Creating Notes for an AWESOME RESEARCH PAPER Created by Sarah Fife M.A.Ed. Teacher Librarian

The Key to a good research paper is information ownership. When you “own” the information, your paper becomes much easier to write.

Good Notes = ownership Graphic of person writing. Point – Words processed by brain and put on paper.

We old folk had it easier In the old days…We had to take notes. And it was GOOD FOR US. Why… Books were heavy – cards are light We not allowed to check out encyclopedias We had to process the information into notes which gave us - Information Ownership

Taking Notes Record important keywords, facts, or a list, up to about 20 words. No small words like a, the, an ,is, was. Instead use commas and dashes. No copying sentences (without quotations marks.)

Reasons to use quotations Adds authority Adds evidence Says it in an unique, powerful way. (Adds a more sophisticated level of writing.) BUT A BUNCH OF QUOTATIONS STRUNG TOGETHER IS BORING AND SHOWS YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND YOUR TOPIC.

Example Note Card Came from respectable Florence family Father was government agent Born in Caprice Topic: Life Source: Book – Michelangelo Was not a Turtle (p. 8)

Short Biography of Frederick Douglas From Bio.com Abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass was born into slavery sometime around 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland. He became one of the most famous intellectuals of his time, advising presidents and lecturing to thousands on a range of causes, including women’s rights and Irish home rule. Among Douglass’s writings are several autobiographies eloquently describing his experiences in slavery and his life after the Civil War, including the well-known work Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. He died on February 20, 1895. 

Example Note Card SubTopic

Work Cited Stanley, Deborah B.. Practical steps to the research process for middle school. Englewood, CO.: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.. 2000. Print.