The schedule below assumes you will receive your assignment in Week 1 or Week 2. Check with your instructor or your librarian for advice on adjusting this schedule if you get your assignment after Week 2.
Step 1: Get Started
WHEN? Quarter: Weeks 1-2 / Summer Session (6-week): Week 1
- Read and understand the assignment
- Ask your instructor if you need clarification
STEP 2: Pick and focus your topic; write a hypothesis or argument
WHEN? Quarter: Weeks 2-3 / Summer Session (6-week): Week 2
- Choose a topic
- Brainstorm topic search words
- Narrow or broaden your topic
STEP 3: Design research strategy and choose useful information sources
WHEN? Quarter: Weeks 2-3 / Summer Session (6-week): Week 2
- Check the flow of information
- Select an appropriate type of information source
Step 4: Use encyclopedias to get a topic overview
WHEN? Quarter: Weeks 4-5 / Summer Session (6-week): Week 3
Step 5: Find useful books
WHEN? Quarter: Weeks 4-5 / Summer Session (6-week): Week 3
STEP 6: Find useful periodical (magazine, journal, newspaper) articles
WHEN? Quarter: Weeks 4-7 / Summer Session (6-week): Weeks 3 -4
- Search the UCLA Library Catalog for periodical titles in the UCLA Library (e.g., Journal of African History)
- Use the VPN for off-campus (UCLA students, staff and faculty only) access to licensed resources
- Request a FREE copy of an article UCLA does not own via Interlibrary Loan (UCLA students, staff and faculty only)
STEP 7: Find authoritative, accurate, complete, and up to date web sites
WHEN? Quarter: Weeks 4-7 / Summer Session (6-week): Weeks 4-5
STEP 8: Outline paper
WHEN? Quarter: Weeks 5-7 / Summer Session (6-week): Week 4
STEP 9: Analyze, compare, and contrast the evidence, come to your own conclusions, and write first draft
WHEN? Quarter: Weeks 7-9 / Summer Session (6-week): Weeks 4-5
STEP 10: Conduct additional research, if necessary
WHEN? During any term, periodically reevaluate, and repeat Steps 4-7, as needed
STEP 11: Revise and rewrite
WHEN? Quarter: Weeks 8-9 / Summer Session (6-week): Weeks 5-6
STEP 12: Put paper in final form
WHEN? Quarter: Week 10 / Summer Session (6-week): Week 6
Why do I need to cite?
- To provide evidence to support your argument
- So that others can locate your research evidence, review it, and form their own opinions about …
- whether or not your conclusions are correct
- whether or not you considered the most important evidence in your research area
Select the citation style you want to use. See Citing & Writing for links to examples.