The research memo template
for long-form writing.
A way to close out a research session so the findings survive until you write.
What this template is for
Reported features, technical writing, policy work, thesis chapters, and anything where a claim has to survive a fact-check.
The structure, part by part
1. The question
State exactly what you were trying to find out. Research without a question expands until the deadline arrives.
2. What the sources say
Summarise each source in your own words, with the citation attached. Quotations stay verbatim and marked as quotations.
3. Where they disagree
Disagreement between sources is usually the most useful thing you found. It is also the first thing forgotten if you do not write it down.
4. Open questions
What you could not establish. Naming a gap is what stops you writing around it with confident vagueness later.
5. Implications for the draft
Which section changes because of what you found. Research that never reaches this line rarely reaches the piece.
The template itself
Copy this skeleton into a new document and replace each line. In Strut you can start a document from it directly — pick Research memo in the template selector when you create one.
## The question [State exactly what you were trying to find out.] ## What the sources say [Summarise each source in your own words, with the citation attached.] ## Where they disagree [Disagreement between sources is usually the most useful thing you found.] ## Open questions [What you could not establish.] ## Implications for the draft [Which section changes because of what you found.]
Where this structure goes wrong
- Summarising sources without recording where they disagree, which is usually the most useful finding.
- Paraphrasing a quotation and losing the exact wording you will later want to cite.
- Skipping the implications line, so the research never reaches the draft.
Questions about this template
When should I write a memo?
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At the end of any research session long enough that you would not remember its findings a week later.
Is this the same as notes?
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No. Notes capture material as you read; a memo closes out a session by stating what you now know and what remains open.
How detailed should citations be?
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Enough to find the source again without searching: title, author, date, and the page or timestamp for anything you quote.
Guides that go deeper
- Citation management for writers, done early — Capture sources as you read, record the fields that matter, keep quotations exact, and verify every borrowed claim in one pass before you publish.
- How to build a second brain for long-form writing — Build a lightweight note system that keeps reading, meetings, and stray observations in a form your next essay, report, or book can actually use.
Other templates
Give your rough notes
somewhere to go.
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