This tutorial teaches students how to write research papers and properly cite sources. It outlines the writing process, which includes reading sources, creating an outline, writing drafts, revising for clarity and flow, editing for grammar and style, and compiling a works cited list. Students learn why citation is important, when to cite, and how to format citations in MLA style. Following these steps will guide students through writing assignments and integrating research ethically.

1. RESEARCH 101
This is a self-paced tutorial to provide you with the necessary
skills to find and use information and to evaluate and use it
wisely for writing research papers and essays.
You will learn how to answer this question:
1. How do I write and cite my paper?

2. Writing and Citing
Now that you have gathered and evaluated your search results, you are ready
to start writing your assignment.
• This final step, which will include many drafts of your
paper, will incorporate your findings and cite the sources
you used. After completing this section you will be able to:
• Better understand the writing process
• Properly cite your sources

3. Writing your assignment
Use the steps below as a guide when writing your paper:
• Read and review
• Create an outline
• Writing the draft
• Revise the draft
• Edit and proofread
• Compile your sources

4. Read and Review
• Before creating an outline, make sure you understand
what you will be writing about. Read, review, and take
notes on the information you compiled, start gathering
your thoughts and formulate ideas you would like to
present in your assignment.

5. Create an outline
• Use this step to roughly organize your thoughts that will
give direction to your assignment. Group your ideas and
your notes on various aspects of your topic. Your outline
should include:
• Introduction: main ideas, context, research question or thesis
• Body: support for each main idea, answer to research question
• Conclusion: summary of main ideas, recommendations for further
research, how your research question or thesis can be applied,
your opinions

6. Writing the draft
• In your first draft, you are looking for a flow of ideas:
• Write non-stop using your outline as a guide. Do not worry about
grammar or spelling at this point.
• See if you have a logical progression of ideas or arguments and
enough supporting material

7. Revise the draft
• Keep re-writing until you are satisfied with the logical flow
of your statements and your ideas are presented clearly
and concisely. Make sure:
• Language and tone are appropriate
• All ambiguous and technical terms are defined
• Each argument or statement is supported by relevant information

8. Edit your draft
• Now you are ready to focus on the grammar, spelling, and
style of your paper. Proofread for:
• Spelling mistakes
• Grammatical errors
• Use active verbs rather than passive verbs
• Make sure every sentence has a purpose and is meaningful.

9. Compile your sources
• Create a works cited page - a list of all the sources you
have used in preparing your assignment.
• It is written according to a standard format, at
Northwestern College we use the MLA (Modern Language
Association) format.
More about citing your sources in the next section

10. Citing your sources
This is an essential part of the academic writing process.
• Why cite?
• When to cite
• How to cite
• MLA style guide
• Plagiarism

11. Why cite?
• It is important to acknowledge the work and ideas of
others that you have used or have influenced your
thoughts. Citing sources is:
• Fundamental in academia
• Allows readers (and instructors) to follow up on your sources
• Adds credibility to your statements, opinions, ideas
• Demonstrates depth of research

12. When to cite
• Always cite your sources when you use someone's exact
words (quote) or ideas (paraphrase) found in books,
articles, interviews, movies, websites, anywhere.
• Or when you cite facts, statistics, events, dates, concepts
that are not common knowledge.

13. How to cite your sources (MLA)
• There are two ways to cite your sources:
Within your papers, as a direct quote or paraphrase:
Whitehead states that a terrorist group was
composed of “poor Egyptians from the impoverished
south of the country.” (Whitehead 133)
At the end of your paper, in the “Works Cited”
document:
Crowley, Michael. “The Moment.” Time 20
Sep. 2010: 15. Academic Premier. EBSCO.
Web. 6 Jan. 2011.

14. Citation Managers & Creators
Here are a couple of free resources that will help you correctly format your
citations:
• Noodletools.com
• NoodleBib MLA starter – saves work
• NoodleBib Express – quick citation
• Citationmachine.net
• ISBN lookup
• Fill-in forms for a variety of resources

15. Summary
• To help guide you through the writing process, follow
these steps:
• Read and review the information
• Create an outline to organize your ideas
• Write a rough draft for a flow of ideas
• Revise until ideas progress logically
• Edit and proofread your work
• Compile a works cited page
For more information on research or help with writing and citation you can:
Look at the Purdue University OWL website
See a peer tutor in the Writing Lab
Ask your librarian for help. Call extension 2304 or 2302 or email.
Congratulations! You have completed the tutorial!!