2 - If you identify any source material that supports your thesis, make out a BIBLIOGRAPHY CARD (3x5 or 4x6 index card). On the card, record all information you'll need for a Works Cited entry for the source (author, title, publisher & city, date, issue date/no., page nos., web site address, etc.). At the top of the card, provide a letter code (Source A) or author code (Smith).

3 - Decide how you will use each relevant part of the article in your own paper -- quotation, summary (condensed rewording) or paraphrase (full rewording). Use quotations sparingly. Most of the evidence should be paraphrased or summarized into your own words.

4 - Decide which parts of your working outline this specific evidence will be supporting.

5 - Start a NOTECARD that will contain notes only from this source and only for this specific section of your outline. At the top, key the card with the Source Code (A, Smith, etc.) and the one part of your outline the notes will support (II.A.).

6 - Take notes by using key words and sentence fragments. Be selective -- use ONLY material that supports your thesis and applies to this one part of your outline. If you've decided to paraphrase or summarize, put the material into your own words now. Don't copy the original wording onto the card unless you want to use it as a direct quote. If you quote, be sure to use quotation marks around the words and record the full name of the speaker/writer, his or her credentials, and the context.

7 - Add any original notes or information that you want to use with these source notes when you write the paper (an example you think would help explain the material, a definition, a comparison of this source with another, etc.). Be sure to "code" this material so you know it's yours and not the author's (put in brackets, for example).

8 - Record page numbers by putting them in parentheses after the note (49). If your card contains notes from more than one page of the original, be sure to record the exact page number where you found each piece of information.

9 - When you come to material that supports a different part of your outline, start a new card. Key the new card with your source code and the new part of your outline.

10 - When you move on to a new source, make out a new Bibliography Card.

11 - Continue as above, making out separate cards for each part of your outline.

With this system, you write on each card only once -- no card will contain notes from more than one source or that support more than part of your outline. When you're finished, you'll have several notecards for each part of your outline and several from each source. You'll also have Bibliography Cards you can use to prepare the Works Cited page.