Paper writing Toolkit

To do well on an assignment, you must understand it completely. This guide and worksheet will help you analyze and understand your assignment.

Selecting a good topic (if you don't already have one assigned) can make a huge difference in how easy or difficult it is to find good information. This section of the LOBO tutorial gives helpful advice on selecting and adjusting your paper topic.

Sometimes things like research and writing take longer than you think. Use the Assignment Calculator to create your own timeline so that you can finish your paper in time.

What kind of resources do you need for your paper? The most common items needed for research papers are books and scholarly articles.

• FIND BOOKS: Search the library catalog to find books
• FIND ARTICLES: Select a Database to Search for Articles

These two tools show you how to find out if the journal with the article you want is at the library, and how to get a copy of the article.

If you have a few days, use TripSaver and we’ll get the article for you from another library (free)

Ask a Librarian—we’ll help you in the library, or by phone, chat or email.

This section of the LOBO tutorial has tips on how to use and integrate information--by quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasng.

There are many ways to organize your paper. This guide gives some great tips and suggestions for different organizational approaches.

NC State has a writing tutorial service to help with writing or editing your paper. They will meet with you in person to read your paper and give you feedback. They also have lots of online tips about writing and grammar.

When you revise your paper you focus on broad issues like audience and organization. Editing your paper is when you focus on details like grammar and spelling. These two guides help you do both.

The Unity Lab on the second floor of D.H. Hill Library has Word. Other Unity Labs on campus also have Word.

The Citation Builder will format your references in the correct style (APA, MLA, or CBE).

Use Refworks, an easy online tool to create your paper’s bibliography.