Taking notes allows you to make sense of the material you’re reading and consider how it relates to the topic and point of view you will lay out in your paper. Regardless of the type of documents you use, you should note certain elements after you’ve created your summary and are ready to re-read the document. Ask yourself what information you don’t already have and what is relevant to your research topic. Focus on collecting and citing information that will enrich your topic and research goals.
If you want to craft a strong argument, reading critically and taking good notes go hand-in-hand. Think about how the material you’re reading could contribute to your overall argument, as well as sub-arguments. You’ll want to include your ideas in your notes, but be careful to specify when you’re writing your own ideas and when you’re synthesizing the author’s.
Taking notes is about more than writing down dates, names, accurate quotes, and publisher’s information. While we can’t overstate the importance of having this information, we also can’t emphasize enough that you want to consider how author’s claims differ from or are similar to others. You also want to assess how author’s ideas can contribute to your own work.
Create note cards that include your own thoughts so that you’re crafting your own argument throughout the research process, rather than waiting until you’ve read everything.
Taking great notes helps you distinguish your ideas from the sources you have read.
A Pocket Guide to Writing in History by The content on this guide is provided by NoodleTools from Springshare:
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