Unless instructed otherwise by your professor, you will want to use a five by eight inch index card for recording information from your research sources.  Some instructors may specify in more detail what types of notes they require on an index card like directly quoted notes, paraphrased notes, or summarized notes, but regardless of these possible guidelines, the basic idea in research note-taking is to get one thought or idea on a card.  It is all right to record all notes as direct quotes onto your index card.  If you want to paraphrase or summarize the material on your card into your text, you may do so from your notecard to the paper.  This method promotes accurate use of sources. Each card will contain a single piece of textual information like one set of facts, one example, one expert opinion, or one summary.

The reason for putting a single piece of information on a single card is that each card can be sorted, shuffled, or discarded.  For example, after you have written your outline, you will want to sort your notecards in an order that will correspond to the outline.  As you begin writing each section, you will want to shuffle through your cards to see which quote will correspond with which section or paragraph of your paper.  As you write a particular section or paragraph, you will discard the borrowed material that you decide not to use in your paper.

After you have placed the text note on the index card, put the parenthetical citation that you will actually use in the paper on the notecard.  As a separate heading under this section, see "How Do I Document Borrowed Material in the Text Using MLA?" for information on how to prepare an in-text citation.  For example, if you have one author, put his last name and the inclusive page numbers in parentheses--(Smith 88-90).  You do not need to put all of the bibliographic information on each notecard.  Instead, this parenthetical citation will refer you to the corresponding bibliography card.  Putting your in-text citation on the notecard saves a step in the research process.  You must document the source of the material on your card.  You must document the source of the research in your text.  By using the correct MLA in-text citation on your card, you prepare the quote to be inserted into your text already having prepared the correct in-text citation.

Sample Card:

______________________________________________________________________________
 

notecard with a direct quote

"In taking notes, seek to steer a middle course between recording too much and recording too little.  In other words, try to be both thorough and concise.  Above all strive for accuracy, not only in copying words for direct quotation but also in summarizing and paraphrasing authors' ideas.  Careful note-taking will help you avoid the problem of plagiarism."

parenthetical citation

(Gibaldi 25)

______________________________________________________________________________

As you record information from your research sources to a card, you will need to ask yourself, "Would I likely use this sentence, this group of sentences, this paragraph, or this group of paragraphs at a single place in my paper?"  If this answer is yes, record that segment of information on a single card.  However, if you see the ideas you are recording on a single card being used in different places in the paper, separate the ideas and place them on separate cards.