Take Note! The Rule-Based Strategy for Taking Notes from Your Research

Have you ever... Copied and pasted from an article or a web site Failed to use quotation marks around words and sentences you took word-for-word from a source Taken a sentence from a source and changed a few words around Used an idea or a solution to a problem someone else came up with without giving that person credit Failed to cite your sources Failed to clearly indicate which information you got from each source using parenthetical notation

If you have, you have plagiarized! What is plagiarism? It is literary theft. When a writer duplicates another writer's language or ideas and then calls the work his or her own, he or she has plagiarized. Copyright laws protect writers' words as their legal property. To avoid being accused of plagiarism, writers credit those from whom they borrow and quote by citing their sources.

How do you avoid plagiarizing? Take very careful notes. Always include information about your source on the same page or card as the note (Author, title, page number). Begin your Works Cited list (bibliography) as soon as you start taking notes. Keep track of what kind of notes you are taking. For example, identify if your note is a direct quote, a paraphrase or summary, or if it is your own thought or idea.

Three Types of Notes Direct quote: –words, phrases, or sentences taken word-for-word, exactly as they appear in the original text –quotation marks indicate the material is a direct quotation Paraphrase: – rephrasing a text or a passage in your own words Summary: – a restatement of only the essential points of someone else’s work. All three types of notes require citation

The Rule-Based Summary Strategy Read the passage carefully and completely first. Write bibliographic information down first in correct MLA format. Then, as you take notes, Find a thesis statement that tells you the point of the article. It’s usually in the first paragraph, and it may be repeated in the last paragraph of the article. If you can’t find one, write one using your own words. Identify the subtopics of the article. Look for headings, or if there aren’t any, find and underline the topic sentence of each paragraph or section of text.

The Rule-Based Summary Strategy Take out any material that isn’t important to understanding. Focus on key words and ideas. Take out words that repeat information Replace a list of things with a word that describes the things in the list (i.e. use trees for elm, oak, and maple)

“Delete, substitute, keep” technique

Bibliography Marzano, Robert, Debra J. Pickering, and Jane E. Pollock. “Summarizing and Note Taking.” Classroom Instruction that Works: Research- Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Jan “What is Plagiarism?” KidsHealth. The Nemours Foundation – Web. 25 Jan