How to Use the Note Card System
As you find interesting facts about your topic during your research, you should write them down.
Each sentence or idea that you find should be paraphrased (re-worded into your own words) or
quoted (written exactly in the words that the author uses and put in quotation marks) and written on
a card. In order to keep your ideas in order, and to remember where you found the ideas, there are
four items that you should include on the index card, as you will see below.
Here is a sample card for a RESEARCH PROJECT on “THOMAS EDISON’S INVENTIONS”
Edison’s Phonograph
Source #3
“Edison invented it while tinkering with a
telephone.”
Edison’ version played cylinders, not disks.
Aug 12, 1877 – Edison’s completes the first
phonograph.
Page 12
1. THE CARD TOPIC
The card topic is the title for the kind of
information on the card. The card topic is a
name that you make up yourself. Think of it
as the title, or main idea of the card. After
writing down the information, figure out
how you could briefly categorize, or title it.
For example, the “Inventions of Edison” will
probably be divided into topics like:
The Phonograph
The Light bulb
The Edison Motion Picture Machine
3. The INFORMATION
The paraphrased or quoted information
that you found is the most important part
of the card. It is helpful to paraphrase, or
summarize, your research on the index
cards while you are taking notes. If you are
consistent in paraphrasing at this stage,
then you will be certain not to accidentally
plagiarize someone else's work. You will
also have less work to do when you are
actually writing the paper.
2. The SOURCE
The source title is the name of the book,
magazine, web cite, etc., in which you found
the information. In this example, the source
is given a number, instead of writing out the
entire title. You could write out the title on
each card or simply list your sources on a
separate sheet of paper, like the example
on the following page. Or, even better, create
your cards in line with a “Works Cited
Worksheet”. Examples of both are below.
HINT: The numbering system may work best because then you have your Bibliography Page
almost done, but not completely. You could also “code” the cards with the author’s last name,
colors or shapes, or a system of your own.
Sample Source List (Bibliography)
Worksheet”
Sample “Works Cited
Source List
Source #
1.
2.
3.
4.
Title and Author
Edison’s Inventions
By Carl Samson
My Friend Tom
By Henry Ford
The Edison Museum
Homepage
By The Edison Foundation
Invention in America
By Johnny Francis
4. It is important to be accurate with the
page numbers on your note cards, as
you will need them for citations
throughout your research paper.