English 11 Biography: Note-Taking & Plagiarism

The following information is from Purdue OWL: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

What are the differences among quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing?

These three ways of incorporating other writers' work into your own writing differ according to the closeness of your writing to the source writing.

Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author.

Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.

Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.

How to use quotations, paraphrases, and summaries

Practice summarizing the essay found here, using paraphrases and quotations as you go. It might be helpful to follow these steps:

• Read the entire text, noting the key points and main ideas.
• Summarize in your own words what the single main idea of the essay is.
• Paraphrase important supporting points that come up in the essay.
• Consider any words, phrases, or brief passages that you believe should be quoted directly.

There are several ways to integrate quotations into your text. Often, a short quotation works well when integrated into a sentence. Longer quotations can stand alone. Remember that quoting should be done only sparingly; be sure that you have a good reason to include a direct quotation when you decide to do so. You'll find guidelines for citing sources and punctuating citations at our documentation guide pages.

You can use whatever note-taking method you choose: paper or electronic, index cards, notebook, note sheets. Use what works for you. The important thing is that you take notes from your sources to process the information so that you can present it in a new light. 

• "Notes From..." sheets mimic a traditional notecard and Noodle Tools notecards.
• Cornell Notes is a specific method similar to 2 column notes.

The following information is from the NoodleBib Users Guide

What are notecards?

The notecards feature in NoodleBib is designed to help you extract, organize and synthesize information you find during the research process. NoodleBib’s notecards are “e-index cards” with some important advantages. You can:

• Access your notes from any computer via a Web browser
• Capture any digital information (e.g., quotes, images, diagrams, tables) from the Web
• Link your notes to your sources to avoid accidental plagiarism
• View your notes alongside your bibliography entries in order to assess the value of each resource
• Create notes of your own ideas not linked to any source (“thought cards”)
• Label notecards with word or phrase “tags” that represent concepts or facts you want to keep track of
• Color key your notecards for quick visual identification
• Add visual cues to your notecards as reminders (each cue has a predefined meaning, such as “incomplete,” “need help,” or “used in paper”)
• Search your notecards by keyword, tag, or source association to view and organize notes in multiple ways
• View, arrange and organize notecards on a virtual tabletop quickly and easily    
    o   Mouse-over notecards for a quick summary of the content
    o   Drag individual cards into piles to develop a main idea
    o   Order cards within piles to develop a logical argument
• Create an outline and move individual notecards or piles into topics or subtopics
• Export both your notecards and outline to a word processor where they can be edited and printed
• Share both the notecards and outline with your instructor

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