Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture
Oct 17, 2022 23 tweets 8 min read Read on X
Zotero's inbuilt Note Editor can REVOLUTIONIZE your note-taking and writing processes.

But most academics don't know much about it.

Here's how to supercharge your writing using Zotero's Note Editor 👇

A step-by-step guide with visuals 🧵
Let's start by adding a PDF to our library.

You can add a PDF using its DOI, or you can simply drag it into your Zotero library. A screenshot of Mushtaq's Zotero library. A yellow arrow poi
Once added, double click on it to open the PDF in Zotero's PDF reader. A recently added PDF in Mushtaq's Zotero library. A red box
Zotero will open the PDF in a new window.

To your left, you will see an Annotations pane, and to your right, the PDF's metadata.

You will also see Annotation Options on the top of the PDF.

In the top right corner, you will see a small Notes button. Zotero's inbuilt PDF reader showing a PDF. To the left is th
Let's add a couple of annotations before we start taking notes.

Here I have added two annotations using the "Highlight Text" button.

You can also add your own comments under these annotations. Two annotations added using the "Highlight Text" o
Now to the Notes Editor:

Clicking on the Notes button in the top right corner will open the Note editor for you.

Click on the "+" sign under the Notes Button and in front of "Item Notes."

Select "Add Item Note." Zotero's inbuilt Notes Editor displaying two options: "
Zotero will open its Note Editor with a toolbar on top. There are six tools in the toolbar:

1. Format text
2. Highlight text
3. Clear formatting
4. Insert Link
5. Insert Citation
6. Find and Replace A screenshot of Zotero's inbuilt Notes Editor. A yellow arro
Let's start with the basics - formatting text: The "Format Text" menu box open in Zotero's inbuil
Here I am composing a note with a heading (Heading 1) and a one-line paragraph. A note composed using Zotero's inbuilt Notes Editor.
Now I am adding a numbered list of three sources that I should read to take my project further.

I have used the "Numbered List" function here.

And I highlighted this part in purple using the "Highlight Text" option to remind myself to read these sources. A list of three sources composed using the Notes Editor's &q
I obtained the three sources, added them to my Zotero library, and read them.

I selected one relevant quote from each source, and manually added them to the note.

I also highlighted the word "national" because it's crucial to my project. Three quotes from three sources added to a note composed in
In the Note Editor you can also insert an in-text citation.

Click on the "[+]" (Insert Citation) button, and Zotero will open a search bar.

The search bar shows "Orsini and Zecchini, 2019" because that's the source currently open. Click on the "Insert Citation" button and Zotero w
I am going to delete "Orsini and Zecchini, 2019" and instead write "Damrosch," the author whose book I obtained the first quote from.

Zotero shows me all items by Damrosch in my library.

I select the relevant source: "What is World Literature?" Zotero showing all items by Damrosch in Mushtaq's library.
Zotero prepares the citation for insertion. It also lets you edit it to suit your requirements.

To edit, click on the citation in the search bar.

Here I'm adding the page number of the relevant quote. An in-text citation prepared by Zotero for insertion in the
Here you can see the three citations I added along with page numbers, which I manually added.

The in-text citations in Zotero Note Editor is a really POWERFUL feature.

I'll show you why: Three in-text citations added in Zotero's inbuilt Notes Edit
If you click on an in-text citation, Zotero will give you three options:

1. Go to Page
2. Show Item
3. Edit Citation

Click on "Go to Page" and Zotero will take you to the page in the original source from where you lifted the quotation 🙀 Clicking on an in-text citation gives you three options: Go
Here you can see Zotero opened page 283 of Damrosch's book "What is World Literature?" after I clicked on the in-text citation in the Note Editor.

This is something that can SUPERCHARGE your note-taking and referencing. Zotero opened page 283 of Damrosch's book "What is Worl
Now that we have taken a bunch of notes, it's time to start composing a draft of our paper.

Open a blank document MS Word, and click on the Zotero tab.

Then click on "Add Note." A blank document in MS Word with the heading "Location,
Zotero may or may not open "Zotero - Document Preferences" with a list of available citation styles.

If it does, select the citation style you want to use.

I am going with MLA 9th edition. "Zotero - Document Preferences" menu open in MS Wo
After you choose a citation style, Zotero will open a yellow search bar with a list of all your notes.

Select the note relevant to your current project. Zotero's "Add Note" search bar open in MS Word.
Click on the relevant note and Zotero will import the note into your Word document.

Notice, the citations are all correctly formatted according to the MLA 9th editon.

Now, you have your notes and citations in MS Word.

Start writing. A note imported into an MS Word document from Zotero's Notes
Do a couple rounds of writing and editing and you will have a decent draft.

Below is the first page of one of my forthcoming articles.

---

And that's how you can use Zotero's Note Editor to conceive, develop, and execute a project. The first page of Mushtaq's forthcoming article. Four citati
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More from @MushtaqBilalPhD

Sep 3
Small businesses can't hire expensive desginers for fancy logos and branding materials..

Genspark AI Designer @genspark_ai can help you with it.

It generated a logo for my coaching business and branded presentation templates — with a single prompt:
1. Go to and ask it to design a logo for your business.

I asked it to design a logo for my academic writing coaching business. It did a wonderful job. genspark.ai/ai_designer
2. Once it generates a design, you can edit with a simple prompt.

Click on the logo and ask Genspark AI to change its background or font color.

And it will do the needful.
Read 6 tweets
Sep 2
ChatGPT has a great feature called Projects, which you can use to make it a reliable research assistant with no hallucinations.

Not many academics seem to be using it though.

Here's how to make ChatGPT Project your research assistant:
1. Open ChatGPT and click on "New Project" in the left taskbar.

Choose a name for your project and click on "Create project."
2. Once you've created a project, you will see two options: Add files and Add instructions.

Click on "Add instructions" and type in details about your research project.

Be precise and to-the-point. You can also ask it to not respond to questions related to your project.
Read 9 tweets
Aug 16
Chat Academia now offers a FREE plan.

• Brainstorm research questions
• Run searches across multiple databases
• Generate literature maps
• Extract relevant information from papers

Here's how to use Chat Academia for free: A red rectangle highlights the free plan on Chat Academia's pricing page.
1. Go to and click on "Get started."

Select the free plan. chatacademia.com
2. Select "Research Gap Finder" and click on "Create session."

Type in the topic of your research project.

It will give you a list of potential research quesions. Go through them and select one you find more intersting.
Read 7 tweets
Jul 26
An updated list of 60 apps for academic writing and research:
Finding Research Gaps

• Research Kick
researchkick[.]com/start
Pricing: $9/m, $99/year

Intergrating AI with Academic Databases

• Chat Academia

Pricing: $15/mchatacademia.com
AI-Powered Search Engines for Researchers

• Scite Assistant
scite[.]ai/assistant
Pricing: $20/m, $120/year

• Consensus
consensus[.]app
Pricing: $11.99/m. Free plan with limited features.

• Semantic Scholar
semanticscholar[.]org
Pricing: Free

• Scinapse
scinapse[.]io
Pricing: $39/m. Free plan with limited features.

• Evidence Hunt
evidencehunt[.]com (for biomedical sciences only)
Pricing: €120/year. Free plan with limited features.
Read 20 tweets
Jul 26
Four AI-powered apps that generate detailed research reports with references to published sources:
1. Storm (Free)

Go to storm[.]genie[.]stanford[.]edu and log in.

Type in your question in the search box. Storm will ask you the purpose of your question. Type in your answer.

Storm will generate a detailed report with references.

You can also download the report as a PDF.
2. Elicit

Go to elicit[.]com and log in.

Enter your question. Elicit will give you suggestions to refine it.

Choose if you want a fast, balanced, or comprehensive answer. Then click on "Generate report."

It'll give you a detailed research report. By far the best results.
Read 6 tweets
Jul 15
Genspark's AI Docs is a great tool to get your scut work done.

Simply give it a link, a prompt, and it will draft tutorials, resumes, and quizzes in minutes — sort of vibe working.

Vibe Working is about using AI as your assistant.

Here's how to use @genspark_ai:
1. Go to genspark[.]ai Click on "AI Docs."

Copy a link to a YouTube video and ask AI Docs to draft a step-by-step tutorial based on the video.

It will give you a tutorial, which you can edit.

You can also download the document as a Word file or a PDF.
2. AI Docs can draft your resume based on your LinkedIn profile.

Paste the link to your LinkedIn profile and ask it to draft a resume.

Mention the job you are applying for and it will optimize your resume accordingly.

You can also edit the resume within AI Docs.
Read 7 tweets

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