Heading:

A Note About Notes:

A note card should contain information about only one piece of information. Give each note a distinct title. Do not use the same title on any two cards, but use similar titles for notes on the same topic. Good titles on your cards will pay off!

All Note Cards Should Have These Items: 

          1. Label
              Located in the upper left hand corner, this label clearly describes the
              information in the note.

          2. Source Code
              Located in the upper right hand corner, this code comes from the source card
              and is used to identify the source of the note.

          3. Specific Page Number
              Located next to the source code, this reminds you of the specific page from
              which you took the note.

          4. Note
              This is the information you took from the source.




13. Organizing & Outlining Your Information

Now that you have collected information on your topic, it is time to organize that information so that it can be the most useful to you.

Sorting and Grouping

Go through your note cards and divide them into general categories. For example, if your topic is Gladiators, you may find that you have collected notes on the following related topics: weapons, training, types of gladiators, when and where gladiators were used.

Write YOUR general topic here: ______________________________________________

Now, sort your note cards into general categories.  List the categories:

1.______________________________________________________________________         

2.______________________________________________________________________         

3.______________________________________________________________________

4.______________________________________________________________________         

5.______________________________________________________________________

Do you have cards whose information does not fit into any of these categories?

If so, do you think the information might be useful to you, or should you just discard that card?

Evaluating your Information

Of the categories you've listed, for which do you have the most information?

_______________________________________________________________________

For which category do you have the least information?

_______________________________________________________________________

Has your research enabled you to answer all of your original questions?

If not, what information do you still need?

1.______________________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________________

4,______________________________________________________________________         

Have any new questions come up that you need to research?
If so, list those new questions.

1.______________________________________________________________________

2.______________________________________________________________________

3.______________________________________________________________________

Look back over the work you've done so far.  Do you have all of the information that you need to complete this project?  If not, return to the library for a little more research. It is much easier to conduct more research now, before moving on to the next step.

14. Outlining Your Information

Keep the following guidelines in mind when writing your outline:

1. Put your thesis statement at the top.

2. Make items at the same level as parallel as possible.

3. Use sentences, unless phrases are clear.

4. Use the following system of numbers and letters:

          Thesis: 

          I.

                A.

                B.  

                             1.

                             2.

                                      a.

                                      b.

          II.

5. Always use at least two subdivisions for each category. Nothing can be divided into
    fewer than two parts!

6. Limit the number of major sections in the outline: if the list of roman numerals
    begins to be too long, find a way to combine the items into a few major categories with 
    subdivisions.

7. Be flexible: be prepared to change your outline as you write your draft.   

Example of Thesis and Outline

Thesis: There are many kinds of waves in nature

I. Seismic Waves

          A. Characteristics

                1. P wave - strongest type of body wave

                2. Longitudinal

                3. Travel through either liquid or solid matter

          B. Effects

                1. Results in liquid or solid vibrating uncontrollably

                2. Vibrations-compression or expansion of rocks

II. Sound Waves

          A. Characteristics

                1. Pure tone - the simplest sound wave

                2. Characterized by frequency

          B. Behavior

                1. Light waves and sound waves - same actions

                2. Reflect and scatter

Note that the topics beside the roman numerals are general topics.  These correspond to the categories into which you sorted your note cards. Details about those categories are found in the subdivisions.