Paying attention to your sources as a group — not just to individual sources — helps you see connections among them and allows you to gain a more complete understanding of your subject. Review your notes to identify aspects of arguments that seem to build on points raised in other sources as well as differences in how sources address a subject.

As she read articles and Web sites about green jobs for veterans, Megan Martinez noticed that several of her sources referred to a Colorado nonprofit organization, Veterans Green Jobs. She made a note of one such instance and wrote a reminder to herself.

As you learn more about your conversation, think about how the authors of your sources might respond to one another. In particular, look for disagreements, which provide good indications of how writers align themselves.