How to Organize Notecards for a History Paper

When writing a research paper for a history class, it is important to take notes in the most constructive way. Many students find that using note cards for their notes greatly increases their ability to organize them (and many teachers require them for that reason). The following are some strategies for organizing these note cards to be most successful on your paper.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Index cards (note cards)
• Sources
• Pen/pencil

1. Understand the nature of your assignment. Are you merely supposed to describe a historical event, or do you need to develop a thesis? How long should the final paper be? What kinds of sources do you need? How many are required? If you do not understand any of these elements of the assignment, meet with your teacher so that you do not spend time working on the assignment with incorrect information.

2. Narrow your note-taking focus. You should know what categories of information you need to fulfill the assignment. For example, if your paper will argue that privateering was integral to the success of the American colonies, you might sort and number the information into categories such as:1. History of privateering globally2. Development of colonial privateers3. Privateering during the Revolution

3. Write a series of questions for each category that you need to answer in your paper. For example, the questions for category 2 above might read: When did privateering first begin in the colonies? Who became privateers? How did they get their ships? Who financed them? How were they regulated?

4. Refer to your list of questions as you begin to take notes. If the information you plan to use does not directly answer one of these questions, it is outside the scope of your assignment.

5. Write the question it answers when you do find a relevant piece of information, as well as the number of the category, at the top. For example: When did privateering first begin in the colonies? (2) Then write your fact below. If you have different-colored note cards, you could also use a different color for the different categories (for example, every fact for category 2 would be on a blue note card).

6. Keep a separate note card for each of your sources with relevant bibliographical information. Label the sources A, B, C and so forth. On each fact note card, write the source letter and page number at the bottom (for example, "Source A, page 21").

7. Keep your note cards in an index-card holder. Keep them sorted by category, with the source cards at the back.

Tips & Warnings

• Unless you are color-coding your categories, use the same color note card for all notes so you do not get confused. Also, make sure the note cards are the same size so they are easier to grasp.
• Many teachers, particularly at the middle school level, provide a required format for students' note cards. If you wish to use any of these suggestions over, or in addition to, your teacher's requirements, you should obviously get permission beforehand.