How to organize your notes

• When you are done reading this, you will know:• Various ways to take notes• How to keep track of your sources• How to NOT screw things up for your paper

What TO DO• Read the power point on note taking: paraphrase,

summarize or quote. • Save and print all your resources with correct MLA citation

at the top of your article. Keep reading for more information.• Listen to your teacher. Ask questions when necessary.• READ, highlight and annotate your stuff and go back and

research more. Make connections. The research isn’t going to spell it out for you!

• Look at your thesis statement and subtopics. Does your research cover those items? Do you need to revise your thesis?

• READ your assignment sheet for research requirements or just go the next slide!

Part 3: The search—Secondary Research (3-4 sources):

You must have 3-4 secondary resources. At least TWO need to be non-website sources. Your novels DO NOT COUNT as sources. Your sources can include but are not limited to:

• Articles from databases – make use of the Hennepin County Library System• Books – obviously the more recent, the more relevant and better, but you

need to make that call. This could include non-fiction books related to your topic.

• www.scholar.google.com is acceptable for research• If you use the internet for general searches (such as Google or Yahoo), you

have to use the SCARAB rubric to evaluate the validity and credibility of the source. See me for a rubric or check the wiki. LIMIT ONE internet source.

• Personal interviews with credible experts (you must clear this with me first)

Hint: If doing a personal interview, set up your interviews right away! Interviews are not something you can do at the last minute, because you will be working around someone else’s schedule. Make appointments now, or you may be sorry you waited!

Step One: Citation• When you find an article that works, save it and name it

something that makes sense.• Cut and paste the article to a WORD document.• You MUST HAVE your MLA citation at the top of the

article. HOW do you do this? Keep reading. • The next slide shows you how the finished product

SHOULD look like. I would do this to make your life easier. Trust me!

• When you are done with the citation information, you can print the document and begin taking notes.

• Move onto Step 2 when you have looked at the following examples.

Here is the citation from the database or EasyBib; keep reading on how to do this!

The “Cite” button

So, you are at the OSH media center website. You click on databases and then “no” when the box below pops up.

• Go to one of the databases. • Make sure to choose ONLY full text articles.• The more recent the article the better!

We are going to show you a few examples of where to find the cite button. Most databases will have a cite button. Look for it and use it! When is doubt, ask. Or come back to this PowerPoint!

Ebsco Example

The “cite” button is (should be) to the right of the screen.

When you click on this button, you will be given different ways to cite this source. Scroll down to the MLA version.Copy and paste it to your Word document for this article.

This is what the Ebsco MLA example looks like:

ProQuest Example

The “cite” button is located at the bottom of the source/article.

So, this screen pops up. Click “cite” again.

I had to change the citation style to MLA 7th Edition and then click on “Change.” You will copy and paste this to your Word Document for this article.

So, you get the picture. Most data bases will have a “cite” button. Look for it and use it!

If you use the Points of View database, the cite button doesn’t work the way EbscoHost and ProQuest do.

Points of View and Easy BibFrom this slide, click on HTML full text. This will take you to the next screen.

When you are finished with the info on this page, click the “print” button at the top.

Go to the next slide.

Make sure the citation format (at the bottom right) is on MLA format.

Next slide

Then, click “print.”

A print screen will pop up. Hit CANCEL!!!! Then you will be able to get the info you need. Next slide

You should copy & paste the info you see highlighted here to your Word document. Next slide

EasyBib

You will EasyBib to create the citation for your website source. You will need the following information at the TOP of your article/source:

1) Website name

2) Publisher and or sponsor (sometimes 1 and 2 might be the same)

3) Title of the article

4) Author of the article

5) Date of the article or the date of the last update

6) Web address of the article

7) Date you accessed the article

When in doubt—ask!!!

• Go to this website: http://easybib.com/

Follow the instructions on this site. If you were using a

database, your life would be easier!

This is what your final documents will look like before you print and annotate.

Label the article 1, 2, 3, or 4

Here is the citation from the database or EasyBib

The article/source is formatted to print on as few pages as possible. Change the margins to .5 and the font size 10 to 12.

Step two: note taking• You need to figure out a system that works for you. • Figure out what subtopics you want answered. Use your

thesis as your guide. • When I find information that works for me, I put it on a

separate note sheet by subtopic or article (typically my trusty legal pad) and write out what I plan on using and how I will use it (summary, paraphrase, direct quote) and cite the source.

• Whatever you do, you need to keep good track of where your notes come from. You MUST cite your source.

• Go to next slide for ONE way you can take notes.

Note sheet example

How do you know what goes in the parenthesis? It’s the FIRST word in your citation. See next slide.

Citation example

I took some notes about abortion from the article above. I decided I wanted to use a direct quote from the article. Here is what it will look like in my notes:

“Here is the awesome quota from the awesome article about a really interesting topic” (Mehren).

The citation above starts with Mehren. That’s what I put in the parenthesis. I didn’t have a page number so I only used her last name. If you don’t have a last name and it’s a title instead, put down the first few words. If you are using a book, you MUST have a page number.

Step 3: How not to screw things up.• A proper CITATION will help you later with your works cited

page. TRUST me on this.• Take more notes than you could possibly use. • Decide what you MIGHT write about. You can always

change your mind. Use your thesis as your guide. What did you write in Part 2?

• CITE your source.• Use quotation marks around word-for-word quotations. (4 or

more words in a row from the original need quotation marks). • If you are using books, you need a page number for your

information.• SAVE YOUR RESEARCH! Read and reread.• CONFUSED? Ask questions.