Creating Research Paper Note Cards “A Successful Person”

Bibliographic Note Cards Effective note taking throughout the research process ensures: authentic documentation of information, avoids plagiarism, and minimizes confusion and stress when writing the research paper and Works Cited page.

What are Note Cards, and why should I do them? Note cards are a simple way for you to gather and organize your research for easy access while writing your paper. Note cards also help you stay focused on information relating to your thesis! More importantly, creating note cards gives you practice in paraphrasing and summarizing information for your paper.

2 Kinds of Notecards: Source& Fact You will prepare 5-10 SOURCE notecards These are notecards that JUST list the source you are using. You will write 15-20 RESEARCH FACT notecards These are the notecards that list only ONE fact PER CARD. This the source number on the card

What should I write on my SOURCE cards? Author and/or editor names (if available) Article name in quotation marks. Title of the website, project, or book in italics. Any version numbers available, including editions (ed.), revisions, posting dates, volumes (vol.), or issue numbers (no.). Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date. Take note of any page numbers (p. or pp.) or paragraph numbers (par. or pars.). URL (without the https://)  DOI or permalink. Date you accessed the material (Date Accessed)—While not required, it is highly recommended, especially when dealing with pages that change frequently or do not have a visible copyright date. AT THE VERY LEAST WRITE DOWN THE URL SO YOU CAN FIND THE SOURCE AGAIN LATER

What to write on source card from a website Author and/or editor names (if available) Article name Title of the website,URL (without the https://)  DOI or permalink. Date you accessed the material (Date Accessed) AT THE VERY LEAST WRITE DOWN THE URL SO YOU CAN FIND THE SOURCE AGAIN LATER

5-10 SOURCE CARDS For each new source, create a separate note card that includes all relevant bibliographic information For your bibliography you will use MLA format (probably EasyBib.com so you don’t have to put it in MLA format yet) Keep in mind the different information required for various kinds of sources! Choose a VARIETY of types of sources. You cannot use Wikipedia You cannot use all blogs or all one type of site You should try to use the PVHS database

Source #1 Book: Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: the Story of Success. Back Bay Books, 2013. (copy this on the blank side)

MLA WEBSITE Format example: 1. Book: Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: the Story of Success. Back Bay Books, 2013. 2. Website: Quade, Alex. “Elite Team Rescues Troops behind Enemy Lines.” CNN.com. Cable News Network, 19 Mar. 2007. Web. 15 May 2008. *Note: The first date is the date of publication; the second is the access date. An edition or version can also be given after the Web site title.

Number Source Cards PASS OUT A NOTE CARD TO EACH STUDENT Number each source card in the upper, right-hand corner. For any quotation or fact taken from that particular source, write the corresponding source number on the note card’s upper, right-hand corner. The reason why you do this is because you may find different facts from the same source that will eventually end up in different paragraphs. #1 Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: the Story of Success. Back Bay Books, 2013.

Source Cards Review How many source cards will you have? 5-10 What format do you use? List all info need to create a MLA citation later Where can you find a list of MLA formats? PVHS Writing Manual on website or EasyBib.com Where do you put the number for the source on the card? Upper right corner Why am I putting a number instead of writing the whole name of the website or URL? Writing a number is faster!

Research Notecards You will write 15-20 notecards Each FACT note card will be connected to ONE of your SOURCE cards To achieve a balanced research paper, you need AT LEAST 5 sources to draw information from. Therefore, you should only have 2-4 research FACT note cards per source. Do not forget to use Outliers as ONE of your sources!

How to Create a FACT Note Card Write the number of the bibliography SOURCE card that represents the source you are using in the upper right corner of the card: 1

How to Create a FACT Note Card (cont. again) Give each note card a topic or heading. Write the topic in the top line of the note card, to the left. Each index card needs to be a single thought. 1 10,000 Hour Rule- Hamburg, Germany

How to Create a FACT Note Card: In this case my successful person is the band the Beatles Paraphrase or summarize your info. If you must copy the information word for word, use quotation marks. 1 10,000 Hour Rule- Hamburg, Germany “All told, they performed for 270 nights in just over a year and a half…by 1964, they had performed live an estimated 1200 times” (50).

How to Make Good Fact Cards and Stay on Topic Put ONLY one quotation, statistic, or paraphrase per note card. Include only one thought per card Make sure you include only one thought per card.

To Quote or Not to Quote, that is the Question… Direct quotations should be used sparingly! Use direct quotes only when necessary (and remember to cite properly when you do). A better idea is to PARAPHRASE, or restate in your own words. However, you still need to credit your source. If the passage is too long to paraphrase or quote directly, summarize it or use ellipses (…) !

How to Take Good Notes and Stay on Topic Make sure your source material is relevant! Does it pertain to your topic? Does it provide information concerning your thesis? Is it appropriate for your audience Did you gather it from a reputable source?

How to Take Good Notes and Stay on Topic Make sure your paraphrases and summaries accurately reflect the ideas in your sources If you copy word for word, make sure you use quotation marks and cite your source! Refer back to your controlling idea (or thesis) often – only take notes on information that pertains to your thesis! Focus on a few elements of Gladwell’s explanation of success and try to find research to support how your successful person earned those 10,000 hours or found meaningful work.

Plagiarism Plagiarism is the act of intentionally or unintentionally copying someone else’s work and passing it off as your own. If you are caught intentionally plagiarizing someone else’s work (or your sources), you WILL receive an automatic ZERO for your paper grade. This happens every year. Don’t let it be YOU!

Research Note Cards Review How many facts/information/thoughts do you put on each card? ONLY 1 Why do you use topic headings? To help you organize your thoughts. Should your always use direct quotes? NO! Paraphrase and summarize, too

Do I have to find all new sources? NO! Start with opening your Successful Person Power Point and see if those sources pass the “CRAAP” test….

DUE DATES 5 cards are due at the end of each class (Feb 12-22). First due date: TODAY A-day: Feb 12. B-day: Feb 13 5 cards due at the end of class 5 cards due Feb 17th & 21st TOTAL 15 CARDS DUE AT THE END OF CLASS ON Feb 21 & Feb 22 TOTAL 5-10 SOURCE CARDS DUE Feb 21 & Feb 22

Wait, so HOW MANY index cards will I need do to total? 15 FACT note cards 5-10 SOURCE note cards = MINIMUM 20 cards