Research Paper Note Cards (Page 2 of 2) in pdf

II. Research Cards

You will make one of these any time you find a fact that you want to use in your paper.

Every notecard ALWAYS needs 4 items on it.

1. Card topic—think of it as the title or main idea

2. Source #--which source did you find this info in?

3. Information (quoted or paraphrased)

4. Page you found the information on

Here is an example:

Original text from source:

“In truth, Douglas did not believe that slavery was

actually right, nor did Lincoln in 1858 believe that is was

wrong enough to justify direct intervention in the affairs

Lincoln and Douglas—views on slavery

Source #3

of states where it was already domesticated. Nor did

Lincoln really believe more than Douglas that African

Lincoln and Douglas both thought slavery was wrong, and they

Americans were entirely the social equals of white, the

also both thought that African Americans were inferior to

difference on this point between them being more of

whites. However, Lincoln thought that African Americans were

degree than substance. But differences in degrees can be

on a high enough level that slavery was definitely wrong and

critical, too. For Lincoln in 1858, African Americans

needed to be stopped from spreading. For Douglas, the trouble

were certainly the equals of whites in enough sense to

that challenging slavery would cause definitely outweighed the

make enslaving them wrong, and a wrong that should be

wrongs of slavery, since he felt that African Americans were

contained wherever there was power and opportunity to

VERY inferior.

contain it. For Douglas, African Americans were so far

from being the equals of whites that the misfortune of

p.81

their enslavement was simply not worth antagonizing

half the Union, especially when half the continent was at

stake.”

Lincoln on slavery and U.S.

Source #1

“’A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this

government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.

I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the

house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will

become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of

slavery will arrest the further spread of it (…); or its advocates

will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the

States, old as well as new -- North as well as South.”

p. 2

Notecard Tips

• To prevent plagiarism, close the book while you are writing your notecard—this will

force you to put the information in your own words.

• Write only 1 main point per card—don’t combine different topics on 1 card.

• Only write down information that is related to your statement of purpose.

• Write only essential words, abbreviate when possible.

• Be accurate—when writing down facts and statistics, double-check your notecard against

the source.

• Identify direct quotes with quotation marks—and don’t forget to write down who said it!

• Use ellipses points (…) when you leave out non-essential words from a quote.

• Distinguish between fact and opinion, if necessary.

Research Paper Note Cards Page 2

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