It’s really important that you find a method of recording what you’ve read and in such a way that you can actually put it into your assignments as easily as possible.
There is a clear link between what you write down and what you
remember, therefore taking some form of notes is beneficial.
Try to get into the habit of recording your reading: templates such as the one below can help. You can change the columns to your purpose. There are some examples below, and some links to access them.
This was my first attempt:
You can see the biographical details on the left, with very brief notes to allow me to remember what each source was about. I then added to the format to make it more useful.
The version above allows for quick searches for keywords, and keeps the format of what the author(s) did, found and concluded.
This is quite a basic form, but it allows you to include:
The reference
A summary of what the paper is about
An evaluation of how useful the source is
A summary of what the authors did, found, and concluded
This gives the opportunity for critical analysis
This version allows for further criticality:
Some versions you can use or adapt:
