Note Cards

1. Note Cards Organizational Tool for Research

2. Objectives • Appreciate why note cards are used for organizing research • Understand how to use note cards to organize facts • Learn how to set up a note card

3. Advantages to Note Cards • Note cards are the most flexible way of organizing facts • They are easy to move around when it’s time to organize • They help students avoid plagiarism when used correctly

4. Disadvantages to Note Cards • Hard to keep all of them together—they can get lost • Easy to lose track of where the facts on the cards came from • You may run out of note cards in the middle of your research

5. To keep the benefits of note cards and minimize the disadvantages, we will: • Use pre-printed note cards (all one sheet) and cut them apart later, when we organize (less likely to get lost) • Use a separate Source List to keep track of where the facts are coming from & use the source # on the note cards • Keep all your completed note cards in the folder in your crate (less likely to get lost)

6. What goes on a Note Card? • Each note card should contain ONE fact, statistic, quote, etc. • Only one fact per card so that you can move the facts around throughout the paper as you organize. • As you write the fact, use as few words as possible. The words you do use should be changed into your OWN words (avoid plagiarism). This is paraphrasing.

7. What goes on a Note Card? • If you write a direct quote on a note card, make sure to include who said the quote and put quotation marks around it. • Be very careful to quote accurately—words, spelling, etc. • You are required to cite the source of any quote you use, so be accurate with your source #.

8. What NOT to put on a Note Card • Anything super obvious, such as- • The battle took place during WWII • You already knew this—you don’t need to write it down! • Anything that doesn’t fit in with your thesis (focus) • Too many facts at once (you won’t be able to move those facts around when you organize)

9. Here’s what the note cards look like: Source #_______ Page # _______

10. Sample note card with a quote: Where I got this quote from. This spot is NOT here to count my note cards! Source #___3____ “I moved along the sand hills to Le Panne, a little to the right of Dunkirk, and there were hundreds and hundreds of soldiers on the sand. Ships were coming in, trying to pick up the soldiers. I thought, they'll never get these people off here — but we just had to be disciplined.” James Bradley, a veteran of Dunkirk. No page # because it is an Internet source I put the exact words in quotation marks, and I made sure to get the name of the person who said this. Page # ____

11. Sample note card with a statistic: Where I got this quote from. This spot is NOT here to count my note cards! Source #____1___ By June 4th -- over 338,000 men rescued and made it safely to England This is the page # I found the fact in the book. Statistics provide strong support. Only put one statistic per note card. Page # ___ix____

12. Sample note card with a fact: Where I got this quote from. This spot is NOT here to count my note cards! Source #___2____ France’s Army was one of the largest in the world No page # because it is an Internet source No Page # was given because article was on Internet. Only include facts that are not common knowledge. Make sure the fact supports your thesis. Page # _______

13. Sample note card with a fact: Source #___2____ What does this number represent? German Army defeated French Army in 40 days What type of support is this? Quote, statistic, or fact? Page # _______

14. Note Card Expectations • You will be given 30 blank note cards to start. • I expect at least 30 cards—probably more! • More note card sheets are available. • More facts = better support = higher grade • One fact/statistic/quote per card • Write the Source # for each card • You will receive points for your note cards • I will help you organize the cards before drafting