Free Writing and Reverse Outlining

If you feel stuck and do not know where to start, try free-writing. Just write about your topic without thinking about structure or grammar. Set yourself a time limit and just write.

You can then go back and try to create an outline based on what you have written. This means examining your writing, just as you would a scholarly article or book that you have read, and identifying what your thesis is. You can then put this at the top of your reverse outline and list the associated points that are made in your free writing. You can even free-write and reverse outline an entire first draft.

Advantages of Using Freewriting and Reverse Outlines

They can help you get past writer’s block.
They can help you to think through your ideas without the constraints of formal writing.

Disadvantages of Using Freewriting and Reverse Outlines

They can be very time consuming as you often cannot use much of what you free-write in your final essay. Indeed, you will absolutely need to resist the urge to treat your freewriting as a formal draft of the essay.
You need to make sure to create an outline of your freewriting so that you can apply it to your formal draft.