This document provides guidance on effective note taking strategies for research papers. It recommends using note cards to organize source information and notes on topics. Source cards should include bibliographic information to help identify sources and prepare citations and a reference list. Note cards can summarize, paraphrase, or directly quote information and should include a page number reference. Taking accurate notes helps avoid plagiarism. The document also provides tips for effective note taking such as keeping notes focused and correctly citing sources.

1. Notetaking
Skills
USING NOTE CARDS FOR YOUR
RESEARCH PAPER

2. Learning Outcome
1. Identify and apply effective research note
taking strategies

3. Definition
Note taking
 is an indispensable part of writing a research paper.
 Your notes record information from the sources that you
will use in writing your paper.
 Therefore, it is necessary to critically evaluate the texts or
articles you are reading and to make reasonable choices
about what will and will not be useful for your paper.
Otherwise, you will overload yourself with information and
spend too much time sifting through notes.

4. Why Note Cards?
 Helps you to organize material
 Easier to identify
sources Information at your fingertips
 Good study tool
 Helps you to avoid plagiarism

5. Types of Note Cards
Cards for recording your sources
Cards for recording notes on your topic

6. Purposes of Source Cards
1. First, it enables you to find the source again.
2. Second, it enables you to prepare documentation for
your paper.
3. Third, it enables you to prepare the list of Works Cited
that will appear at the end of your paper.
Every time you find a source that might be useful for your
research paper, you need to prepare a SourceCardfor it.
A Source Card serves 3 purposes:

7. 1. Author #1
2. Title of article, book, magazine, or
other source
3. Place of publication
4. Name of publishing company
5. Date of publication
6. Any other information pertinent to
that specific source being used
Source Card Essentials
Each time you use information from a source, write the following
information on your source card…
Assign a number to each source used. Place it in the right-hand corner
of your note card.

8. Kopel, David. “Arms and the Greeks.” Liberty. Aug. 1999.
4 Sept. 99. <http:www.libertysoft.com/liberty/features/
76Kopel.html>.
Example of a Source Card
Taken from an article in a MAGAZINE
#6

9. Gathering Information
There are three basic types of notes
Summary
Paraphrase
Direct
Quotation
Summaries or shortened versions of the material;
includes lists also
Material is put into your own words
Record author’s material word for word

10. Making Summary Cards
 Contains the main points of the particular
research in a nutshell
 Close your book and then write a summary
 No quotation marks (put in your own words)
 Use when the source runs too long to be
quoted or paraphrased

11. Making Cards for
Paraphrasing
 Writing the idea of another using your own
words and sentence structure
 Your most common note form
 Usually about the same length of the
original

12. Making Cards forQuotes
 Material is recorded exactly as it is taken
from the source
 Anything that is quoted directly from the
source must be enclosed within quotation
marks
 Use when the source material is especially
well-stated

13. Parts of a Note Card
5
Reason famous
“…he was and is an everlasting glory to the
literature of his country.”
102
Describes the note’s information and keeps
you from having to read the entire note each
time you want to know what the note says
Information
Page reference
Source card

14. Anotherexample…
3
Family Background
middle-class family – father(John Chaucer) – a “vitner”
(sold wines)
Mother– Agnes – no last name known forhermaiden name
98

15. DO you have a good note-taking
system?
Please share your ideas.

16. Other Note Taking Systems

17. Other Note Taking Systems

18. More Examples

19. Template

20. Useful note-taking software
 Microsoft OneNote (part of Microsoft Office; also available as iOS / Android
app)
 Evernote (free and paid versions; also available as iOS / Android app)

21. Descriptive VS Critical Analysis

22. Reflect on your Research
Once you have the relevant information:
What have you discovered and learnt?
•How does your new knowledge help your
understanding?
•What arguments or evidence have you discovered?
•How have your ideas/opinions been influenced?
•Do you now have a clearer understanding of the
topic/ task?

23. What can you do if you don’t
understand something?
 Ask in class
 Go see your lecturer personally (take a draft)
 Go see another member of faculty
 Ask peers/classmates
 Email your lecturer for help
 See a HELPS advisor (drop-in consultation)
 ALWAYS seek help if you need it!!

24. Effective Critical Reading +
Note-taking
Strategies for better critical reading.
Inspect text first
Scan rapidly / ascertain
Question / Question / Question /
Locate specifics quickly
Read at the right speed for the task
Recall / review / summarise through your notes
Note-take / note references accurately
Read SMART
Save time!
Achieve task

25. Note Taking Tips
 Keep your topic, controlling
purpose, and audience in mind at
all times. Do not record material
unrelated to your topic.
 Make sure that summaries or
paraphrases correctly reflect the
meaning of the original.
 Be accurate. Direct quotations
are picked up word-for-word.
Use quotation marks at the
beginning and end of quotation.
 Always double-check page
references. It’s easy to copy
these incorrectly.
 Double-check statistics and
facts.
 Nonessential parts of a
quotation can be cut if the
overall meaning of the quotation
is not changed. Indicate
omissions of nonessential
material from a quotation by
using ellipsis points, a series of
3 or 4 spaced dots. Use 3 dots
(. . .) when cutting material
within a single sentence; use 4
dots (. . . .) when cutting a full
sentence, a paragraph, or more
than a paragraph from a
quotation.

26. Plagiarism
One of the purposes of using note cards and
source cards is to help you avoid plagiarism.
Plagiarismis the act of intentionally or
uninte ntio nally treating work done by
someone else as though it were your own.

27. How to Avoid Plagiarism
 Is this information, idea, orstatement common
knowledge?
 Didthis information, idea, orstatement comefroma
sourceoutsidemyself, ordidit comefrommyown
experienceoras aresult of myowncreativeactivity?
Here is a simple test to determine whether
something is
plagiarized: Ask yourself…
If the information, idea, or statement is NOT common
knowledge, and if it came from an outside source, then
you must credit that source. Failure to do so constitutes
plagiarism.

28. Note Taking Practice
Sources
https://youreslactivities.wikispaces.com/Note+Taking
http://www.grammarbank.com/esl-reading-
comprehension-14.html
https://eu.lib.kmutt.ac.th/elearning/CourseOnDeman

29. Once you have written, sifted through, and
organized your note cards, then you are ready
to begin writing your outline.
 Extra references:
 https://rmitenglishworldwide.com/blog/note-taking-and-answering-qu

30. Practice
 Select one source for your research and
practice taking notes. Choose a method that
works best for you or use the template
provided.