Once you know what your subject is and you have gathered the necessary number of books and articles, you are ready to start taking notes.

Notebooks or notecards are two popular methods for organizing your notes. Your teacher may have told you which method to use. If the choice is up to you, the following examples may help you make up your mind.

• Use 3x5 or 4x6 index cards.
• In the upper right hand corner of the first card put the library call number.
• On the first card write the information needed for your bibliography; title, author, publisher, publication date, volume, page number, etc.
• In the upper left hand corner number the card. The card for the first source you use is #1, the second source is #2 and so on. You will put this number on every card for each source. You may have six cards with #1 on them and three with #2.
• Write one idea, fact or quote on each card.
• Use only one side of the card.
• Make sure you don't lose any of the cards!

• Use a notebook large enough to hold all of your notes.
• Put the library call number in the upper right hand corner of the page.
• Write the information needed for your bibliography; title, author, publisher, publication date, volume, page number, etc.
• Use bullet points or skip a line between each fact/idea/quote to keep them separate.
• You may want to start a new page for each source.

The best time to take notes is as you are reading. The information is fresh in your mind and right in front of you. Don't procrastinate and tell yourself you will come back when you are done with the source. It is unlikely you will remember everything that you wanted to write down or where to find it in the source.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you are taking notes:

• Write in your own words. Summarizing the idea in your own words will prevent you from plagiarizing.  (plagiarize - to take ideas, writings, etc. from another and pass them off as one's own)
• Put quotation marks around any direct quote taken from the resource. This will remind you that it is a quote.
• Use short phrases and avoid writing long sentences. Put down as much information as you need to grasp a particular point or idea.
• Put the page number where you found the information on the note card or notebook page so you can find it again.