Tips on Taking Notes

You can take notes on index cards or on the computer. If you use the computer, you need to be proficient at manipulating text so that you will be able to rearrange information to fit your outline. Be sure to identify the source(s) for all information by listing the author’s last name and the page number.

Summarize the information in your own words (paraphrasing).

Quotation marks are used if you copy the information exactly from the text. Quotations need to be used whether you are copying a great deal of material or only a phrase.

Give each topic a descriptive heading

Your listings, whether on index cards or within some format on the computer, will now provide the basis for your paper’s content and documentation. By arranging and rearranging the listings and using your descriptive headings, you will discover a certain order or different categories and these will help you prepare the outline.