The document discusses the importance of taking effective notes for a research paper. It recommends evaluating sources critically and only taking notes on useful information to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Good notes are organized, help identify sources properly to avoid plagiarism, and lead to more effective conclusions. The document also provides tips for making note cards, such as including full source information and page numbers to allow citations, and accurately summarizing or quoting information from sources.

1. Notetaking
Using Note Cards for Your Research Paper

2. 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.

3. Three steps
 Understand the information. Before you can use
information, you must understand it. Taking notes is a
good way to develop your knowledge and
comprehension of a subject.
 Select the information: You must sort out the material
you need from other information surrounding it in the
text.
 Record the information: You must record it in such a
way that it can be easily sorted, reorganized, and
incorporated into your paper.

4. Why is note taking so important?
 Helps you to organize material
 Easier to identify sources
 Helps you to avoid plagiarism
Good notes and critical reading lead you to more sources,
inspire new ideas, and pave the way toward sound
conclusions.
Knowing how to take good notes saves you headaches down
the road, as you’ll know when and whom to cite and have
clear ideas about the relationships that exist between your
documents.

5. Note Taking
Good notes and critical reading lead you to more sources,
inspire new ideas, and pave the way toward sound
conclusions.
Knowing how to take good notes saves you headaches
down the road, as you’ll know when and whom to cite an
have clear ideas about the relationships that exist
between your documents.
http://www.williamcronon.net/researching/notetaking.htm

6. MAKING NOTE CARDS
 Your note cards will serve as the basis for your
footnotes. This means that your note cards must
include all the information needed for your footnotes.
 Every note card must include enough source
information to “link” it with the correct source card.
 Every note card must clearly indicate whether the
words cited are your own or the source’s.
 Every note card must include the page number (or a
range of pages) where you found the information cited.

7. Making Cards for Quotes
 Material is recorded exactly as it is taken from the source
 Identify direct quotes with quotation marks. If your source
is citing another scholar or a primary source, you should
make this clear.
 Bracket your own words [ ] if you add them into a quote.
 Use ellipsis points (...) where you leave out non-essential
words from a quote. Be very careful that your ellipsis does
not change the meaning of the quote.

8. NOTE CARD TIPS
 Write only one main point on a note card. When you
reach the outlining stage, this will let you rearrange your
cards as you try out different ways of organizing your
paper.
 Write down only information that will help you answer
your research question.

9. 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.
 Be very careful that your ellipsis
does not change the meaning of
the quote.

10. 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.
 Be very careful that your ellipsis
does not change the meaning of
the quote.