English III Service Learning Project

1. English IIIService Learning Project Note taking Overview

2. Why should I take notes? • Notetaking is an indispensable part of writing a documented essay or conducting research. Your notes record information from the sources that you will use in writing your paper. Therefore, it is necessary to critically evaluate the texts or articles you are reading and to make reasonable choices about what will and will not be useful for your paper.  From Hunter College Reading and Writing Center

3. To take effective notes, you must do the following: • Select the information: The information to be used in a paper must be gathered from a variety of sources, which also, most likely, contain much information not necessarily relevant to your topic. Therefore, when you take notes, you must sort out the material you need from other information surrounding it in the text. • Record the information: To efficiently use the information in your sources, you must record it in such a way that it can be easily sorted, reorganized, and incorporated into your paper. This means that you should choose a style of recording that best suits you and that lists all necessary information-- title, author, publisher, etc., which you will need later for your bibliography. From Hunter College Reading and Writing Center

4. Formatting Note cards • Because you will be conducting extensive research from multiple sources, it is important that you organize the information in a reliable format. • Creating note cards will help you refer back to information later and for citation purposes.

5. Index card note taking style • For each source, copy the complete bibliographical information (author, title, publisher's name, date and place of publication) on one card, which becomes your bibliography card. • For multiple notes from the same source, in the upper right hand corner of each card, record a short form of the title and the author's last name. In the lower right hand corner, record the page number(s) from which your summaries, ideas, paraphrases, or direct quotes have been taken. • Write subject or topic headings on the cards in pencil to facilitate organizing and reorganizing information.

6. Example Note card A shows a bibliography card “U.S. News Best Colleges Ranking.” U.S. News and World Report. 2010. Web. May 22, 2012. http://colleges.usnews.rankingsand reviews.com/best-colleges/brown- university-3401.

7. Example B shows a summary of the author’s focus College Rankings Sub-topic: Facts about the school Brown University is a highly selective enrollment university which accepts only 9.3% of students who apply.

8. Card D shows a direct quotation. “College Rankings” Sub-topic: Student Services Brown University offers a number of student services including nonremedial tutoring, women's center, placement service, health service, and health insurance. Brown University also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, student patrols, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc).