Transcript The Note Card System

THE NOTE CARD SYSTEM
Note Card System
Once you have finished your preliminary
research you must organize the information
and your thoughts.
 To make it easy on yourself, use the index card
system.

In order to keep your ideas in order,
and to remember where you found them,
there are four items to include.
Although they are numbered 1-4,
we will look at them out of order.
3. Main information
Use three methods of taking notes
(information) from your sources:

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
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Paraphrasing
Summarizing
Quoting
Main Information,
continued

Paraphrasing means to put in your own
words. Make sure to:
 shorten
the information and make it
more clear.
 have coherence – demonstrate
understanding.
 change at least every third word.

Use paraphrasing most.
Main Information,
continued

Summarizing is like paraphrasing, just
shorter.
 Try
paraphrasing the lead sentence of
the paragraph.
 Then simply list the ideas of the
paragraph.

Direct quoting. Use for:
 Conciseness
 Memorable
language
 Accuracy/Authority.
Main Information,
continued

If you are consistent at this stage
 You
will save time when it is time to write
the paper.
 You will be certain not to accidentally
plagiarize someone else's work.

You will choose the topics for each note
card later.
Main Information,
continued

You have index cards with different
colors.
 For
example, choose one color for
historical background and one color
for effects.
 Decide which one of the categories
your main information fits into, then
put your info onto a card with that
color.
4. Page numbers

You will need page numbers on your note
cards for citations throughout your research
paper. Use them even when you are not
quoting directly.
 Websites
generally do not have page
numbers. Write the web address.
2. Source number


Refers to the book, magazine, web site, etc., in
which you found the information.
Using the numbers from your working bibliography,
specify which source provided the information on
the card.
Working Bibliography

Your working
bibliography is not a
complete works cited
page. You will need to
use correct MLA citation
format for the formal
works cited page.
1.
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2.
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3.
__________________________________
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4.
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5.
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Source
Numbers!
1. Card Topic

With this method, you categorize the information you
find by topic. For each topic, you could have cards from
different sources.
 For
your extended essay, divide your cards by color: one
color for each section of your paper. Topics are smaller
divisions within colors.
Card Topic, continued

You make up the name of the topics; think
of them as the main idea of the card.


Make the titles after you make all your
note cards.
You should have about 5-6 topics for a
five page paper. That means (generally)
about two cards for each topic.
Card Topic, continued
For example, if you are writing a paper on the poet
Langston Hughes, you may have topics such as:

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Hughes' upbringing
Hughes and the
Harlem Renaissance
Hughes' influences
Hughes' poetry
Hughes' political beliefs
Hughes' influence on
America
Card Topic, continued

It may seem tedious to divide note cards into
topics but it serves two purposes:


It keeps you focused in your research.
Each card topic will become a body paragraph
in your paper.