The Note Card System

If you are up against beginning an investigation paper, the absolute most important section of investigating and just starting to compose is ARRANGING the information and knowledge and your ideas. It will take considerably more time to write the paper if you are not organized. Making it effortless as you gather information on yourself, you can use an index card system. Using this technique, you categorize the given information you will find by subject. For every subject, you can have a variety of cards from a few sources that are different. Later on, while you compose your paper, each card subject becomes a human body paragraph (supporting concept) in your paper.

Researching

You should write them down as you find interesting facts about your topic during your research. Each phrase or idea that you see should really be paraphrased (summarized in your words that are own, and written for a card. In order to keep your thinking in an effort, and also to remember for which you discovered the tips, you will find four products as you will see below that you should include on the index card.

Listed here is a test card:

1. The card subject could be the title for the type or style of informative data on the card. The card subject is just a true title which you constitute your self. Think about it due to the fact name, or idea that is main of card. After writing down the given information, work out how you might briefly categorize, or title it. For example, you may have cards with topics such as: if you are writing a paper on the life and works of the poet, Langston Hughes,
   • Hughes’ upbringing
   • Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance
   • Hughes’ impacts Hughes’ poetry
   • Hughes’ political values
   • Hughes’ impact on America

Even though it might seem tiresome to offer each note card a subject title, it acts two purposes:

• It keeps you focused in your quest. You’re going to be less likely to want to jot down unneeded information (facts that aren’t pertaining to your subject) if you’re careful to create straight down the subject for each and every card.
• It’s important ultius to own these subjects as soon as you begin arranging pursuit.

The source title could be the true title associated with the guide, mag, site, etc., by which you discovered the data. In the earlier example, the foundation was presented with a quantity, rather than writing down the complete name. You can compose out of the name for each card, or just record your sources on an independent sheet of paper, just like the instance right here. Quantity your sources with this list, and then utilize the numbers regarding the note cards to specify which source offered which reality.

Test Supply List

Keep In Mind! It is not an entire works cited, bibliography, or guide web page. You need to include the book information and use the correct citation structure (APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian, etc.) for the formal works cited page.

Item number 3 may be the paraphrased information that you discovered. It’s beneficial to paraphrase, or summarize, your quest in the index cards while you’re using notes. Then you will be certain not to accidentally plagiarize someone else’s work if you are consistent in paraphrasing at this stage. You will also provide less strive to do if you are really composing the paper. the image of the notecard having a mark on web web page.

It is critical to be accurate aided by the web web page figures on your own note cards, because you will require them for citations through your research paper. Make sure which form is known by you of citation your instructor calls for. (For info on citing your sources, check English Works! handouts on MLA, APA, and Chicago/Turabian type citations).

Organizing

Once you’ve written the information down from the note cards, you merely need certainly to go right straight back and organize your cards by topic. Group together all of the cards which have the topic that is samei.e. all of the cards en titled: “Hughes’ Poetry” ought to be together). You should have your cards in piles, one topic per pile when you finish. You could have any quantity of heaps and a variety of cards in each pile. The space and detail of one’s paper should determine just just how piles that are many cards you’ve got.

Your piles may appear to be:

Make an Outline and commence Composing

Once you’ve separated your cards into heaps, each topic stack should be human anatomy paragraph in your paper. This is the key for this system. If every subject straight supports your thesis statement, then each topic heap should turn into a supporting concept, human anatomy paragraph, or section of a paragraph in your paper.

But just before actually start composing, you need to make an overview for the purchase you intend to provide these subjects in your paper. (For assistance making an overview, look at English Works web page on Pre-writing and Outlines). When the outline is complete, make use of your note cards as guides and begin writing. For further help on composing an investigation paper, relate to the English Works! web site procedure of Doing an investigation Paper, Guide to Developing Thesis Statements, and/or help Guide to introductions that are writing Conclusions.