Map of Content (MOC) Template
Index note for a topic: purpose, key notes with context, clusters, open questions, related MOCs, maintenance tips
How to use: Use it once a topic has about ten notes and you start losing track of them. Fill the purpose and key notes first, each with a one-line reason. Main pitfall: a bare list of links with no context, which stops being useful within weeks.
Preview
MOC: [Topic name]
A Map of Content (MOC): an index note that gathers links to your notes on one topic, groups them into clusters and records what is still open. It follows a common personal knowledge management (PKM) convention for linked-note systems. Replace every
[bracketed]value.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Created | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Last reviewed | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Status | [Seedling / Growing / Mature] |
| Tags | [#moc] [#topic] |
Purpose
[Example: Collect everything I know about how people learn and remember, so I can design better study routines and explain them to my team.]
Key notes
- [[Spaced retrieval beats rereading]]: [Example: the core practice; start here]
- [[Desirable difficulties]]: [Example: why effortful learning sticks]
- [[Illusion of fluency]]: [Example: why we misjudge what we know]
- [[Interleaving mixed practice]]: [Example: how to order practice sessions]
- [[Sleep and memory consolidation]]: [Example: the biological side]
Clusters
Notes grouped by the question they answer.
[Cluster: How memory works]
- [[Encoding versus retrieval]]: [one-line context]
- [[Forgetting curve]]: [one-line context]
[Cluster: Study techniques]
- [[Spaced retrieval beats rereading]]: [one-line context]
- [[Elaborative interrogation]]: [one-line context]
- [[Worked examples for novices]]: [one-line context]
[Cluster: Applying it at work]
- [[Onboarding with retrieval quizzes]]: [one-line context]
- [[Writing documentation people remember]]: [one-line context]
Open questions
- [Example: Does spacing help skills (like typing) as much as facts?]
- [Example: What is the best interval for a weekly team review?]
- [Question]
Related MOCs
- [[MOC Productivity]]: [Example: overlaps on routines and habits]
- [[MOC Teaching]]: [Example: applying learning science to explaining]
Maintenance tips
Keep the map useful with a light routine:
- Add new notes here when you link them to the topic; give each a context line.
- Review the map monthly: promote notes that keep coming up into Key notes.
- Split a cluster into its own MOC when it passes about 15 links.
- Remove or archive links to notes that no longer hold up, with a short reason.
- Update "Last reviewed" each time so you know how fresh the map is.
Standard and licence note
Based on the Map of Content convention common in linked-note personal knowledge management practice. Template licence: MIT.