2.15 Index Cards – And Beyond

Chapter 2 presented a method for scaffolding writing. The method uses index cards to build a scaffold which provides a manuscript’s detailed outline. Table 2-5 lists the method’s nine steps for your ease. Appendix I presents an example scaffold for a short essay.

The Table 2-5 method uses index cards to scaffold writing. Other writers have also proposed using index cards to help outline a writing project (Atchity, 1995; Butler & Burroway, 2005). How does the method described in Chapter 2 relate to other methods?

Let us focus on one method which has been described in detail (Atchity, 1995). Atchity’s primary focus involves helping writers manage their time, and index cards play an important role. His ‘card system’ is used to scaffold a writer’s initial research phase; index cards produced from such research are then used to organize the structure of a manuscript and scaffold its first draft.

Atchity’s (1995) card system uses 5” X 7” index cards. The system begins with a large collection of blank cards; the number of cards in the collection is based on the desired length of the manuscript to be written. Atchity suggests each page of the manuscript will be scaffolded by four index cards.

The first phase of Atchity’s (1995) card system involves library research, which begins with a planned usage of only half of the blank cards. What does the researcher record on their blank cards? The content can be quite varied. “Some cards will be quotations you read, copied out word for word; others will be summaries of what you read; still others will be your own ideas that occur to you while browsing, ideas about your subject or your book’s structure” (Atchity. 1995, p. 78).

When library research is complete research along different lines can proceed. Atchity (1995) suggests conducting interviews as one kind of research; if interviews are conducted, then blank cards will be filled with a participant’s main points.

The next phase of Atchity’s (1995) card system involves evaluating the index cards produced by the research. Evaluation begins by going through the collected cards one by one, deciding whether to keep the card or not. “Is this card good or not? Your aim is to throw away the ones that aren’t” (Atchity, 1995, p. 82). The goal of evaluation is to remove cards.

The next phase of Atchity’s (1995) card system is to organize the cards which remain after evaluation. You read the cards and sort them in a ‘natural order’ based on card content. You take all the remaining cards and read the first. It is placed in its own pile. You then read the next card to decide whether it belongs to an existing pile or should instead be placed in a new pile. You continue until all your research cards have been assigned to piles. Later, you repeat the process, moving pile to pile, considering whether a card should stay in a pile or be moved to another. In general, this phase groups content-related cards into the same pile. Atchity aims to use each pile to create one section or chapter of the to-be-written manuscript.

With research cards assigned to content-related piles, the next phase is to process each pile. One activity in this phase is to reorder cards in a pile, sorting a pile’s cards into a natural order based on their content. Another activity is to sort the order of the piles to plan the structure (e.g., chapter order) of the manuscript.

The final phase of Atchity’s (1995) card system is to use the processed piles of cards as a scaffold for the first draft. Each pile has been sorted in a plausible order, and Atchity expects each manuscript page to be based on four research cards. So, writing the first draft means beginning with the first four cards from the first pile. You write what you need from Card 1 and then move on to the next card.

While the sorted research cards scaffold the first draft, Atchity (1995) is comfortable with abandoning them as writing proceeds. “Don’t worry if you stop relying on the cards at any point; remember, they’re only crutches: the real book is inside you” (Atchity, 1995, p. 86).

On the one hand, Atchity’s (1995) card system takes advantage of many affordances offered by index cards and used in my method (Section 1.8). Index card ‘writability’ and ‘portability’ are important for conducting research. ‘Readability’ and ‘expendability’ are critical when you decide whether to keep a research card. ‘Arrangeability’, ‘groupability’ and ‘readability’ permit you to create piles of research cards organized into some natural order.

On the other hand, important differences exist between the two methods. In Atchity’s (1995) card system cards do not correspond to paragraphs but instead serve as research notes. All cards cannot be viewed simultaneously, but are instead examined in succession, because they are collected in stacks or piles. Cards are not used to directly scaffold paragraphs (because cards are not the source of topic or concluding sentences). Cards offer weak scaffolding, because they can be ignored when using card material to inspire writing of the first draft. Finally, cards help structure the order of contents, but do not alleviate the ‘myth of inspiration’ if creating the first draft requires the writer to produce new, full sentences for the first time.

From the perspective of embodied cognition, differences between my method and Atchity’s (1995) card system are not important. I believe my method is better suited to academic writing, but others might find Atchity’s more appropriate for their writing needs. The methods may differ, but both indicate index cards can scaffold writing.

However, other scaffolds are available. For instance, the Table 2-5 method requires you to begin by generating broad topics. To many writers, generating topics might offer as great a challenge as facing the blank page. Chapter 3 offers other scaffolds to help you generate topics when you begin your scaffold with Step 1 of the Table 2-5 method.