Start with the citation before the content
Before taking notes, capture the citation, DOI, PDF link, stable URL, publication year, and database or publisher source. This prevents the common problem of having useful notes with no trustworthy source attached.
Read for purpose, method, findings, and limits
For most student papers, every article note should answer four questions: what the authors studied, how they studied it, what they found, and what the study does not prove. Those four answers are more useful than a page of copied quotations.
Use one note block per source
A clean note block keeps the article usable later. A practical structure is citation, summary, evidence, assessment, connection to the paper, and caution. The caution line matters because old sources, missing DOI records, weak methods, and poor relevance can cost time later.
Write the connection in your own words
The most important line is often the simplest: "This source helps my paper because..." If that sentence is hard to write, the source may be background reading rather than a source you should cite.
Turn notes into paragraph jobs
After reading several sources, assign jobs. One source may define the problem. Another may provide evidence. Another may show a limitation or counterpoint. Drafting becomes easier when the notes already know what work they are supposed to do.