Outlining a Chapter or Paper

A thesis chapter grows out of months of reading, and the hard part is turning that reading into an order you can write in. This guide keeps one mindmap for the chapter while you read, then reshapes it into sections, writes cited paragraphs, and checks each citation against its page.

The screenshots continue the map from the Literature Review guide, built on ten open-access papers about social media use and adolescent mental health, using the default model.

Step 1: Grow one map while you read

Keep a single mindmap per chapter and add to it each time your reading moves on. Three ready-made prompts do most of the work, and each sits under the + button next to the chat box:

Fill the gaps after you add papers to the library. It finds the positions and studies the library covers and the map does not, and adds a branch for each.
Expand a branch when a section needs more detail. Select the branch first.
Add counter-evidence when a section only argues one side.

You can also edit claims, move them between branches, and add your own. The agent works on top of your edits.

Step 2: Save a version before you restructure

Restructuring moves every claim, so save the current map first. Click the Snapshots icon at the top of the map, give the snapshot a name, and click Save.

Saving a snapshot before each supervisor meeting also gives you a record of how the chapter changed.

Step 3: Ask for the outline

Write the section list yourself. The agent cannot know your argument, your field's conventions, or what your supervisor expects, and an explicit list keeps the result close to the chapter you will write.

Restructure this map into the outline of a thesis chapter with these sections: 1. Introduction, 2. Definitions and measures, 3. Evidence of harm, 4. Small, null, and reverse effects, 5. Experiments that restrict use, 6. Limitations and open questions. Move the existing claims into the section where each fits, keep their wording and citations, and do not search for new evidence. Tell me which claims fit no section.

The last two sentences matter. "Do not search for new evidence" keeps the run to moving claims, so it is quick and cheap, and this one cost 0.7 credits. "Tell me which claims fit no section" catches claims that point to a missing section, or that do not belong in the chapter at all.

Here the agent placed every claim and reported that none were left over. Check the balance. A section with two claims next to one with twenty usually means the outline needs another section or the reading needs another pass.

To read the outline on its own, select each section and press Space to collapse it.

Step 4: Compare with your saved version

Open Snapshots again and click the compare icon on the snapshot you saved. The map shows what moved: the old branches in red and the new sections in green, with a count of changes at the top. Select any change to revert it, and press Esc to leave the comparison.

Step 5: Write each section from its claims

Select a section and pick Write a passage, then replace [branch] with the section name:

Write up the branch 4. Small, null, and reverse effects as one paragraph of continuous prose for a literature review, with citations.
Place the paragraph under that branch as a new passage.

The paragraph appears under the section, with the citations of the claims it draws on. This one cites seven sources and cost 1.6 credits.

Treat it as a draft to rewrite in your own voice. The claims above it stay in place, so you can always see what each sentence rests on.

Step 6: Check each citation against its page

Select the paragraph and open the Indexed Citations tab, the book icon on the right edge of the sidebar. It lists every citation attached to the selected claim or passage, with the key points of each passage.

Click a reference to open the PDF at the cited page, with the passage's key points beside it.

If a sentence says more than its passage, correct the sentence before it reaches your draft. On paid plans, AI Verification scores how well the passages back a claim's wording.

More prompts to try

Within each section, order the claims from the general to the specific, so the section reads as an argument. Do not change their wording.

For each section, write a two-sentence opening that says what the section will argue, as the first claim in that section.

Compare the sections and tell me which one has the weakest evidence, and which papers in my library could strengthen it.

Which claims appear in more than one section, and where does each one belong best?

Tips

Write against the map, not instead of it. The passage prompts give you a first draft per section. The citations under each claim are what keep the draft honest.
Outline more than once. A first outline often shows a missing section. Add papers, run Fill the gaps, and outline again from a new snapshot.
Keep one map per chapter. A separate map for each chapter keeps the outline focused, and each map can draw on the same library.

What's next

Gap Finding: find what your library leaves open before you write the discussion.
Version History and Provenance: saved versions, undo, and where each claim came from.