1. Focus – The opening emotional tone of the text.

2. Disturbance – A complication or shift in emotion that sustains engagement.

3. Dialogue – A response or perspective on the conflict, whether through internal reflection or character interaction.

4. Development – The unfolding of events that maintain momentum and deepen emotional engagement.

5. Resolution – A conclusion that ties back to the emotional stakes introduced earlier.

6. Moral – The underlying takeaway or reflection embedded in the text.

It is noteworthy that these stages, and their sequence, mirror the classical structure of academic genres. This is not surprising, as academic writing also requires explicit delineation of phases with minimal variation in order. While these stages define their function within a text, authors still have flexibility to manipulate and adapt their sequencing to best serve their narrative or argumentative intent.

Because the RfE model is pyramidal, it follows a hierarchical and dynamic structure, where emotional meaning is recursively reinforced across interconnected stages. (Example)