Notes on Note-Taking: Source Cards

As you will know by now, you'll be taking your research notes using the 3x5 card method. The first type of note card is the "source card." Consult your research paper packet for a full definition of what this is. You will need to consult your MLA Handbook in order to know how the source information needs to be recorded on your note card. Below, I am giving you examples of the three most common types of sources: a single book, an article from a periodical, and a document from the internet.

1. Single book source (see MLA, pg 147)
Tatar, Maria. Off With Their Heads! Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992.

2. An article in a periodical journal (see MLA, pg 180)
Mills, Jonathan. "The Moral Center in Ethan Frome," Edith Wharton Quarterly, 34 (1999): 205-215.

3. A document from the internet (see MLA, pg. 207)
Dane, Gabriel. 'Reading Ophelia's Madness," Exemplaria 10.2 (1998). 22 June 2002

Obviously, there are many variations on these three typical types of sources. You will likely need to repeatedly consult your MLA Handbook. Again, see Chapter 5.