Making Note Cards
Why do it?
It is useful to take notes on index cards because it gives you the flexibility to change the order of
your notes and group them together easily. You can buy a few packages of 3x5 or 5x7 index
cards at most drugstores or stationery stores.
How do I do it?
 Write the subtopic heading of the note at the top of each note card. These are the subtopics
in your outline.
 Write only one main point on a note card. Remember that these cards are your notes.
 Only write information directly related to your Thesis.
 Be accurate.
 Identify direct quotes with quotation marks and the person's name.
 Bracket your own words [ ] when you add them into a quote.
 As you find sources, number them. Include the source's number on the card
 If your source is a book, write the page number of the source after the note.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subtopic heading
Source #
French Navy
3
Note: fact or idea
At the Battle of Yorktown, the French Navy
bottled up the British troops
Page # if a book
224
Samuels, Holly. “Making Note Cards.” September 2005. . CRLS Research Guide. 25 Oct.
2005 http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/12_Making_Note_Cards.asp