1.2. How to Take Notes

Very often you see that you don't know enough about your subject and decide to find out more. Therefore you turn to another source of information: books, i.e. other people's experience. But the question is: When you sit down in the library to read the books you've chosen, what kind of notes should you take? We could answer this by telling you just to keep three things in mind:

1. Don't take notes you won't be able to use. Of course, you can't be quite sure of what you need until you sit down to write; but you have your plan. If you have brought a list of questions to the library, be sure to use it while you are reading. Don't waste your time taking notes on something that doesn't answer any of your questions.

2. Take enough notes so that you don't have to go back to the same article or book. If you do find answers to your questions, be sure to take enough notes. Remember, when you read over your notes, they will have to tell the whole story to you.

3. Make sure you'll find your source again if it becomes necessary. Never forget to put down the author, title, and call number of a book, or the author, title, magazine title, date, and page number of an article. You'll save yourself time and trouble.

While taking notes, don't forget that you can use only information you can rely on. When you speak to other people about your subject, it is important to know who they were and how they knew. The same is true of people who tell you about your subject in print. You probably have a feeling, like most people, that anything that's printed is more reliable than something you just heard being said. Don't depend on that. There are just as many mistakes, errors, and doubtful ideas in print as in talk.

Develop the habit of entering your reading notes on standard-size cards. They are easier to carry than a notebook, easier to refer to than full sheets of paper, and easy to rearrange as you experiment with different possible outlines.

Be very careful to distinguish between information that you are summariz­ing or paraphrasing and information that you are quoting. Place quotation marks around all material that you take word for word from any source. In ge­neral, force yourself to summarize, paraphrase, and record relevant facts rather than quote. Reserve exact quotation for particularly telling phrases, or for information that must be rendered precisely as you found it.

Be certain to use a separate card for each note. Do not include notes on two different subtopics in your outline on a single card. The usefulness of cards depends greatly on the convenience with which they can be shuffled and rearranged. Cards with separate notes can easily be combined when you are experimenting with arranging notes for your first draft. Cards that combine two or more notes on somewhat different items will prevent you from doing this.

1.3. Library Resources for Writing

To use the library efficiently, you must under­stand something of the different kinds of resources it has and the kinds of help available to enable you to find the information you need. Many libraries provide guided tours as well as printed information about their resources and the location of different kinds of books. There is always a reference librarian whose special assignment is to help you. Never hesitate to ask for help if you are confused.

Libraries, as a rule, have three principal kinds of holdings: a general col­lection of books; a collection of reference works; and a collection of periodicals, bulletins, and pamphlets.

General collection of books. The general collection includes most of the books in the library - all those that are available for general circulation. These books are kept in stacks, which are closed to everyone except librarians and persons holding special permits. If you want to borrow a book from such a library, you must first present a call slip bearing the call number of the book you want, the name of its author, and its title. This information can be obtained from the card catalogue.

Reference books. Reference books include encyclopedias, dictionaries, indexes, directories, handbooks, yearbooks, atlases, and guides. Most libraries place these books on open shelves in the main reading room and do not allow their removal from the room.

Periodicals, bulletins, pamphlets. A periodical is a publication that appears at regular (periodic) intervals. Bulletins and pamphlets may or may not be periodicals, depending on whether they are issued as parts of a series of publications or as separate, single publications. They are usually kept in the stacks with the main collection of books. Recent issues of magazines and newspapers are usually kept in the open shelves of the reading room. Older issues are bound in volumes and shelved in the stacks.

Acknowledging the Sources while Writing Papers. Most people who write papers, reports and other non-fictional works depend partly on other sources. It is both common courtesy and good practice to acknowledge these sources. This is usually done by using footnotes. They have three main uses:

A. To give the source of your information and quotations.

B. To provide additional information or explanatory comments that would disrupt the flow of material in the main text if included in the body of the paper.

C. To give additional evidence or illustration in support of your assertion.

Generally every statement, fact, or concept used in a paper that is not the writer's own should be acknowledged, either in a footnote or within the body of the paper.