Taking Notes

The devil is in the details…

Can’t I just highlight stuff?

Nope.

You’ll make the librarians very crabby.

You will suffer back injuries from carrying everything around.

The computer will eat your file.

You will run out of room on your desk.

Seriously,

Keep everything!!!

Good note taking saves a

TREMENDOUS amount of time.

Getting the citation info the first time

saves headaches.

Resources have a way of coming back to

bite you —take your notes seriously.

Notetaking helps you avoid plagiarism

Helps figure out which ideas are Original

From the research

Keeps ideas organized Who said what and from where is documented

Gives other people proper credit For paraphrases and summaries too

Helps you cite the sources you use Even for images

What is “good note taking”?

You can look back after a week and still know what you were talking about. It said that the situation was muddled

Coulter clearly states, “The liberal faction…”

Includes: Facts,

Statistics,

Paraphrases

Summaries

Personal ideas

Self-assessment checklist

Along the way review your writing

Ask yourself: Have I…

Documented all my sources?

Answered my information needs?

Supported my conclusions?

Forgotten anything?

Strategies in Notetaking

Personal Thinking

Blending

source

materials in

with your own

thoughts—

making sure

your own

voice is

heard.

Before taking notesRATE the source

Is this Relevant to my focus?

On what Authority is this based?

Have I already Taken this? What’s new?

Do I need Everything or just part?

Quotes, Paraphrases, and Summaries—an overview

As Panno’s essay

explains, scientists are

hoping pig hearts could

save human lives.

Sum up the main

idea in one

sentence. Think

“key point”.

For overview of

information or in

general support of

an assertion

Getting the big idea

from a source into a

sentence 15 words

or less.Summary

It currently isn’t possible for

pig’s hearts to be in

humans, but if science can

do more engineering

(Panno 825-6) then a

human body may not know

the donor is a pig.

Read the source

and put it into your

own words. DON’T

change meaning!

Most often because

it keeps your paper

from sounding like

a mish-mash of

voices.

Re-writing a

resource in your

own words (2-4

sentences)Paraphrase

And as the same author

states, “it may be possible

to genetically engineer

donor pigs so they lack the

glycosyltransferases that

produce the cell-surface

antigens.” (Panno 825-6).

Put it in quotations

and write down the

source EXACTLY

as it’s written.

An exceptional

insight or

definitions that

can’t be changed

Exact word-for-

word statement

from a source.Quote

What does it

look like in-text?

How do I do

it?

When do you

use it?

What is it?

Abilock http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/ethical/catandmouse2.pdf

NoodleBib Notecard Components

Title

Source

Piles

URL

Pages

Tags

Existing Tags

Direct Quotation

Paraphrase

My Ideas

Quotation

Tied to a bibliographic citation (!) Exact passage from print or digital

source

Prompts for page and paragraph

Or URL for digital sources

Can cut and paste if digital.

Direct Quotes

Use a good turn of phrase

Use the essential statement

Use a quote from an expert

Use an image

Offer an opposing thought

Use quotation marks and attributions, According to Tomlinson, “People without scars

lead boring lives.”

Quote from…

Primary Sources To draw on wisdom of original author

Use the precise words of the author

Copy exact lines of a piece of literature (poem, essay, drama, fiction)

To reproduce graphs, charts and statistical data.

Secondary Sources To further discussion or explain complex material

To make your own point especially if furthers the original quote.

To display excellence in ideas and expression by experts on the topic Overuse shows lack of focus, inadequate evidence-use these sparingly

Pictures / Images

Example of a Quotation

“Paraphrase”

As valuable as a Direct Quote!

Lets you discuss KEY IDEAS from a text.

Puts ideas in context of the larger text. Often summarize more than is quoted

Can have Summary sentences mixed in

Keeps the VOICE of the paper YOUR OWN.

Word-substitution IS NOT paraphrasing

Use a thesaurus to fine-tune

language during the writing of a

draft, NOT during notetaking!

WordNet

Visual Thesaurus

The Paraphrase

Someone else’s IDEAS, but in your

own words. A difficult but important skill

Worth the practice

Keep the Direct Quote near to make sure

you really are using your own words.

Still needs to be cited IN the paper.

Example of Paraphrase

To paraphrase well, you must

Understand what you are reading

Extract the key points “Explain what the author believes.”

Mark or extract important words and ideas

Identify details or evidence that support the author’s thesis

Evaluate the Fit How does it compare with what you already learned or know?

What conclusions can you draw?

Quotes, Paraphrases, and Summaries—an overview

As Panno’s essay

explains, scientists are

hoping pig hearts could

save human lives.

Sum up the main

idea in one

sentence. Think

“key point”.

For overview of

information or in

general support of

an assertion

Getting the big idea

from a source into a

sentence 15 words

or less.Summary

It currently isn’t possible for

pig’s hearts to be in

humans, but if science can

do more engineering

(Panno 825-6) then a

human body may not know

the donor is a pig.

Read the source

and put it into your

own words. DON’T

change meaning!

Most often because

it keeps your paper

from sounding like

a mish-mash of

voices.

Re-writing a

resource in your

own words (2-4

sentences)Paraphrase

And as the same author

states, “it may be possible

to genetically engineer

donor pigs so they lack the

glycosyltransferases that

produce the cell-surface

antigens.” (Panno 825-6).

Put it in quotations

and write down the

source EXACTLY

as it’s written.

An exceptional

insight or

definitions that

can’t be changed

Exact word-for-

word statement

from a source.Quote

What does it

look like in-text?

How do I do

it?

When do you

use it?

What is it?

Abilock & Geiger 11/16/04, rev. 09/09/05, rev Abilock & Smith 3/1/07

The “My Ideas” field

Questions?

Does it fit with what I know?

Does it represent a different perspective?

Do I agree?

What is important about this passage or source?

Take Personal Notes

Record your discoveries Hmm, that’s interesting…

Reflect on findings Well, what would happen if…

Make connections That doesn’t make sense when compared to…

Identify prevailing views and patterns of thought Most of the lit seems to suggest…

Make connections

To use as a notepad. Find an image for this

Identify area of confusion. Find out what ‘hedgerow’ looks like

Pinpoint a big idea. Competing values –trust v. organic

Use the “My Ideas” field in whatever way WORKS for YOU!

Formatting options let you mark elements of your notes

& interact according to your needs

“Tags” field

Keywords or concepts

Conflicting information

(e.g., “climateVfungus”)

Comparing trends

(e.g., regions)

Controlled vocabulary

Relate notes to main topic

Understand the key categories or issues

“Notecard Tabletop”

Virtual ORGANIZING

Allows you to see all the notes in one place and decide how they work together

Flexible

Sub-topics

Section headings

Issues

Categories

Quick view of notes you made

Group Notecards into PILES

Bridge to outline or concept map

“Outline”

Organize your Ideas

Put similar notecards

into “Piles”

Drag notecards into the

Outline area that makes

sense

Printing Outline prints

notecard information into

the Outline.

Self-assessment checklist

Along the way review your writing

Ask yourself: Have I…

Documented all my sources?

Answered my information needs?

Supported my conclusions?

Forgotten anything?

Big ideas of notes

Notes are my thinking tools, to help ME

All researchers have feelings of being

overwhelmed during notetaking

Note taking is a process of understanding,

not scribing

Citations document your authority

Student

AStudent

B

Student

CStudent

D

© Joy McGregor 2004

Good Notetaking HelpsWhich of these papers is best? Why?

http://www.slideshare.net/joymcg/visualising-synthesis

This slide show was originally created by

C. Tomlinson WITCC Adjunct

http://www.slideshare.net/ctomlins/taking-notes

Additional elements by

D. Abilock, Geiger, and S. Smithhttp://www.noodletools.com/debbie/ethical/catandmouse2.pdf

Modified by K. Covintree