Essay+Organization

Evernote can be especially helpful in writing essays. Here are some ways that this program can help you get organized and get writing!
 * 1)  Make a folder specifically for this essay.
 * 2)  Start a note to //brainstorm //. In this note, write the prompt at the beginning and proceed to list every idea or topic you could possibly have about what could be included in the essay. This is like the usual brainstorming process. However, now you can continually add ideas no matter when you think of them without having for find the paper you started on.
 * 3) Copy all your ideas into a new note and begin to streamline your notes to determine which ideas or topics you will write about in your paper. However, do not delete the note you wrote in Step 2 just in case you become stuck on what to write and need to go back to your original ideas.
 * 4) Once you determine which ideas or topics you will use to write, it is time to gather research. Though this step can be intimidating, it can become very simplified. The URI library has a variety of journals and databases available for your research. Simply visit the [|Reference Databases] page or see [|All Databases By Title]. You can also search using [|Google Scholar] to find reliable information.
 * 5) Once you gather a variety of sources, make a note for each one, whether it be a section of the textbook, a journal article, or a book.
 * 6) In each note, start with the actual article text if possible. Bold or underline quotes you may want to use. Under the article text, take a few notes that summarize the source and its purpose so that when you go back through the information you found, you will know at a glance what the article was about and how you can use it. At the end of the note, include the citation , whether it be APA or MLA. This will make your work cited or bibliography page much easier.
 * 7) If the paper involves multiple topics, tag each article with the topic  it relates to so that you can see all your sources on that topic more easily.
 * 8) Here is the tough part, write the paper  . You can do your introductory paragraph last, so that you may see what direction your paper goes first. Use the summary of every source to write the general information in your paper and take the sections you bolded as direct quotes. If you need help with this step, URI has a resource called the [|Writing Center] which is available for students who need help with essays and papers. Luckily, thanks to Evernote, you are much more organized, so the actual writing should come much easier.
 * 9) Lastly, go through the notes of the sources that you used for the paper and compile a list of citations . (If you want to make this process even easier and have many article, use a tag such as "projectused" or "sourcesused" and simply go to the tag section of Evernote click whichever tag you created to find all of the notes)