Note Cards

  1. Why do we use note cards

    1. Helps organize material

    2. Easier to identify sources

    3. Information at your fingertips

    4. Life long skill

    5. Good study tool

    6. The more you know the more value you add to your career

  2. Notetaking

    1. Read the information

    2. Think about the information

    3. Record the important information

      1. Focus point at the top of cards, in the center

      2. One idea per card

      3. Main ideas only

      4. No sentences

      5. In your own words

      6. No extra words

  3. Each note should contain

    1. The letter which corresponds to the letter on the source page

    2. Specific topic headline (slug) 

    3. Your note (summary, paraphrase, passage, or quote) 

    4. Page number of information included

  4. What to note

    1. Information that gives support to your thesis

    2. Facts, statistics, definitions, dates 

    3. Opinions from authorities on your subject

    4. Information that relates to each of your topic headings

    5. Quotations which state something important about your subject/thesis

  5. Types of cards

    1. Summary note card

      1. Read it until you understand it. Annotate.

      2. Identify the author's most important points

      3. Write a summary from your notes

      4. Check your summary against the original

      5. Revise and edit your summary for errors. 

    2. Paraphrase note card

      1. Ask yourself the author's main ideas or purpose

      2. Restate the idea in your own words

      3. Leave out all insignificant and/or joining words

      4. Read what you wrote down to be sure it has the same intent as what the author wrote. 


  1. Direct quotation note card

    1. Someone has phrased something particularly well

    2. The words express a meaning as no other words could

    3. An authority has stated an opinion about your topic

    4. The effect of the quote is startling, thought-provoking, or shocking - it is a good attention-getter. 



The man was having an interview with another guy for a job. He told the man he was deaf but the man told him to leave by pointing at the door. The man left and went down in the elevator while feeling sad. 



  1. Directions, Tips, and Tricks

    1. Your paper will be a minimum of 1,500 words, so you need 5-7 sources

    2. You must use a source at least TWICE, but no more than FIVE times

    3. Make sure you note any info you use form a source (even if it is not a direct quote) that would not be considered common knowledge

    4. If you are unsure - ask, read Purdue Owl, or cite it to be safe

    5. Don’t ask questions you can find the answer yourself

  2. The basics of a list for a works cited page; made up of these

    1. Goldman, Anne “Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading dante.” the georgia review, vol. 64, no.1, 2010, pp 69-88

    1. Author.

    2. Title of source.

    3. Title of container,

    4. Other contributors,

    5. Version,

    6. Number,

    7. Publisher,

    8. Publication date,

    9. Location.

    10. City of publications

    11. URLs

    12. DOIs (digital object identifier)

    13. Date of access 

    14. Annotated bibliography

      1. 10 sources looked up

        1. 5-7 in the actual paper

          1. Used minimum of 2 times