The Grandparent/Elder Project

Taking Notes for the History Research Paper

For help with note taking, go to the notes section of the A+ Research and Writing Guide of the Internet Public Library's Teen Division. Additional help can be found in the notes section of the Guide for Writing Research Papers based on the Modern Language Association documentation.

Taking notes on three-by-five-inch index cards may seem old fashioned in a computer age, but the ability to sort and manipulate the cards can be very useful when you wish to organize your information for the detailed outline which forms the basis for your rough draft.

The following sheet provides suggestions about note taking. You will notice that the sheet has been annotated. We strongly suggest that you use three-by-five-inch note cards; however, if you use printouts from the Internet, make notes or annotations in the margins. Margin notes or annotations may also be used for photocopies.