Taking Notes and Avoiding Plagiarism

What do I take notes on?

• EVIDENCE that will defend...
• Attention
• Need/Problem
• Solutions (Visualization/Logical)
• Projection/Counterpoint (Satisfaction/Emotional)
• Action
• F.I.R.E.S.
• Facts (Dates, Definitions, etc.)
• Incidents
• Reasons
• Examples or Explanations
• Statistics
• Direct Quote
• "Use the author's exact sentence work-for-word."
• ONE sentence, MAX!
• Use quotes sparingly
• Always cite the source
• Summary
• Condense the author's ideas (without altering the meaning) into your own words.
• One to two sentences, max.
• Use to state the main idea of a passage or page
• Always cite the source
• Paraphrase
• Restate the author's ideas in mostly your own words and "borrow strong segments or phrases" that are powerful.
• One to two sentences, max.
• Use this strategy the most.
• Always cite the source.
• Comments
• This is the most important part of note-taking E.V.E.R!
• EXPLAIN why the piece of information is important.
• Use this section to remind yourself what you are thinking or how the argument is forming.
• Start prewriting what you want to say.
• Identifier
• Page number(s)
• For print sources only
• or web PDFs
• + Organize
• lower left corner of note card
• Tags = step in the sequence
• Color code = it's pretty :)