Note-Taking

Main Lecture by Jeff Andelora

………In the course of using information or data gathered from outside sources in your research writing, you will use primarily four types of notes: direct quotation, paraphrase, summary, and combination notes. They are all ways of handling information from the sources you will use in your writing. The procedures for each type of note are precise and must be followed carefully to avoid that most detestable crime: plagiarism. The notes you take, many of which will ultimately appear in your paper, will be written on note cards. These notes should be written out completely on 4x6 index cards which are referenced by the last name of the author of the work and the page number. Bibliography cards contain all of the information that will appear in the works cited/consulted page and should be written on 3x5 index cards. Note cards must be used and submitted with the first paper. With the second paper, you will actually submit copies of the articles from which you cite along with your final draft.

………Below is an excerpt from an article titled "Shootings at Schools Prompt New Concerns About Violence," written by Peter Applebome. It appeared in the March 3, 1996 New York Times on page A12. This excerpt will be used to demonstrate the first three types of notes you will use:

Two years after school districts around the nation scrambled to adopt tough provisions to keep guns out of schools, fatal shootings of students and teachers are again on the rise, renewing concerns about crime and violence in the schools. In the last month alone, a teenager was shot to death on a school bus in St. Louis; on Thursday, a teacher in Los Angeles was critically wounded in the head by a stray bullet the week before; and a teacher and two students were shot and killed on Feb. 3 in a junior-high classroom in Moses Lake, Wash., by a student with a high-powered rifle. The violence comes at a time when safety has become an overriding concern about the nation's schools and when President Clinton is advocating the use of school uniforms "if it means that teen-agers will stop killing each other over designer jackets." A recent national survey by Louis Harris and Associates found that 1 in 8 youths--almost 2 in 5 in high-crime neighborhoods--reported having carried a weapon for protection, while 1 in 9 said they had cut class or stayed away from school because of the fear of crime. That figure rose to more than 1 in 3 in high-crime neighborhoods. "We've gone from fistfights to gunfights," said Ronald Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center in Westlake Village, Calif., "and it's changed the landscape of the American school. I can't say for sure why the number of incidents is up this year over last year, but there are so many guns out there a lot of them are still finding their way into the schools." (Applebome A12)

Normally, the above quote would be double space and indented one inch on the left when appearing in an MLA formatted document. The right margin remains the same as the rest of the document.  The quote is not double spaced here to save space. Click here for more information on long quote form.

1. Direct Quotation

A direct quotation is when you take information verbatim from a source. Not one word or punctuation mark can be altered. Should there be an error (whether spelling or mechanics) within the citation, indicate that the error is not yours by placing [sic] immediately after the word or punctuation. Quotation marks must be used and it must be followed by parenthetical documentation at the end. Quotes should also be introduced by stating the name of the author and the source. Here is an example:

According to Peter Applebome in an article in the New York Times, "Two years after school districts around the nation scrambled to adopt tough provisions to keep guns out of schools, fatal shootings of students and teachers are again on the rise, renewing concerns about crime and violence in the schools" (A12).

Note that a comma usually separates the quote from the speaker tag or introduction. If the word "that" is used to work the quote smoothly into your sentence, a comma need not be used:

In an article in the New York Times, Peter Applebome states that schools "scrambled to adopt tough provisions to keep guns out of schools, fatal shootings of students and teachers are again on the rise, renewing concerns about crime and violence in the schools" (A12).

Also, always cite the quotation to the author of the source in which it appeared. Even if the article quotes someone else, as in the following example, document to where you found the information:

Ronald Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center in Westlake Village in California said that going from "fistfights to gunfights" has "changed the landscape of the American school" (qtd. in Applebome A12).

2. Paraphrase

A paraphrase is rewriting another's ideas in your own words. It is a careful retelling that maintains the original author's precise meaning. To be an accurate paraphrase, no phrases or key words should be used exactly as they are in the original. Although quotation marks are not used, it still receives a parenthetical documentation.

Original Material:

Stephens goes on to say, "I can't say for sure why the number of incidents is up this year over last year, but there are so many guns out there a lot of them are still finding their way into the schools" (qtd. in Applebome A12).

Paraphrase:

Stephens can't explain why more violent incidents occurred this year than last, but he acknowledges that with the number of firearms on the streets, it's inevitable some appear in the schools (Applebome 12).

3. Summary

A summary is similar to a paraphrase, but it is concerned with an excerpt considerably larger than a sentence or two. Whereas we might paraphrase a quotation or brief statement, we might summarize an entire article, chapter, or book. While a summary must still maintain its integrity to the original material, it is concerned only with the main ideas. Depending on the length of the material you are summarizing, your summaries can be anywhere from one sentence to one paragraph in length. Below is a summary note for the above excerpt:

Despite recent efforts to curb teen violence in the schools, it is still on the rise (Applebome 12).

4. Combination Note

A combination note is what you will probably use most often in your research writing. It is a combination of both paraphrase (or summary) and direct quotation. However, it is NOT a sentence of paraphrase and a sentence of quotes. It is a paraphrase with some words of quote retained. This is the most versatile of notes, and allows the writer to communicate his own ideas, while interspersing them with vivid quotations for impact and authority. These quotes should be worked smoothly into the research writer's sentences. The following excerpt is from an article, "Getting a Degree by E-Mail," written by Mary Lord and appearing in the October 30, 1995 issue of U.S.News & World Report:

Good programs use the medium itself to enhance the learning experience. For its cybercourse on the Holocaust, for instance, the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth is connecting a geographically dispersed group of on-line students with a Nazi death camp survivor living in Israel--an experience the students would never have otherwise. In worthwhile programs, students can debate with professors on the school bulletin board and through E-mail. And they can electronically brainstorm with their peers. (Lord 93)

Combination note:

Whether "connecting a geographically dispersed group…with a Nazi death camp survivor living in Israel" as part of a course on the Holocaust, or simply allowing students to "electronically brainstorm with their peers," the best on-line courses use "the medium itself to enhance the learning experience" (Lord 93).

Copyright 1996: Jeff Andelora