Signal Words as Navigational Aids

Problem You open a note and it takes you a moment to tell whether this is a settled definition, an open question, or a passing idea you jotted down half-asleep. The content alone doesn’t say what kind of thing it is. Solution Adopt a small, consistent vocabulary of signal words – words or short phrases you always use the same way – so the shape of a note announces itself. “Problem”, “Context”, “Solution” (as used throughout this pattern language) are signal words: seeing them tells you what to expect next, the same way they do in Orphanage or in Entry Points in a Zettelkasten Help Navigate Departments and Topics. Some signal words work at the sentence level, too: “therefore”, “in contrast”, “as opposed to” mark the logical role a sentence plays, similar to how the wiki's note on coupling flags a definition with a blockquote. See Entry Points in a Zettelkasten Help Navigate Departments and Topics#Related for how this pattern sits alongside titles and Maps of Content as another…