Rectoly: How to Read Papers is an app for students reading research papers for the first time. You've just joined a lab, you're reading the literature for your senior thesis, or you've been asked to present a paper in your seminar. Rectoly stays with you until you can read research papers on your own.
Free for 14 days · then $9.99, once
Instead of writing the answers for you, Rectoly teaches you a way of reading: finding what a paper says, and where. It works on the PDFs you already have — open them from the Files app (iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox and more), including class handouts and papers you downloaded from your university's website. No sign-in needed.
A reading order, five questions and your own summary, on the papers you already have.
First pass: just the title, abstract, figures and conclusion (5–10 minutes). Second pass: the figures and tables, and the text that describes them. Third pass: the details of the methods. Rectoly guides you to the next part to read, in order, and remembers how far you've read in each paper. If you stop partway, you can pick up where you left off.
Research question, method, data, findings, limitations. The app asks, “Where does this paper state its purpose?” and you highlight the paragraph you found. It checks whether your highlight falls where the answer is written; if it's off, it guides you to the paragraph where the paper says it. It never says “wrong.” Once you've found all five, you've read that paper.
In Reading Mode, the margin shows colors for background, purpose, method, results and limitations. Tap an abbreviation to jump to where the paper defines it.
For each of the five questions, write a line in your own words — by hand in the margin with Apple Pencil, or typed. Afterward, compare it side by side with the original text. Nothing is graded.
Translate any paragraph into your own language, right where you are. Translation runs on this device; the paper is never sent to a translation service.
Two-column papers become a single column that's easy to read, even on a phone. You can go back to the original PDF anytime. Highlight, underline and write by hand without leaving Reading Mode.
Answer “When do you want to have it read by?” and the app spreads the three passes and the five questions over the days, with a reminder only at the time you choose (once a day at most). A widget on your Home Screen shows your next step. After 3 days and again after 1 week, you practice recalling the paper from your own highlights and summary. Your progress is shown as a weekly count, not a daily streak.
For your first four weeks, you can practice with sample papers from your field. Each one comes with an explanation of the reading order and questions written for that paper. Sample papers are free.
AI is used only to check where your highlights overlap the original text. The AI runs on this device, and the paper never leaves it. If AI can't run on your device, you can also set up your own API key (only then is it sent to the provider you chose).
The sample papers and the first PDF of your own are free. After that, one payment, nothing to renew.
Rectoly: How to Read Papers is an app for iPad and iPhone for students reading research papers for the first time. It guides you through a paper in three passes and five questions, lets you sum it up in your own words, and works on the PDFs you already have.
Rectoly: How to Read Papers is coming to the App Store for iPad and iPhone. Leave your email and we will tell you when it is out.
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Once you start managing references, you can move up to Rectoly for Zotero or Rectoly for Mendeley. The papers you've read, your highlights, handwriting and summaries come with you as they are.