Taking Notes

When taking notes for research, it is imortant to avoid plagiarism. I do this by first reading the article or portion of text I think will be relevant to my argument. I will read the paragraph, excerpt, or article and then paraphrase my reading. This way I can use ideas from my reading in my own paper in my own words, not the words of the author. When I plan to use a solid fact, such as a statistic or date, from my reading, it must be copied down immediately. I am always sure not to copy the syntax of the sentence and only the straight facts. It is so easy to accidentally plagiarize.