• The brief introductory section I sets out the sort of problem Walton wants to address and section II deepens it by arguing against some of the solutions that might suggest themselves. As you read this, it is worth thinking about how someone sympathetic to one of these approaches might reply to Walton’s criticisms, but it would also be worth looking back at this discussion after you read Walton’s own solution to see which of these might be its strongest competitor.

• Sections III and IV set out Walton’s own solution. In section III, he uses the idea of make-believe to explain the idea of “fictional truth.” This is part of Walton’s general effort to see the representational arts in terms of make-believe. (The reading guide for “Transparent Pictures” has a link to a summary of a book laying out Walton’s ideas.) Section IV sets out the particular form of make-believe that Walton sees as the solution to the particular problem he is addressing in this paper.

• Walton describes section V as an argument for his solution but it is at least as much a further development and clarification of that solution.

• Sections VI and VII then extend his solution further. In VI he considers other attitudes to fictions (besides fear) and compares his account to other views of these attitudes. In VII, he applies his approach to a couple of puzzles beyond the one he began with.