Research Paper Outline Apps – Helping Students Organize Their Writing
Writing a research paper is a complex process that requires organizing thoughts, researching sources, taking notes, outlining arguments, and drafting and revising the paper. It can be an overwhelming process for many students. Fortunately, several mobile apps have been designed to help students outline and organize their research papers. These research paper outline apps offer features to structure papers, keep research organized, and improve the writing process.
Outline Builder
Outline Builder is a simple yet powerful research paper outline app available for iOS and Android devices. It allows users to create nested outlines with unlimited levels and organizational flexibility. Students can drag and drop outline items to rearrange structure as their ideas evolve. Outline Builder supports rich text formatting for outline items as well, allowing bold, italics, bulleted and numbered lists to be used. Once the outline is created, it can be exported in several formats including plain text, HTML and Markdown for easy import into word processors or other writing apps. The free version offers basic functionality while a one-time IAP unlocks additional features.
Citavi
Citavi is a comprehensive reference and research management desktop app with companion iOS and Android apps. Its powerful outlining tools let students structure complex papers into hierarchical outlines with adjustable heading levels. Citavi syncs outlines, notes and references across all linked devices via Dropbox integration. It supports importing references from library databases and organizing them into personal project libraries for citation. The outlining features let users collapse/expand outline sections, rearrange items, add sub-points and formatted text. Notes, outlines and references can all be accessed from any device for seamless writing on the go. Citavi offers both free and paid educational plans.
RefME
While not focused solely on outlining, RefME is a handy citation app that also includes research paper organization tools. It allows importing references from various library databases and online sources with just a URL or DOI. References are automatically formatted in styles like APA, MLA, Chicago and more. Users can take notes on references, highlight important text and flag them. RefME outlines let students structure key points and arguments into hierarchical topics and subtopics for their paper drafts. Outlines, references and notes sync across iOS, Android and web browsers through a free RefME account.
Highlights
Highlights is an intuitive outlining and writing app designed specifically for students. It provides automatic formatting and structure generation based on predefined templates for common paper types like argumentative essays, lab reports etc. Users choose a template, enter their outline headings and details directly on the app. Highlights automatically generates the outline with proper indentation, formatting and styles. Students can add images, file attachments, to-do lists and color-coded tags to outline items for better organization. Outlines look neat and focused in Highlights. Once complete, they can be exported to word processors or LMS like Canvas and Blackboard with one tap for direct submission.
StoryPlanner+Mendeley
While not dedicated outlining apps, StoryPlanner and Mendeley, used together, provide excellent research organization and outlining features for papers. StoryPlanner is a visual mind-mapping and outlining app that lets users build tree-structured narratives with text, images, linked web pages, embedded Mendeley citations and prebuilt templates. Mendeley is a reference manager app that syncs references, attached PDFs and annotations from various library databases. StoryPlanner outlines can be linked directly to relevant Mendeley references. This combined workflow keeps all elements of the paper – outline, research, citations – synchronized in one place for a seamless writing and revision process.
Ulysses
Ulysses is a flexible multi-platform writing app with robust outlining features like drag-and-drop reordering and nesting to create complex outlines. Outlines can be formatted with styles, lists and markdown syntax. Documents, including outlines, support rich formatting, references, images and comments for collaboration. Ulysses offers powerful organization tools through customizable sheets – like outlining sheets, research sheets, citation sheets. Each sheet can have its own markdown stylesheet. Outlines in Ulysses are live documents that automatically update linked sheets when rearranged – keeping research and writing tasks organized. Subscription plans provide cross-device and cloud sync.
Quoll Writer
Quoll Writer is a relatively new outlining app focused on breaking down topics methodically, whether for a novel, non-fiction book or research paper. It offers a linear “rake” outlining method to logically break down topics in order of priority with action items. Outlines can have unlimited levels of nested subtopics and include rich formatting, images, web links, attached documents, to-dos and color tags. Quoll Writer syncs outlines across devices and backup copies can be exported via email. While still fairly basic, its unconventional outlining approach appealing to visual learners. A subscription provides additional features like collaboration and automatic organization.
Research paper outline apps have streamlined the writing process for students by improving organization, collaboration and productivity. Their outlining tools, reference and note management features guide structured development of arguments from the initial brainstorming phase through to finished paper drafts. Integrations with other productivity apps provide flexibility. Ultimately, these apps empower students to focus on content instead of formatting details, resulting in polished, well-researched final papers. Choosing an app suited to individual needs and writing style helps maximize their potential to ease the challenges of academic writing.
Andrew Stroud