revising one’s own writing. While genre analysis is used to study existing texts, reverse outlining helps evaluate one's draft by summarizing each paragraph’s content and function. Heather encourages the audience to practice this technique to see how well their writing supports their argument and to identify areas for revision. She provides an example of how to annotate paragraphs and organize thoughts during the revision process.

Keywords

💡Genre Analysis

Genre analysis is the process of examining a particular type or style of writing to understand its conventions, structure, and purpose. In the video, this concept is introduced as a way for students to better comprehend the components of unfamiliar writing styles, such as a thesis or dissertation, by breaking down sample texts into their fundamental parts.

💡Reverse Outlining

Reverse outlining is a revision tool that involves creating an outline after writing a draft to evaluate its organization and the function of each paragraph. The video suggests using reverse outlining to help writers assess the strengths and weaknesses of their work, ensuring each section aligns with the overall argument.

💡CaRS Model

The 'Creating a Research Space' (CaRS) model is a method used in academic writing, especially within STEM fields, to structure introductions. It involves three rhetorical moves: establishing a territory, establishing a position, and occupying a position. The video uses this model to show how genre analysis can help writers replicate these rhetorical moves in their own introductions.

💡Global-level Analysis

Global-level analysis focuses on examining the big-picture elements of a text, such as its thesis, organization, and how it engages with the target audience. The video explains that this type of analysis helps writers assess the overall structure and argument of their work, ensuring coherence and logical flow.

💡Local-level Analysis

Local-level analysis looks at more detailed aspects of writing, like sentence structure, word choice, and verb tense. The video highlights this as a complementary approach to global-level analysis, helping writers refine sentence-level details to improve clarity, tone, and style in their work.

💡Hedging

Hedging refers to the use of language that softens or qualifies a statement, expressing uncertainty or caution. The video introduces this concept in the context of local-level analysis, encouraging writers to consider how much certainty they are communicating through their word choices and whether hedging is appropriate for their argument.

💡Macro-level Concerns

Macro-level concerns refer to the larger, overall structure and organization of a document. The video uses this term when discussing global-level analysis, urging writers to focus on how well their writing supports the thesis and the logical progression of ideas throughout the text.

💡Micro-level Concerns

Micro-level concerns involve more specific, sentence-level elements of writing, such as grammar, punctuation, and sentence variety. In the video, micro-level concerns are discussed during local-level analysis, emphasizing how these details can impact the flow and clarity of the writing.

💡Rhetorical Moves

Rhetorical moves are strategic steps that writers take to achieve a specific purpose in their writing. The video discusses how the CaRS model uses three rhetorical moves to establish a research space, helping writers understand how to position their arguments effectively within academic writing.

💡Target Audience

Target audience refers to the specific group of people for whom a text is written. The video emphasizes the importance of understanding the target audience in both genre analysis and reverse outlining, as different genres and writing styles have distinct expectations and conventions based on the intended readership.

Highlights

Introduction of genre analysis and reverse outlining as tools to understand and revise academic writing.

Genre analysis helps identify the components that make up a successful thesis or dissertation in various fields.

Genre analysis allows you to break apart a style of writing to better understand its conventions and expectations.

Reverse outlining is introduced as a tool for critically reflecting on your own writing during the revision process.

The CaRS Model is explained as a common structure for writing academic introductions, especially in STEM fields.

The three rhetorical moves in the CaRS Model: establishing a territory (the 'what'), establishing a position (the 'why'), and occupying a position (the 'how').

Genre analysis helps writers feel more confident and prepared when tackling a new or unfamiliar writing project.

Reverse outlining is a tool that helps writers evaluate the big picture of their writing by identifying what each paragraph is saying and doing.

Reverse outlining can help you assess whether your document is logically organized and whether all points are connected to the main argument.

The difference between global-level (big picture) and local-level (sentence-level) genre analysis is explained.

Global-level genre analysis focuses on the macro-structure of a document, including thesis location, audience engagement, and evidence use.

Local-level genre analysis focuses on sentence structure, word choice, verb tense, and writing style to enhance clarity and flow.

Examples are given on how to conduct both global and local-level analyses on a sample abstract, helping writers replicate strong writing techniques.

Reverse outlining helps identify strengths and growth areas in your writing, making it easier to plan revisions.

Encouragement to use genre analysis and reverse outlining in your own writing process to improve clarity, structure, and argumentation.

Transcripts

Hi, everyone!

This is Heather from the Purdue Writing Lab.

In this video, we will be talking about genre analysis and reverse outlining.

If you’re in the middle of drafting your project, genre analysis and reverse outlining

existing sample texts can help you to gain a better understanding of the different components

that make up a successful thesis or dissertation in your field.

If you’re in the revising stage of your project, genre analysis and reverse outlining

can help you to locate moments of strengths and growth areas within your project and guide

you to better understand where you need to focus your revisions.

To get started, let’s begin with a five-minute writing activity.

Think back to a time when you were asked to write a type of document you had never written

before.

If you need help remembering here, you can think about what you did when you were asked

to write your very first teaching philosophy statement, grant proposal, or literature review.

What did you do to get started?

What steps did you take to learn what to do?

If you looked at examples or sample texts, for example, how did you use those models

to help you?

Pause the video here and set a five-minute timer for yourself.

See you soon!

Welcome back.

As we go forward through the rest of the video, continue to think about this activity.

Chances are you have already performed some type of genre analysis or reverse outlining

in the past, even if you didn’t realize that was what you were doing.

As we will discuss, both genre analysis and reverse engineering can help you think critically

about different types or styles of writing and allow you to examine the different components

of these specific styles.

When talking about genre analysis, it’s helpful to break down our terms.

If we look at the Oxford English Dictionary, “genre” is a noun that is defined as a

kind, sort, or style.

Additionally, “genre” can be understood as a particular style or category of works

of art, especially a type of literary work characterized by a particular form, style,

or purpose.

When we think about genre in relation to writing, we can understand that different genres of

writing are governed by different rules or expectations.

For example, texting back and forth with a friend is a genre of writing that is very

different the genre of a professional, formal email to a potential employer.

Even though both of these styles of writing include digital correspondence to someone

else, the rules and expectations are different in terms of tone and how you are supposed

to structure your prose.

The second component of genre analysis, of course, is the analysis portion.

Again, if we look at the OED, “analysis” is defined a detailed examination or study

of something so as to determine its nature, structure, or essential features.

Putting these two words and definitions together, we can understand genre analysis as a way

to study or examine a genre or type of writing.

It’s helpful to think of genre analysis of a way of reverse engineering a style of

writing in the way that it allows us to break apart a style of writing to better understand

conventions and expectations for that style and to better use and/or write within that

genre.

If we think back to our beginning journaling activity, we can see that genre analysis offers

a helpful way to get started when faced with an unfamiliar genre of writing.

Presuming we all entered graduate school without already having written a dissertation before,

learning how to conduct a genre analysis offers tools to expose the different components of

this new, lengthy, somewhat intimidating style of writing.

In this way, genre analysis can help us feel more confident and prepared when tackling

a new project.

Let’s take a moment to practice together.

Let’s pretend that you were asked to write a CaRS model introduction.

Here, “CaRS” stands for “Creating a Research Space,” and this method is often

used to help writers create an introduction in STEM-specific academic writing.

The CaRS model is made up of three different rhetorical moves to allow the writer to establish

the scope and purpose of their project and to make that scope and purpose legible or

clear to readers.

The first rhetorical move is to establish a territory.

If we think of the guiding questions of “what,” “when,” and “how,” this rhetorical

move establishes the “what,” meaning that it specifies the scope of the writer’s research

within their field.

The second rhetorical move in the CarS Model establishes the writer’s position.

It addresses why the writer is attending to this research project and why that research

is important or necessary within the field.

The third and final rhetorical move within the CaRS Model is to occupy a position.

This allows the writer to address their argument and how, specifically, they will work to fill

in or address existing gaps within their field.

If you had never written a CaRS Model introduction before, you could use genre analysis to identify

these three rhetorical moves in a sample text before replicating those moves in your own

writing.

Let’s look at an example.

Pause the video here and set at least a five-minute timer for yourself.

Read through this sample CaRS Model introduction and try to identify the different components

making up this paragraph.

What moves are the author making, and where, specifically, do you see these moves being

represented?

Here, I have split up the three different rhetorical moves.

In the first portion in blue, I can see that the writer is establishing their research

territory (i.e. the “what” of their research).

In the next section in pink, I see the writer establishing their position (i.e. the “why”

of their research).

Finally, in yellow, I can see the writer’s move to establish the “how” of their project

by stating their position.

If I were asked to write a CaRS Model introduction for the first time, I could look at this example

and, after cataloguing these different parts of this type of introduction, I could use

this example to help me organize my own CaRS Model introduction.

If you need help making connections between this example and your own project, remember

that it’s okay to not inherently or instinctively know how to organize your thesis or dissertation.

We’re all learning!

If you need help organizing your literature review or methods section etc., look at examples.

Study them.

Break them apart.

Use your critical thinking skill to identify common patterns within your field and use

what you find to help guide your own writing process.

As we’ve established, genre analysis is meant to help you uncover the different components

of a genre.

More specifically, conducting a genre analysis reveals the purpose, target audience, and

common structure or organization patterns of a specific type of writing.

We can approach this type of investigation in two ways.

First, we can analyze a document on a global level, meaning that we can study the macro-level

or big picture elements of the text.

The key concern is to understand the big-picture moves that are being made throughout the document

and how these decisions shape the writer’s argument.

Here are some specific questions you can consider while analyzing a document for global level

concerns: What is the thesis?

Where is the thesis located?

What expectations does the thesis set up, how does the text deliver on those expectations?

How does the text consider and engage with its target and audience?

How is the text organized, and how does its structure guide and support the thesis?

What evidence is used, and how is evidence used?

In addition to global level analysis, genre analysis reminds us to consider local level

concerns.

Here, we can think about the micro-level or more nuanced-level elements of sentence-level

writing.

Here are some questions to consider on the local level:

How are a majority of sentences structured and connected within the document?

What types of words or phrases are being used?

Is the writer “hedging”?

To what degree?

As a reminder, hedging is the degree to which a writer communicates certainty

If someone is hedging their point, they tend to be more vague

What verb tenses are used?

Is passive or active voice being used?

How concise is the writing?

Let’s pause here and practice.

Begin by reading this paragraph while looking for global-level concerns.

What is happening here in the big picture?

Next, study this paragraph for local-level elements.

What is happening here on a micro-level?

Pause the video here and set a brief timer—maybe two to three minutes—for yourself.

Feel free to take more time if you need.

Here is my example of how I annotated this abstract to analyze this text on a global

level.

I have coded the different subsections within this paragraph to identify where and how the

writer is establishing their audience, what evidence they are drawing from, and the main

thesis of their work.

If I were tasked to write an abstract for my own writing, I could use these global-level

notes to better understand a starting point for my own work.

In this slide, I have drawn attention to the writer’s use of active voice and style of

word choice. Here, I'm looking at local-level analysis.

I noted that the author uses a variety of sentence lengths and structures to create

a sense of momentum in their writing, and, in the bottom righthand corner of the screen,

I also outlined some of the general argument structures the author uses.

From this local-level analysis, I could go forward to better shape my own sentences and

word choice in my own abstract.

So far, we’ve talked about genre analysis and how it can help you understand the components

of a type or genre of writing that feels unfamiliar to you.

Before we end this presentation, I want to also offer a few quick notes about Reverse

Outlining and how this sort of exercise can help you revise your writing.

While genre analysis often helps you to analyze an existing piece of someone else’s writing,

reverse outlining can help you to reflect on your own writing in a critical way.

I’m sure many of us have written an outline to jumpstart our writing processes.

Outlines are a great way to organize your thoughts before you start writing.

Reverse outlining, on the other hand, is a helpful revision tool that you can use after

you have completed your draft.

Have you ever tried to revise your work and felt stumped about where to start?

This is a great tool to use if you want to better understand your document’s organization

and to create some tangible steps for revision based on those observations.

Reverse outlining is a great way to evaluate the big picture of your writing and to highlight

how (or if) each of your paragraphs support your argument.

This revision tool can help you lift your attention beyond simple sentence-level details

so you can evaluate the strengths and growth areas of your writing on a broader level.

Here is an example of a reverse outline.

Reverse outlining allows you to accomplish two main goals.

First, you can summarize what each paragraph is saying by summarizing the content of each

paragraph.

This can help you better picture if and how you need to play around with your document’s

organization.

Are you moving from point to point in a logical way?

Are all of your points connected back to your argument, or is there any content that doesn’t

quite belong?

Second, reverse outlining helps you to understand what each paragraph is doing for your overall

argument.

Where are you defending the significance of your project?

Where are you defining your terms to help maintain clarity?

When I make my annotations about what my document is “saying” and “doing,” I sometimes

find it helpful to print my work and make handwritten annotations, but you are, of course,

welcome to use commenting tools to create electronic annotations.

As you can see, I used the left-hand margin to make notes about each paragraph is saying,

meaning that I made notes about the literal content of these two paragraphs.

On the right-hand margin, I made annotations about what each paragraph is doing for the

overall argument.

After you’ve created your reverse outline, you can start to locate some strengths and

growth areas of your project and identify manageable points of revision.

Now it’s time to practice!

I realize we might be running a little short on time for this session, so I encourage each

of you to practice reverse outlining the next time you work on revising your project.

For now, choose even just one or two paragraphs from your own work or from one of your sources.

Annotate each paragraph, making notes about what each paragraph is saying and doing.

It’s helpful to limit your annotations to about 5 to 10 words each.

It can also be helpful to write your main argument or purpose for that particular section

at the top of the page or on a post-it note that you can stick on your computer.

This is a helpful way to keep your thesis in mind as you evaluate how well your paragraphs

support your argument.

Best of luck revising, everyone!

We can do this!

We’ve made it to the end of our presentation on genre analysis and reverse outlining.

I know we’ve covered a lot today, but I hope these tools help you whether you’re

in the process of drafting or revising.

Thank you for learning with me!

I look forward to chatting more about revisions with you.

Happy writing and revising, everyone.

Until next time!