Buy and organize your supplies. When deciding how to make a note card for a research paper, you will need a pack of 4 by 6 inch note cards, a case to put them in. You can also find a cheap small photo album to store the cards in, index dividers or tabs and writing instruments (pencil, pen and highlighter) at a number of retail locations.
Complete your index dividers. Standard writing will include an outline, thesis, subheadings, conclusions and resources/references section. Depending on your topic, you can add more sections to place notes under as you need them.
Write everything down so that you can erase or change it. When deciding how to make a note card for a research paper, writing notes in pencil at first is important if your outlook changes because of new facts or figures you find. After you are positive by double checking all the information then you can mark them down in pen, highlighting any key points.
Write down your resources/references immediately. Label these cards either numerically or alphabetically--for example, 1 through 10 or A through F. Make a small mark next to the facts you refer to on your note cards that will tell you what resource card the reference is listed on. This will save any last minute scrambling of trying to figure out where you can prove a statement you have made.
Organize as you go. It is important you place the notes under their correct tabs to stay on top of your details through the whole writing process. This is especially important when you are working on the final draft. You will be thankful you learned how to make a note card for a research paper and how to put them all together correctly.