I am currently working on a graduate paper and was indulging in one of my favourite procrastination methods, researching the writing process. Doing so, I stumbled on what looks to be a very useful find, an article written by Patricia M. Shields titled “Getting Organized: A Pragmatic Tool for Writing Graduate Papers.”
The article describes “the notebook method”, described as “a pragmatic tool of inquiry that transforms paper writing into project management.” It involves organizing your work into a binder that will enable you to work systematically to cover all your bases and reduces the ‘start time’ involved in sitting down to work. This apparently can help students to produce much better literature reviews and ease the process of organizing the paper and formulating a research question.
Sitting at my desk strewn with papers, books, and notes, getting better organized doesn’t seem like a half-bad idea. Although I tried to be a bit more organized this semester, I still haven’t got things systematized to this extent. I feel a bit too far along to implement the notebook method for my current paper, but I definitely want to try it when organizing my thesis next semester.
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