This research asks whether a competency-based curriculum designed to integrate information literacy, critical reading, and writing improves students' ability to critically read sources and then use source content for their own purposes. We hypothesized that critical reading-infused library instruction, course instruction, and curriculum support via peer consultation (intervention group) would positively impact students' critical reading facility and ability to synthesize sources into meaningful writing as opposed to students who do not receive this instruction (control group). Our research indicates a strong correlation between students' navigating a critical reading curriculum for a research project with self-selected texts and positive research-based writing outcomes for these courses. Students in the intervention group were more likely to be able to integrate source material effectively into their self-selected research-based projects than students in the control group.