Reading guide

Turn book excerpts into a mind map.

Start with one question you want the book to answer, then build a map of evidence and interpretation as you read.

Explore the workflow

Keep source and thought together.

1. Capture a passage or figure

Select a sentence that answers your question. For a figure, table, formula, or scanned page, capture the relevant region as an image instead.

2. Write a claim in your own words

Give the node a short title that explains why the excerpt matters. Keep the original excerpt and its source location attached.

3. Group related ideas

Move related nodes under a shared theme. Use the source link to check the context before you draw a conclusion.

What makes a source-linked mind map?

A source-linked mind map connects each captured passage or image to its original location in a book. In MindNote, a reader can edit the node title, add a separate note and move the node under a theme while retaining the excerpt and source link. A useful map separates three things: the evidence the author provides, the interpretation the reader writes and the question that connects the two. Keeping those parts distinct makes it possible to revisit a claim without searching the whole book again. A screenshot can serve the same purpose when the evidence is a chart, formula or scanned page. The screenshot preserves the selected visual region; it does not convert the image into text. A source link helps readers check context, but it is not a substitute for recording the citation details required by a school, publisher or research workflow.

A small worked example

Suppose a chapter asks how habits form. Create a theme called “Conditions for repetition.” Capture a passage about cues, give its node the title “A cue starts the routine” and write a note explaining which part of your question it answers. Capture a diagram of the habit cycle as a separate image node under the same theme. Add another theme called “Limits of the argument” for passages that describe exceptions. Before writing a summary, open each source link and check whether the surrounding paragraph supports your wording. This is an example reading exercise, not a claim that MindNote evaluates the author’s evidence or generates the summary for you.