Suppose you are reading an article on the history of Korea that covers the time period (1910—1945) when Korea was a colony of Japan. Your theme is "The Division of Korea at the End of World War II." You chose the article because of its title: "The Origins of Modern Korean Nationalism, 1890-1950." It turned up when you searched with the keywords "Korea AND History" in a database of scholarly journals. It seems logical that at the beginning of your paper you will probably mention what Korea was like before it became a colony of Japan. The research outline that you drew up when you began your library research should include this early period. See Creating a Research Outline.

What part of the article do you need to put down in your notes?

• As you read the article, pay special attention to any information about Korean nationalism that you might want to use in your paper. You can't be sure that you will use it, but it is better to take down too much information than too little.
• Write down this information on note cards, or type it into your computer in a file marked "Notes for Korea paper." In many instances, you will want to copy down more than one sentence. Take down as much information as you think you might need for your paper. Underline the important sentences if you have printed out a copy of the article.
• Be sure to copy down, along with the information you think you might use, exactly where it came from.
• In the case of a journal article, copy down the name of the author, title of the article, name of the journal, volume number of the journal (or date of publication of the issue you used), and page numbers where you found your information. If you use some of the information in your paper, you will need all of this information to put in a footnote or endnote.

FOR EXAMPLE: From the article, you copy down in your notes the fact that before 1910, when Korea became a colony of Japan, it had been under the cultural influence of China. Along with this sentence, you should write down all of the information that will enable you to find it again if you need to and to create a footnote or endnote in your paper. In this case, the publication information needed is Arthur Montgomery, "The Origins of Modern Korean Nationalism," Journal of Asian History, volume 36 (December, 1992), pages 16—30. See Documenting the Sources Used in Your Paper for an explanation of how to cite sources when you get to the stage of writing your paper.