Preliminary thesis: Dogs make superior companion animals.

Proving the thesis:

• What do I already know about companion animals?

• Where can I verify that information in print?

• What do I still need to find out?

• What will I need to cover to prove my thesis?

Thesis: Dogs make superior companion animals.

II. Popularity of Dogs

A. Most Popular Breeds

B. Why Dogs are preferred

I. Benefits of Pets

A. General

B. Dogs

III. Background on Companion Animals

A. Various Types

B. Methods of Training

IV. Why Dogs are SuperiorClick here to return to

sample internet note card

Click here to return to sample book note card

Begin finding sources

Source #1: http://www.helpguide.org/aging/pets.htm

Step One: Read over it to see if it’s useful

Step Two:

• Make a source card by determining the following:• What kind of source is this? Is it a book,

magazine, web site? Is it something else?• If it is a web site, ask: am I using the entire web

site or a page within the web site?• Include: author, title of site, title of page, last

update, URL, date of your visit, any organizations or corporations responsible.

On your source card, set up the required information exactly as you would on a Works Cited Page. If it is a book, set it up like a book. If it

is a magazine, set it up like a magazine. Then, put a number in

the top right corner.

The Source Card should look like this:

#

Bibliographic information done in MLA format.

Assign ←each source a number.

Source 1

“Pets: Friends for Life.” Helpguide. 4 Nov. 2004. Rotary Club of Santa Monica. 25 Feb 2005. <http://www.helpguide.org/ aging/pets.htm>

Example of a Source Card:

Click here to return to sample internet

note card

Remember: Do not take ANY notes until a source card is completed!

Step Three:

Take your first note from the source by following these steps in this order:

1. What number is in the top right corner of the source card? Write that same number on the top right corner of every note from that source.

2. What part of your outline does this note refer to? Write that outline topic on the top left corner of the note card.

3. Write a short note in the center of the card. It should only be 1-2 sentences. Do not fill the entire card or go on the back.

4. If it is a quotation (anything you copied word for word) then put quotation marks around it.

5. Put a page number in the bottom right corner. If it is a web site or film, write “internet” or “film” etc. instead.

Set up the note card this way:

Outline topic Source card #

Note: No more than 1-3 sentences about the same topic on the outline. Keep it brief. Use quotation marks if word for word!

Page # of book or type of

source ←

Before taking a note, decide which part of the outline it refers to and write it here: ↓

Whatever number is assigned to the source card should be written here: ↓

The note itself goes here. →

It should never be so long that the back of the note card is used.

If using a book, write the page number. If not, write what kind of source it is.

Sample Note Cards from a Web Site

Direct Quote: Something copied word for word, or verbatim, without any

paraphrasing. No more than 1/3 of the notes should be direct quotes.

1

“Veterinarians, physicians, and online references . . . agree that people who have pets. . . suffer less from depression and stress.”

Benefits of Pets

internet

Paraphrased: The author has put the material into his or her own words. This is the preferred

method of note-taking because now the author understands the material, and is ready to use it in

the paper.

There are many advantages to having a pet, including physical benefits like healthier blood pressure and less doctor visits.

1Benefits of Pets

internet

If the direct quote note card is used in the research paper, it will look like this:

Derck 4

Many studies and surveys have been done exploring whether pets owners really have any benefit over non-pet owners other than companionship. Today, there is serious research that indicates that owning a pet is downright healthy. In fact, “veterinarians, physicians, and online references . . . agree that people who have pets. . . suffer less from depression and stress” (“Pets: Friends for Life”).

Paper always has 1” margins all

around.→

↓

Every page should be

numbered in top right corner

Sample Note Cards from a Book

Source 2

Callahan, Greg. Training Your Companion Pet. New York: Doubleday, 2003.

When choosing a dog to train, look for breeds that are bred to please humans, such as working dogs or hunting dogs. These types include golden retrievers, border collies, and Australian Shepherds. These dogs can be trained quickly

and without

relying too

heavily on

food rewards.

137

Popularity/background? 2

Working dogs make good companion pets because they are easy to train and work hard to please people.

page 137

Note card looks like this:

Derck 3

Working dogs make good companion pets because they are easy to train and work hard to please people (Callahan 137). Since working dogs are used to being active all day, the owner will need to make sure the pets get a lot of exercise (“Pets: Friends for Life”).

When the previous note card is used in the research paper, it will look like this:

Derck 5

Works Cited

Callahan, Greg. Training Your Companion Pet. New York: Doubleday, 2003.

“Pets: Friends for Life.” Helpguide. 4 Nov. 2004. Rotary Club of Santa Monica. 25 Feb 2005. <http://www.helpguide.org/aging/pets.htm>

All the parenthetical citations refer the reader to a Works Cited page that looks like this:

When the paper is finished, take the source cards, put them in alphabetical order, and type the Works Cited page, using MLA

format.

Now you are ready to take notes! Remember to take FIVE notes from FIVE sources. Refer to your first handout to make sure you are using all of the required sources.

Refer to this web site (scroll down to ADDING A WORKS CITED PAGE IN MLA FORMAT) for more help on how to set up your source cards:

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/mla_citation1_howto.pdf

Remember-this paper is written in MLA format!! There are many other formats out there. Always look for MLA.