Note Taking

Everyone has takes notes when they are writing a research paper, in order to get the full affect from their research. When i am researching a topic for a paper i will take notes on note cards so i can easily organize my thoughts into categories. Once i have completed my research i usually have some type of system i will categorize my cards in, such as color coating. To prevent myself from mistakingly plagiarizing someone else's writing i will take the note and either put it in quotes so i can cite the original author in my paper, or summarized what i read or got out of the whole piece. This helps me get the general idea of what i read about but not taking the author's words and just spinning them. In-text citations come in handy when writing a paper because you can use someone else's thought to strengthen your argument, and not steal it from them. This gives them full credit and also gives the reader another source for further reading if they are interested. By using MLA format and citing all of the sources used in the paper is also another great way of preventing yourself from plagiarism. I tend to do as much as i can to prevent myself from accidentally plagiarizing someone else's work. Good note taking is the key to do a proficient job when writing an argumentative paper.
                                          -Cody