Book summary mind map template

The outline

• Book summary: title and author
  • Core argument
    • The thesis in one sentence
    • Who the author is arguing against
    • The question the book answers
  • Structure
    • Part one: what it sets up
    • Part two: what it develops
    • Part three: where it lands
  • Key ideas
    • Idea 1 with an example
    • Idea 2 with an example
    • Idea 3 with an example
    • Terms the author coins
  • Evidence and examples
    • Studies and data cited
    • Case studies and stories
    • How strong the evidence is
  • Critique
    • Where the argument is weak
    • What the book leaves out
    • Who disagrees and why
  • What I will use
    • Ideas to apply this month
    • Quotes worth keeping
    • Books to read next

How to use this template

1. Add your material. Paste your chapter notes or highlights, or type the title and author and the chapters you want covered.
2. Let the AI fill the branches. Click Use this template. getMindmap opens with this structure already in the prompt. Add your material and it builds the map.
3. Edit, expand and export. Edit the wording, add or remove branches where your material needs them, then export the map as PNG, SVG or Markdown, or as a PDF on Pro.

When this template works best

• You have read a non-fiction book and want to keep the argument, not just a list of highlights.
• You are preparing a seminar, a book review or a reading group discussion.
• You need to compare two books and want the same structure for each.
• You are writing your own book and studying how others build an argument.

Use something else when

• You want a quote-by-quote record of a text. Annotation tools in your reader do that better.
• You are working through a collection of papers rather than one book. Use the literature review template.