female studying taking notes checking calendar

With plenty of note-taking tips and apps available, online and in paper form, it'south become extremely piece of cake to accept notation of information, ideas, or thoughts. As uncomplicated as it is to write down an idea or jot down a quote, the skill of academic research and writing for a thesis newspaper is on another level entirely. And keeping a tape or an archive of all of the information you need can quickly crave a very organized arrangement.

The use of index cards seems old-fashioned considering that note-taking apps (psst! Hypernotes ) offer better functionality and are arguably more than user-friendly. However, software is merely there to aid aid our individual workflow and thinking process. That's why agreement and learning how to properly research, have notes, and write academic papers is still a highly valuable skill.

There's note-taking and and then there's smart note-taking.

Let's first writing! But where to start…

Writing academic papers is a vital skill most students demand to learn and practice. Bookish papers are usually time-intensive pieces of written content that are a requirement throughout school or at University. Whether a topic is assigned or you have to cull your own, in that location'due south little room for variation in how to brainstorm.

Popular and purposeful in analyzing and evaluating the knowledge of the author equally well as assessing if the learning objectives were met, research papers serve as data-packed content. Most of us may non end upwards working jobs in bookish professions or be researchers at institutions, where writing research papers is likewise part of the chore, merely nosotros frequently read such papers.

Despite the fact that most research papers or dissertations aren't often read in full, journalists, academics, and other professionals regularly utilise bookish papers every bit a basis for further literary publications or blog articles. The standard of academic papers ensure the validity of the information and give the content authority.

There'due south no nonsense in research papers. To make sure to write convincing and correct content, the inquiry stage is extremely of import. And, naturally, when doing whatsoever kind of inquiry, we take notes.

Why take notes?

There are particular standards divers for writing academic papers . In order to see these standards, a specific amount of background data and researched literature is required. Taking notes helps keep track of read/consumed literary material besides as keeps a file of any information that may be of importance to the topic.

The aim of writing isn't merely to advertise fully formed opinions, only also serves the purpose of developing opinions worth sharing in the first place.

What is note-taking?

home office work desk

Annotation-taking (sometimes written as notetaking or note taking) is the do of recording information from different sources and platforms. For bookish writing, note-taking is the process of obtaining and compiling data that answers and supports the research paper questions and topic. Notes tin exist in one of iii forms: summary, paraphrase, or direct quotation.

Note-taking is an splendid procedure useful for anyone to turn individual thoughts and information into organized ideas ready to be communicated through writing. Notes are, withal, merely as valuable every bit the context. Since notes are also a byproduct of the information we eat daily, it's of import to categorize data, develop connections, and plant relationships between pieces of information.

What type of notes can I accept?

  • Explanation of circuitous theories
  • Background information on events or persons of interest
  • Definitions of terms
  • Quotations of significant value
  • Illustrations or graphics

Note-Taking 101

taking notes in notebook

Taking notes or doing the research for academic papers shouldn't be that difficult, considering we take notes all the time. Incorrect. Annotation-taking for enquiry papers isn't the aforementioned as quickly noting down an interesting slogan or cool quote from a video, putting information technology on a pasty note, and slapping it onto your bedroom or office wall.

Note-taking for enquiry papers requires focus and careful deliberation of which information is important to notation down, proceed on file, or utilise and reference in your own writing. Depending on the topic and requirements of your enquiry paper from your Academy or institution, your notes might include explanations of complex theories, definitions, quotations, and graphics.

Stages of research paper writing

5 Stages of Writing

  1. Grooming Stage

Before you start, it'due south recommended to draft a plan or an outline of how y'all wish to begin preparing to write your research paper. Make note of the topic you will be writing on, as well equally the stylistic and literary requirements for your newspaper.

  1. Research Stage

In the research stage, finding adept and useful literary cloth for background cognition is vital. To find detail publications on a topic, you tin can use Google Scholar or access literary databases and institutions made available to you through your schoolhouse, Academy, or establishment.

Make sure to write downwards the source location of the literary fabric you notice. Always include the reference title, writer, page number, and source destination. This saves you time when formatting your paper in the later stages and helps keep the data you collect organized and referenceable.

Hypernotes Zettelkasten Note-taking Reference
Practicing referencing helps you stay organized and structured when taking notes.

In the worst case scenario, you'll accept to practice a backward search to find the source of a quote yous wrote downward without reference to the original literary material.

  1. Writing Stage

When writing, an outline or newspaper structure is helpful to visually break up the piece into sections. One time you have divers the sections, yous tin can begin writing and referencing the information you lot take collected in the research stage.

Clearly mark which text pieces and information where you relied on groundwork noesis, which texts are straight sourced, and which information you summarized or have written in your own words. This is where your paper starts to take shape.

  1. Draft Phase

After organizing all of your collected notes and starting writing your paper, you are already in the draft stage. In the typhoon phase, the background information collected and the text written in your own words comes together. Every piece of information is structured past the subtopics and sections yous defined in the previous stages.

  1. Final Phase

Success! Well… almost! In the final stage, you lot look over your whole paper and bank check for consistency and any irrelevancies. Read through the entire newspaper for clarity, grammatical errors , and peace of heed that you take included everything important.

Make certain you utilise the correct formatting and referencing method requested by your University or institution for research papers. Don't forget to salvage then ship the paper on its style.

Best Practice Notation-taking Tips

  • Find relevant and authoritative literary cloth through the search bar of literary databases and institutions.
  • Practise citation repeatedly! Always go along a tape of the reference book title, author, page number, and source location. At all-time, format the citation in the necessary format from the beginning.
  • Organize your notes co-ordinate to topic or reference to easily notice information again when in the writing stage. Work invested in the early on stages eases the writing and editing process of the later stages.
  • Summarize research notes and write in your own words as much equally possible. Cite direct quotes and clearly mark copied text in your notes to avoid plagiarism.

Have Smart Notes

Hypernotes Zettelkasten reference
In Hypernotes, you can highlight the key ideas and chief points of the source clearly.

Taking smart notes isn't every bit hard as it seems. It's simply a thing of principle, defined structure, and consistency. Whether you opt for a paper-based system or use a digital tool to write and organize your notes depends solely on your individual personality, needs, and workflow.

With diverse productivity apps promoting diverse techniques, a good note-taking system to have smart notes is the Zettelkasten Method . Invented past Niklas Luhmann, a german sociologist and researcher, the Zettelkasten Method is known as the smart note-taking method that popularized personalized knowledge management.

Equally a strategic process for thinking and writing, the Zettelkasten Method helps you organize your knowledge while working, studying, or researching. Directly translated as a 'note box', Zettelkasten is simply a framework to aid organize your ideas, thoughts, and data by relating pieces of knowledge and connecting pieces of data to each other.

Hypernotes is a note taking app that can be used as a software-based Zettelkasten, with integrated features to make smart note-taking and so much easier, such as auto-connecting related notes, and syncing to multiple devices. In each notebook, you can create an archive of your thoughts, ideas, and information.

Hypernotes Zettelkasten Knowledge Graph Reference
In Hypernotes, you can view all of the chief ideas in a noesis graph.

Using the tag system to connect similar-minded ideas and information to another and letting Hypernotes practice its matter with bi-directional linking, you'll soon create a spider web of knowledge about anything you've ever taken note of. This characteristic is extremely helpful to navigate through enormous amounts of information you've written down. Another benefit is that it assists you lot in categorizing and making connections between your ideas, thoughts, and saved information in a single notebook. Navigate through your notes, ideas, and knowledge easily.

Set up, Set, Go!

Writing bookish papers is no simple job. Depending on the requirements, resources bachelor, and your personal research and writing style, techniques, apps, or exercise help proceed you organized and increment your productivity.

Whether you lot use a particular note-taking app like Hypernotes for your research paper writing or opt for a paper-based system, make sure you follow a particular structure. Repeat the steps that help you find the information you need quicker and allow you to reproduce or create knowledge naturally.

Images from NeONBRAND , hana_k and Surface via Unsplash

A well-written piece is made upwards of authoritative sources and uses the fine art of connecting ideas, thoughts, and data together. Expert luck to all students and professionals working on inquiry paper writing! We hope these tips help you in organizing the data and assist your workflow in your writing process.

Cheers,
 Jessica and the Zenkit Team

Was this article helpful? Please charge per unit it!