Ch. 6: Taking Notes. Ch. 7: Avoiding Plagiarism.

Ch. 6
I learned a lot from Ch. 6 about the way I should be taking notes while researching my topic. There are many ways to take notes, electronically or by hand, but these notes must be taken systematically and consistently in order to be useful. Notes give your reaction to your sources and can include comparisons among sources and personal thoughts to be later used in your document. You can use direct quotes in your notes, using the passage marked by quotations, its source, and the page number where the quotation is. Using only a part of quote can be done in your notes using an ellipsis: ( . . . ) Brackets can be used in quotations when you are modifying it. The word "sic" can be used in a passage that you are quoting containing a misspelled word or an incorrect fact, indicating the error. Paraphrasing must still be cited as well, since you are getting information from a source.
When it comes to summarizing, you have a concise statement of information in a source and must have a citation. You should summarize rather than mirror the language/sentence structure. When writing notes, you can compare sources by identifying the relationships amongst your ideas and information. These notes give you great direction (when done correctly) in starting your paper.
Ch. 7
If you establish good notes - a good starting place, you can avoid plagiarism quite easily. Most cases of unintentional plagiarism result from poor note taking or failure to use your notes properly. There is much to distinguish and establish when using outside sources while writing your paper. Research ethics come from the idea that writing "is an honest exchange of information, ideas, & arguments, among writers and readers who share an interest in an issue." This chapter helped me to realize how to note common knowledge and note that in which is more in depth so that I can cite them properly.