The library maintains many subject guides to help the beginning researcher find useful materials, including guides to subject areas and particular formats.  The library may even have a custom guide specifically for this course or subject.

See especially the large collection of "How To" guides such as

• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Citing Sources in Research Papers
• Looking for Articles in Journals and Magazines: Scholarly or Popular?.

Many courses also place readings on course reserve, either electronic or hardcopy.  Electronic reserve readings may require an additional password. If your course uses ereserves, your professor will typically place a link to the ereserve information in Course Documents, along with any password you'll need.