Notecard Technique

One of the purposes of using notecards is that it creates a buffer between what you read and what you write, thereby making it easier for you to avoid plagiarism, or the presenting of someone else's ideas or language as your own.

With a research source directly before one's eyes, it is almost impossible for anyone, even the most expert academic writer, to avoid writing with a voice that is not one's own voice. Researchers have developed the notecard technique as a way to gather information without stealing someone else's voice or ideas.

The key is to write in shorthand: a form of notetaking without writing style that includes just the bare bones of the facts you gather.

Here are the methods for writing in shorthand:

Do not write complete sentences.
Write fragments and newspaper headlines. Take out a's, an's and the's. Strip down phrases to their barest elements.
Example:
You read:
In the middle of the jungle, rubber millionaires sat on the verandas of their huge villas and lit cigars with the Brazilian equivalent of hundred-dollar bills while their wives took baths in imported champagne.

On your notecard, you write:
rubber millionaires
-huge villas in middle of jungle
-lighting cigars with $100 bills
-wives bathing in champagne
Avoid writing verbs when you can.
Much of a writer's voice comes from the verbs he chooses; repeatedly borrowing someone else's verbs can lead to plagiarism. When possible, record your notes using only noun phrases.
Example:
You read:
The demand for Brazil's rubber skyrocketed after the invention of the automobile in the United States.

On your notecard, you write:
-invention of automobile in US
-huge demand for Brazil's rubber
Use symbols when you can: equal signs, dashes, arrows, bullets, etc.
The less actual language that you use on a notecard, the easier it is to write with your own voice when you later incorporate that note into your paper.
Example:
You read:
The abolition of slavery in Brazil triggered major resistance against King Pedro II

On your notecard, you write:
end of slavery = resistance to Pedro II

Posted by Justin Wells : 10/09/2007