Home: Follow the Reader: Senior Seminar in Research Writing (ENG 395): Context & Background Tools

Why should I use them?

The tools will help you with close reading of scholarly articles and books when you need to understand an unfamiliar concept, trace the meaning and use of a word in time and literary texts, or get an insight of experts' opinion on your topic.

Encyclopedias
They provide authoritative overviews and context of a topic, important terminology and concepts. The authors are experts in the field, primarily researchers and academics. The articles provide major works on the topic, chronology and topics for future research.
Oxford English Dictionary
(OED) is a general language dictionary with in-depth descriptions of words etymologies and usage. The Library subscribes to the online edition

Look Up Terms

Other Reference Sources

Glassary of Literary Terms

Murfin, Ross C.Ray, Supryia M.The Bedford Glossary Of Critical And Literary Terms. Boston : Bedford/St. Martins, 2009.

Hawthorn, Jeremy. A Glossary Of Contemporary Literary Theory. London : Arnold ; 2000. Print.

Online Source from Purdue Online Writing Lab

Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism

Follow the Reader: Senior Seminar in Research Writing (ENG 395): Context & Background Tools

Why should I use them?

Look Up Terms

Other Reference Sources

Glassary of Literary Terms

Online Source from Purdue Online Writing Lab

Single Text Reference Sources