As you read, write. Recording ideas and bibliographic information is, quite simply, efficient. Hours of precious day-before-due-date time can be wasted relocating that all-important piece of information essential to your argument or making one more trip to the library to obtain publication dates. Notetaking has other advantages as well. Through writing about a text, the reader becomes more engaged than when reading passively. The act of taking notes facilitates critical reading; it demands that you understand and evaluate, continually seeking content and argument relevant to a particular focus.
Beginning to research by copying down bibliographic information may seem tedious, and pausing to paraphrase just at the moment when meaning becomes clear can be frustrating. Taking notes well, therefore, requires a method so meticulous, so ritualized, that the act of jotting information down becomes second nature. The rewards, however, are great. Having detailed notes will help you write an essay that is well-documented, is clearly supported by evidence, and displays a thorough and analytical understanding of the subject.
The notetaking method described in this module is based on the traditional pen-and-paper approach. You may, of course, adapt it if you take notes electronically; to that end we offer suggestions for electronic notetaking throughout the module.
Purposeful Reading and Notetaking
The research process involves continual oscillation between thesis and discovery. As reading and research progress, you will revise and modify your research question and tentative thesis. At the same time, however, your research question and tentative thesis will provide direction for your reading and notetaking. Your goal should be flexibility without chaos: do investigate new paths of information, but guard against tangents that might take you completely off course. Never work without a research question in mind. Otherwise, texts take control of you, rather than the more desirable reverse experience. Your thesis and outline can be revised and developed as you read, take notes, and write, but having them roughed out at this stage will give direction to your notetaking.
The research process reaches forward to writing as well: the shape and size of the finished essay must be considered continually so that the specific requirements of the writing task are met. As you take notes, therefore, keep an outline in mind or, even better, on paper or on your computer. Remember, the aim is not to gather a great mass of notes but to gather notes directed to a particular end. Thinking about the various areas that must be explored to establish your argument should help you to know when you have reached the point of diminishing returns. Remember, too, that your essay has a finite length, so there is no great virtue in taking many more notes than you can hope to use. At the same time, do not skimp on space. Leave room to add comments, cross-refer to other notes, and so on.
The Medium
Either index cards or ordinary paper can be used for taking notes. Many people prefer the card method, mainly because a set of note cards can be shuffled around and arranged into an outline neatly and without confusion. A second good reason for using cards is that they can be filed easily since they are all the same size and contain only one note each. Not everyone feels comfortable, however, working within the limitations of a 3" x 5" space. If you prefer the roominess of full-sized paper, use sheets of standard size so that you can keep them together. If using paper, you may wish to use different colour hi-lighters or post-it notes to identify materials relevant to different parts of your argument.
You may choose, alternatively, to take notes electronically, using a desktop, laptop or similar device. The benefit of this method is the ability to keep your notes in one place, to store them in files with helpful names to identify themes, and to sort or search for information quickly and efficiently. But, as with all computer technology, you must remember to save often and create an electronic or hard-copy backup of your notes.
Format
Research Question: Write out your research question and the topics you think it should include on an index card or piece of paper and post it above your desk so that it is always visible as you work. If you are working on a laptop in a variety of locations, make a separate electronic file for your research question and always have it open while you work on your essay. This will help you to keep your research focused. Refer to the question often and revise it as necessary.
Bibliographic Information: Before you take notes, write out the bibliographic information for the source, properly formatted, on its own card (see the module on footnoting and bibliographies for proper bibliographic format). If you are taking notes on a computer, make a separate file for bibliographic information. That way you can keep the entries organized alphabetically, and you will save yourself the trouble of later having to open several files to compile your bibliography.
Notes: Before taking the note, write the page number at the top of the card, or in a column on the left hand side if you are using a sheet of paper or a computer. There are several different types of notes you will be taking: quotations, facts and figures, summaries or paraphrases, personal observations, and words or ideas that need clarification. If you are working with index cards, write each note on its own card. On a computer or sheet of paper, leave several lines between each note to leave room for adding comments, and to make it easy to see where one note ends and the next begins.
Quotations
When to quote: In most history courses, while it is acceptable to use quotations from primary sources to support your argument, as long as the quotations are properly introduced, analyzed, and explained, you will be discouraged from quoting secondary sources extensively. Usually it is better to paraphrase quotations from secondary sources in your own words (with a note). Quoting from secondary sources should be done rarely and with a specific purpose in mind. For example, you might use a quotation as a starting place for your argument or might quote an author’s exact words so that you can challenge them. In the case of primary source quotations, sometimes the wording in a passage is so precise that it cannot be paraphrased without loss of meaning, or the stylistic qualities of the passage may demand comment. Consider the example of Churchill's World War II speech, "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets..."1 You might quote this passage, not to draw attention to its literal meaning, but to show that the manner in which Churchill expressed himself affected the public's response to what he was saying.
Quotation length: When quoting, the shorter the quotation, the better. Your own reading experience tells you that quotations must be succinct; reading nine or ten lines of quoted text is difficult and irritating. Usually, if you can't write the passage on a 3" x 5" card, it is too long to quote in its entirety in the essay.
Quotation format: Always place quotation marks around direct quotations in your notes. Failing to do so may lead to unintentional plagiarism. Use square brackets to indicate that you have added something to a quotation or changed it ever so slightly to make its meaning clearer. Ellipsis dots (...) are used to indicate that you have left something out of the quotation (see Module 6 for more details). When you take notes, guard against quoting an author out of context. Introducing ellipsis dots or quoting only a sentence fragment may distort the meaning of the passage quoted. Be true to the author's intention; any other approach is dishonest.
1. Winston Churchill, Blood, Sweat and Tears (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1941), 297.
Facts and Figures
Be meticulous about recording important facts and figures. Check the data you are recording carefully before you return your source to the library. Facts and figures do not need to be placed within quotation marks. The reader will understand that you have borrowed the data directly, provided that you document the source.
Paraphrases and Summaries
Probably most of your notes will be paraphrases or summaries. Many novice researchers assume that if paraphrasing means putting a passage "into your own words," this can be accomplished simply by substituting synonyms for key terms. The process is actually much more complex. Proper paraphrasing depends on thorough comprehension of material, not on a thesaurus. You must read the passage you wish to paraphrase, think about it until you understand it, and then write notes as if you were explaining the idea or issue to yourself. If you have thought about the passage carefully enough, there should be no need to consult the text again while you write the summary. In addition to the above, effective paraphrasing and summarizing should be:
Accurate: As you paraphrase or summarize, strive for accuracy. Do not confuse what you want research to show with what it does show, and do not paraphrase a point out of context. The note must reflect the author's intent.
Detailed: When summarizing or paraphrasing, make sure you include the key details that allow you to attribute information properly when you write. Attribution is the proper acknowledgement of sources and actions within the main body of an essay. Your reader will want to know both where an idea or opinion came from (who wrote about it) and who the source of an action was (who did it). For example, when an essay declares that "Ontario Supreme Court Justice Jane Doe reached the decision in the 1990 court case...," the reader knows the person, the person's title, and the date of the decision, and is able to assess the reliability of the decision made. If, instead, the student had written, "The decision was reached in a court case," the reader would have no way to evaluate the ruling. Failure to attribute is not plagiarism, but it is a serious weakness in scholarship.
See the next module for more details and examples of effective paraphrasing and summarizing.
Personal Observations
As we have stressed, an essay involves interaction between you and the topic. Through reading, you will gain personal insights and will gradually develop your own opinions and perceptions. Record these insights as you read; your notes will then provide that necessary balance between yourself and the material. If you find a particular interpretation of an historical event to be the most creative and ingenious discussion you have ever read, write yourself a note explaining why. If a sociological theory helps you to understand a personal experience, write that down as well. Remember, you are reading critically, and to do that you must interact with the material.
Words and Ideas to Look Up
Make sure you understand the terms of the discussion you have entered into. Make a note of words or ideas you aren't clear on. If subsequent reading does not define them clearly, consult a specialized dictionary.
Staying Organized
Whether you are taking notes on cards, paper, or in electronic form, it is essential to keep them organized. Keep index cards organized in an appropriately-sized box. Use separators to divide your cards by work, and organize them alphabetically by author so that retrieving information is quick and easy. If you are taking notes on paper, organize your notes in a similar manner in a binder or file folder. Alternatively, you can use a notebook. This will ensure that you do not lose any notes, but has the disadvantage of making it difficult to re-order or organize your notes.
On a computer, use a consistent naming convention for your files. If you name your file with the author's last name and a few key words from the title of the work, for example, they will be easy to sort and identify. Keep all the notes related to your essay in a single, well-labeled file folder.