Student Writing Handbook Fifth+Edition

304 / Types of Writing

-^ As you take notes, revise your preliminary outline as necessary. You will add
sub-points, maybe even main points. Perhaps you will change the organization
or rethink relationships among topics.
-^ You may need to find additional sources if gaps appear or you have no note
cards for certain sections of the outline.

The following sample note cards illustrate some of the principles listed above:

Note that the first card, from page 2 of bibliography source 3, consists of fragments.
The slug, Origins, comes from the preliminary outline. [See Step 7.] The second card,
from page 287 of bibliography source 6, includes a direct quotation. Note the use of
quotation marks. Again, the slug comes from the preliminary outline.

As you take notes, try to avoid these potential trouble spots:

-^ Do not rely too heavily on any one source. In general, you should have about
an equal number of notes from each source. While it is not uncommon to find
one source meeting most of your needs, your paper will be seriously weakened
from a lack of broad research if you limit the variety of sources.
-^ If your subject permits, try to use book, periodical, and electronic references
equally. To rely too heavily on books will date your paper. To rely too heavily
on periodicals may result in cursory research, especially for a topic more
thoroughly discussed in book-length sources. And to rely too heavily on
the Internet will limit the perspective. Of course, the topic determines the
appropriate sources. Television documentaries, public-radio talk shows, films,
lectures, and the vast array of electronic resources are all legitimate sources.
[See also Step 9: Prewriting—Conducting Primary Research.]

Origins

M.G. rhymes famous in France, America

First published in England, 1765

Author listed as Mistress Elizabeth Goose

3-2

Intro to Lit

When child grows up with M.G., he’s "apt to be a child who learns rapidly, who

discovers early in life the commingling pleasures that words and pictures award to

those who read books."

6-287

FIGURE 34. 4
Sample note cards
for developing a
research paper.