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When it comes to organizing
information for a term paper or even a short two or three
page paper, the "Note Card System" can be very
useful. By using this system, you create note cards from
blank 3x5 or 5x7 index cards that you fill with
information pertinent to the subject that you are
researching. The organization of the information can
readily be adapted to use with word processing...
How to Create
a Note Card:
| code |
author
|
| fact
quote
thought
|
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In the upper right
corner of the card, "code"
the topic of your paper, and where in the outline it may
fall
-
In the upper left
corner, place the
author's name and/or
title and page number
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In the
body of the card,
enter one single fact or thought you'd like to include
in your paper
Make sure the
information is expressed in your own words, unless it is a
quotation;
Use good sentence structure: this will save you time when
you start to write the paper
-
Organize
the cards to
coincide with the outline of your paper
-
Write the
term paper following this sequence
Use topical, concluding, and transitional sentences to
link the information on the cards
-
Keep a
separate set of cards
with the complete information of books, magazines,
films, etc. These will be used for entering footnotes
and endnotes, and when compiling the bibliography
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Follow
this same process in word processing!
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Create a
file organized with page breaks, or a series
of files as your "notecards"
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Print
your pages and separate thoughts making sure
that each section is properly identified
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Organize
the information by cutting, pasting, and
sequencing
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Edit as
usual in word processing
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