In spite of teachers' misgivings and students' complaints, the research paper remains one of the most common assignments in undergraduate college writing programs across the country. In addition, much of the writing that students are expected to produce in courses across the curriculum requires them to locate and use research material. Most writing teachers would agree that successful writers must be able to gather, interpret, integrate, and acknowledge material from a variety of sources, but many teachers are disappointed in their students' responses to research paper assignments and disillusioned about their abilities to teach students these critical processes.