Part Two of A Different Take on Plagiarism
Despite everything I've learned about composition theory and practice over a few decades, the system that makes the most sense is the first one I learned. I think that's pretty incredible. Even better, you don't have to choose between paper and digital notes — the system works. For the sake of time and space, I'm assuming that you already have a strong topic and working thesis and have already found and verified valid sources.
By Patricia Roy — October 11, 2022
Digital or Paper Notes? Trick Question!
My best research has been done "the old-fashioned way," using notecards or sticky notes using the system I learned from my high school English teacher.
Despite everything I've learned about composition theory and practice over a few decades, the system that makes the most sense is the first one I learned. I think that's pretty incredible. Even better, you don't have to choose between paper and digital notes — the system works. For the sake of time and space, I'm assuming that you already have a strong topic and working thesis and have already found and verified valid sources.
Additionally, I assume you know that a research paper is built from your thesis — not the ideas in your sources. If more than 50% of the text comes from sources, it's too much. You need more of your writing and thinking. Fifty percent is an estimate, of course, and the ratio might differ depending on the field and the assignment's goals, but the teacher needs to evaluate YOUR writing, not the writing of the sources you're citing. Make sure you give yourself enough time to develop your ideas about the subject matter. Don't rely on outside sources to write your paper for you.
1. Evaluate:
Inspect each source to determine its usefulness. Skim the abstract or introduction, and use the index or table of contents if there is one to search for keywords and concepts you want to explore. Note the author and their relationship to the information. Are they a researcher conducting a study in an academic field? Are they a journalist reporting on the facts of a case? Is it a corporate author representing a business venture? Is the author unknown or disguised by a screen name in a Q&A forum? Depending on your research, any of these can be useful, but make sure you are using the kinds of sources your teacher is training you to use.
One of the biggest blunders student researchers make is not using the library databases and resources required by the teacher. Yes, they may not be as intuitive or easy to use as Google, and they may be harder to read than blogs and business landing pages. But if you want to become more knowledgeable about the field you are studying, you need to learn the techniques that real researchers use.
2. Note the Bibliographic Record and Create a Cross Reference:
Once you determine that a source is useful, immediately note the bibliographic information. I cannot stress this enough. Before I take notes, I write/type/copy the entire bibliographic entry — in the style I need — on the back of a notecard or at the top of a digital note. The reason for this will become clear a little later, but suffice it to say that this information is too important to lose track of.
Ensure that each card or note containing information from this source contains a cross-reference. I usually put the author's last name in the corner of the card or create a tag for the author's name if I'm using an app like Evernote. If there are multiple sources from the same last name, add the first name, a piece of the title, or a number — and be consistent!
3. Annotate:
Read the document/source. Ideally, you should read the whole thing before taking notes. This will save you time. You can mark the text as you write, using highlighting, sticky tabs, or marginalia, to indicate where the good stuff is. Researchers often get bogged down in notetaking when they take notes as they write. Each new chapter, each sentence seems to be important. It's easier to suggest this than to do it, and I admit that sometimes I read and take notes simultaneously.
4. Determine Sub-Topics:
Determine what information from the source is useful to your paper. Each bit of information or each point should be regarded as a separate thing. The topics will probably break down into sub-topics; that's fine. Count them. That's how many cards or digital notes you will need.
5. Take Notes, One Bit of Info Per Card:
Create a notecard for each topic/sub-topic within that source. Only put one piece of information or one quote on each card or note. This is a critical step in organizing later, so don't take the shortcut of writing all the notes from the source in one big file. It will take you more time to search that file for what you need than it will to find it on its note.
Favor shorthand or paraphrasing over direct quoting, and always give the page, paragraph, or line number to indicate exactly where the information lives (this is especially important if you are using MLA or Chicago Style documentation). If you paraphrase, make sure you do it correctly! You still have to cite paraphrases! Here's a link to a source on proper paraphrasing:
https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/quotingsources/.
There are a few reasons to quote directly, but they all boil down to this: only quote that which you will analyze or discuss. Keep in mind that many readers skim or even skip quotes in essays, so if you want your argument to be made, you are the one who has to make it. Quotes don't explain themselves.
6. Title Each Card/Digital Note:
Give each card a unique title that expresses exactly what is in the notes. Each one needs to be unique and specific, or this system won't work. Your outline, which you use to organize your writing, emerges partly from these titles.
7. Outline Your Paper:
Organize all your ideas and notes by creating a sentence outline or plan. Typically, the introduction and the conclusion can be left out of an outline because the research and the argumentation occur in the paper's body. Using your unique card titles, write the cards into your outline where they make the most sense. This means that you will rearrange the order of the cards according to your logical flow, thesis, and claims. Each paragraph should focus on one claim, which should be your argument, not something from your sources. The sources should provide evidence or counterpoints to which you respond.
Once you're ready to write the paper, stack your cards in the order, they occur on your outline. You might even choose to print digital notes to make the process more tactile, which some people like. Then, you sit down with your outline and your rearranged notes and go through, card by card, and write the paper, adding in the quotes, paraphrases, and citations as you go.
At this point, the paper writes itself, and plagiarism has been avoided!
Patricia Roy
Patricia Roy is a writer and professor who has helped students succeed for over 25 years. She started her career as a high school English teacher and then moved into higher education at Tuition Rewards member school, Lasell University in Newton, Massachusetts. Her practical guidance and enthusiasm motivate and inspire students to fearlessly explore their own passions. Professor Roy is also a freelance writer and published poet.
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