It is important to have the right sources for a research paper in order to give support for your argument. That means you should incorporate a variety of sources, and they need to be valid and accurate. Now that you have selected a topic and developed a preliminary thesis statement, you are ready to conduct thorough research on your topic and organize your sources. As you collect your sources, you must make sure to gather all the information you need in order to cite them properly on a Works Cited page.

Once you have identified the sources you plan to use in your paper, create a preliminary Works Cited page that follows proper formatting guidelines. At this point in the writing process, it is possible that you may not incorporate every source directly into your paper, and you may even have to add to your list of sources later. But for now, your goal is to assemble an abundant list of relevant sources that will give you a solid foundation for composing your outline and first draft. Your preliminary Works Cited should have no fewer than five sources, two of which must be primary sources. To help ensure that your Works Cited includes a variety of evidence, please amend your Works Cited to include the notes you have collected from each source, whether they are summaries, paraphrases, or direct quotations of the information you have reviewed.

Before you begin, review the Preliminary Works Cited Checklist to make sure that you include all of the items required for full credit. If you need assistance in formatting your Works Cited page, visit the Developmental Module for information on citing resources.

Once you have completed your preliminary Works Cited page, please submit your work to the dropbox.