How to Study

Getting Ready to Take Notes
Your bibliography cards serve as the map for your information 
treasure hunt. Get out a stack of five or six cards and locate the 
materials listed on those cards. Set up camp at a secluded desk or 
table and get to work.
When you write your paper, you’ll get all the information you need
from your notes, rather than from the original sources. Therefore, 
it’s vital that you take careful and complete notes. What sort of 
information should you put in your notes? Anything related to your
subject, and especially to your thesis. This includes:
1. General background information (names, dates, historical data). 
2. Research statistics. 
3. Quotes by experts. 
4. Definitions of technical terms. 
You may be used to keeping your notes in a three-ring binder or
notepad. I’m going to show you a better way— recording all of your
notes on index cards.
Let’s say that you have found a reference book that contains some
information about your subject. Before you begin taking notes, get
out the bibliography card for that book.
Check that all of the information on your card is correct. Is the title
exactly as printed on the book? Is the author’s name spelled correctly?
Add any other information you’ll need to include in your final bibliog-
raphy. (For more information on exactly what you need to include,
be sure to refer to the newest edition of Improve Your Writing.
It includes details on bibliographic and source note formats.)
How to Study
148

---

Note-taking Guidelines
Once your bibliography card is finished, set it aside. Get out some
blank index cards and start taking notes from your reference source.
Follow these guidelines:
■
Write one thought, idea, quote, or fact on each