After an acquaintance with the sources of evidence is gained the necessity for some orderly method or system of taking notes becomes apparent. This is the next important step in argumentation. The investigator should not rely upon his memory. Notes should be taken on every source of evidence discussed in the preceding section. An idea rarely becomes our own until it has been expressed in our own words. As ideas on the subject for discussion occur to the debater’s mind they should be recorded in order that they may be at hand when required. Opinions expressed and information acquired in personal interviews should be recorded either during the interview or immediately after. It is preferable to devote one’s attention exclusively to an interview, and then record the results as soon as possible after its termination. Even the ideas expressed in personal letters and extracts from them should be written down by the student in order that he may have them in convenient form for reference. The futility of reading without taking notes is apparent at first thought. Notes should be taken at the time the reading is done. All important matters of fact and all quotable matters should be recorded during the reading. Even if a particular fact does not appear to bear directly on the phase of the subject under discussion, it should, nevertheless, be recorded. It may later prove to be valuable evidence.
The notes taken should be full and complete. This requirement applies to the substance of the material and not to its form. In most cases the reader should be able to condense the contents of a page into a few words. The point or points which the writer regarded as vital should be grasped by the reader and put down in a brief note. Statistics found in different places should be assembled and reduced to tabular form. The student must not only read, but he must think as well. New ideas, new combinations of circumstances, new relations made evident by grouping facts should all be carefully investigated and noted. Reading should be an intelligent process, not mere drudgery. The reader should assimilate, not merely store up, the knowledge gained from books.
In the recording of evidence the following rules should be strictly observed:
1. Use small cards or sheets of paper of uniform size.
A note-book or large sheets of paper should never be used. To do so is to invite confusion. With several points on one sheet of paper or in a note-book and recorded in the order in which they were found in the reading, the student is not left free to group the ideas or points to form his argument; no classification is possible, and the notes taken become mere masses of material. The best form in which to record material is by the use of the ordinary filing cards which may be obtained at almost any book store. These cards should be about three by five inches in size and of fairly heavy stock. Ruled cards with a red line at the top are the kind most frequently used. If these cards cannot be obtained, small pieces of paper of this same convenient size should be used.
2. Place only one fact or point on each card.
Never put more than one fact or point on the same card. Even though the facts to be recorded are intimately related in their present position, the reader should use a separate card for each. When the investigator is ready to use these facts the relation may be unimportant or may be entirely changed by the manner in which he wishes to use them. One statement may be used to support one argument, while another may be used to support an entirely separate argument. Furthermore, when this material is utilized in constructing the brief, the student must be left free to arrange his material in the most logical manner. To put more than one point on a card greatly hampers this work.
3. Write on only one side of the card.
The handling of these cards becomes a very awkward process if writing is placed on both sides. Otherwise the process is simplicity itself. To depart from this rule in a single instance may involve the loss of an important point of evidence. This point may remain forgotten on the back of a card used frequently.