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Note taking, writing and referencing

Student writing on notebook next to artist palette rials
Student writing on notebook next to artist palette rials
Image credit: Alys Tomlinson
, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL

Improve your writing, vocabulary and referencing with these helpful tools.

Assistive technology can help you organise your notes and improve your writing and vocabulary.

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Note taking

OneNote

OneNote is a flexible digital notebook where you can keep notes, to-do lists, screenshots,  audio notes and more. Notebooks are stored on the cloud so you can access them from any computer or mobile device .

OneNote is part of your Microsoft 365 account, there is no need to install , just sign in to OneNote with your UAL credentials.

Mind mapping

Use mind mapping software to take notes in a visual, non-lineal way. Visit the Planning and organising page for more information.

NotebookLM

NotebookLM is an AI powered tools that summarises and organises your notes. There is  a free basic version but you need to pay for heavy use and for more advance features.

Please check  NotebookLM and  Google terms of service and  in particular the Private Policy before you use this  app.

Other apps

Check the UAL Padlet Assistive tech tools: quick and easy accessibility apps and extensions.

Writing

Read&Write and ClaroRead

Study Tools in Read&Write and ClaroRead help with:

  • word prediction: suggests words to you as you type.
  • homophones: check words which sound the same.
  • word choice: use the Dictionary to choose the right word.

Visit the Reading and Researching page for more information.

Word prediction in Windows 11

Set up prediction to get word suggestions as you type.

  • In your PC settings, search typing settings.
  • Select "show text suggestions when typing on the physical keyboard".
  • You can also turn on autocorrect.

Microsoft Editor

Use Editor with Edge browser,  Word and  Outlook to identify spelling and grammar mistakes and to improve your writing style.

Other apps

Check the UAL Padlet Assistive tech tools: quick and easy accessibility apps and extensions.

Referencing

Use reference management tools like Zotero or RefWorks  to:

  • import your references from books, databases, and web pages.
  • save, organize, and manage your references.
  • create a bibliography and reference list for your assignment.
  • format your references in your preferred referencing style. Note: UAL uses Cite them right Harvard referencing style.

Visit the Referencing LibGuide for more information.