- Examine your sources and take notes
- Answer your research question to create a thesis statement OR revise your thesis statement based on your research
Introduction
Now that you feel comfortable with the sources that you gathered, it is time to begin the writing process. For a research assignment, the first step in this process will be to take good notes on your sources that you can use.
Examine your sources and take notes
You will need to read your sources from beginning to end. Particularly with academic sources, you should consider reading your source to ensure comprehension of the content before taking notes.
Once you understand the text, begin taking notes. According to the University of Reading, “good note-taking…
- enables you to avoid unintentional plagiarism
- helps you to focus on what is important in what you are reading or hearing
- helps you to understand and remember material, and make connections
- helps you to structure the assignments you're researching”1
There are many ways to accomplish the goals of good note-taking. It is important to find a method that works for you. The Hunter College Reading and Writing Center explains and demonstrates its note-taking system here. Using notecards is another method.
Use quotes, paraphrases, and summaries to avoid plagiarism
It is easy to accidentally plagiarize when taking notes. By the time you sit down to write your paper, you may not remember which words were yours and which words came directly from your sources. By properly creating quotes, paraphrases, and summaries while taking notes, you can avoid plagiarizing your sources. Learn how with the instructions in the “Paraphrase, Summary, and Direct Quotation” handout from the Writing Center at Methodist University.
Answer your research question to create a thesis statement OR revise your thesis statement based on your research
After reading your sources and writing your notes, you are ready to revisit your research question or thesis statement.
Research Question
Based on what you’ve learned from your research, you should be able to answer your research question. This answer will become the thesis of your assignment.
Thesis statement
With a thesis statement, you may find that you need to revise it based on what you learned about your topic.
After you have addressed those questions, you can begin outlining or describing the structure of your assignment.
1“Study Advice: Effective Note-taking,” University of Reading, accessed August 13, 2015, https://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/studyadvice/StudyResources/Reading/sta-effective.aspx