Note-taking Assignment

Now that you have completed your survey of resources, it is time to read about your topic and begin taking notes.  An organizational tool for this phase of the research process is a note card.

Note Cards

  • Write on only one side of each 3×5 or 5×7 index card.
  • You will need a note card for quotations, an author’s ideas, statistics, graphs and charts.
  • Make a separate note card for each idea or quotation you might want to use in your paper.
  • Put quotation marks around material that is copied word for word.
  • If you find the information in 3 or more sources and put it in your own words, it is common knowledge and doesn’t require that you document the source.  It will be difficult during the early stages of reading and taking notes to determine what is common knowledge, so if you write it on a note card, give the source.

Note Cards Format

Untitled

Explanation of the Parts of the Note Card

Label – The label is used to categorize the notes you are taking under several descriptive headings.  Labels allow you to arrange your notes in some logical order according to the topics and subtopics in your preliminary outline.  You will arrange your cards according to their labels before you write your page.  You may not be able to label your note card as soon as you take the note.  This may have to be done after you’ve had time to reflect on your reading and note taking.

Page Number – The exact page number where you found the citation should be noted on the card.  Keep in mind that online databases and the Internet do not have page numbers.

The Source – This refers to where you found  your information. It is always enclosed in parentheses.

The Note – This can be a summary, a paraphrase, or a quotation from a book, a magazine article, an online database,  or the Internet.  This is the information that you will use to write your paper; in fact, you should be able to write your paper by using your note cards and not have to refer back to the sources of information.  Be sensible about note taking.  You will have more cards than you need to write your paper, but do not take down every detail and do not duplicate material.

If you are incorporating a quoted question and a parenthetical citation, the question mark is followed by the quotation mark and then the parenthetical citation, which ends with a period.

Make sure you attach to each of your note cards a photocopy (or a printout if it is an online source) of the page where you get your notes.

Place the note cards (with the attached photocopies) inside a long, clear, plastic envelope and leave it in my pigeon hole before the 19th of December 2012.

Source: http://www.wtps.org/wths/imc/mla_style/note_cards.htm

Essay for the Evaluation Paper

It occurred to me that you have exactly a week before the submission of the first draft of your evaluation. In view of this, I have decided not to meet you today. Instead, you will proceed to the library to search for an article which you will be evaluating. Attached is the worksheet that you will have to fill out. Submit this to me on Monday.

Evaluation Worksheet

Evaluation of a Short Film

Instructions:

Find a partner. Evaluate this short film using clear criteria. Write a 300-500 word evaluation paper. The paper is due on Friday, September 14, 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5IjInYNw3A&feature=related

Synopsis of the film (from youtube.com):

One brief encounter trapped with a Muslim women in an elevator will change the views of this American man forever. Should ritual trump compassion? Should compassion trump ritual? Which is more important?

Director: Jihun Ahn
Writers: Jihun Ahn
Project Superviser: Aysegul Taskent
Genra: Short, Drama
Country: Turkey
Language: English

Cast:
Mackenzie Singh-Woman
Shiloh Silverman-Man

Crew:
Director – Jihun Ahn
Projectt Superviser – Aysegul Taskent
Set Designer – Yesl Bea
Set Assistant – Sinem Saper
Creative Designer -Eunsoo Kwak
Location provided by – Yoonyoung Chun
Advisors –
Pedram Hedayati Fard (Iran)
Mosab Abumoaz (Palestine)
Director Jihun Ahn

 

Monday Activity

Class, I cannot meet you today because I am very sick. Instead, follow the instructions in this activity (source):

Critical Thinking Exercise: Fact or Opinion

Do you always know fact from opinion? It’s not so easy to do sometimes. Recent developments in the media have made it easy for groups with political agendas to masquerade as impartial sources, and for fake web sites to offer fake information-and that makes it more important than ever for students to develop critical thinking. You must use trustworthy sources in your school work.

If you don’t learn the difference between fact and fiction, you’ll get stuck reading and watching things that only reinforce beliefs and assumptions you already own. And that is the opposite of learning!

Try to determine whether each statement sounds like a fact or an opinion, explain your answer.  Do this activity with a partner and write your answers on a one-half crosswise. Papers will be collected on Wednesday

  • 1. Cal Ripken Jr. never played any position other than shortstop and third base while in the majors; however, he was originally scouted as a pitcher.
    2. It is often said that you have to be a “dog” to be a catcher because the position brings with it a lot of injuries and wear and tear on the knees.
    3. I doubt if Cal Ripken Jr. would have ever set the record for consecutive games played (the Iron Man record) had he been a catcher for many games; not to mention the fact that the Orioles’ management should have their heads examined if they had put him in that position and risked ending that record breaking streak of 2,100+ straight games without missing one!
    4. People who are against smoking sound like Adolph Hitler, who had planned to ban smoking in Germany in order to promote the health of the Aryan race.
    5. Citizens should not view taxation as a penalty, but as an opportunity to pool their money to enhance their quality of life.
    6. Recently, Rover, the roaming robot on Mars, discovered bedrock and minerals that could have been the site of water on the planet.
    7. Politics is about illusions and revenge.
    8. On February 24, 1868, the House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson after he tried to dismiss Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of War, but the Senate later acquitted the president.
    9. Henry A. Kissinger, a former U.S. Secretary of State, once said, “Nothing is more difficult for Americans to understand than the possibility of tragedy.”
    10. School policies should allow for common sense when it comes to the six-year-old who brought toy swords to school.