Raschilla - ENG 101 - English Composition 1 - LibGuides at Springfield Technical Community College

Assignment

Read one of the short stories (or watch the movie assigned to your group).

Within those, look for a topic that is still relevant in our 21st Century.

Make a claim to that effect. Using the type essay writing type assigned, state your opinion supported by reference material that must come from the STCC Library reference guide for English 101. You will broaden your knowledge using databases such as Issues and Controversies, CQ Researcher, and others.

Library Resources

Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window
Designed for students who are researching controversial topics, Opposing Viewpoints includes thousands of articles examining all sides of today's hottest social issues.
Gale In Context: Biography This link opens in a new window
Combines biographies of more than 380,000 people with related full-text articles from magazines and newspapers, images, and links to selected websites.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive resource for up-to-date literary analysis, biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism, and reviews on more than 130,000 writers and their works in all disciplines, from all time periods, and from around the world.
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
This multi-disciplinary database provides full text articles to many journals and magazines, including peer-reviewed or scholarly titles. Academic Search Complete includes nearly every area of academic study such as the social sciences, natural science and more.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Access to more than 350 reference titles, including encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, and atlases in all major subjects. Also, Credo Reference offers a visual map of research using their Concept Map in addition to other tools.
Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
Hundreds of educational films in dozens of academic disciplines.

O*NET
http://www.onetonline.org/

Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/

Massachusetts Career Information System
https://masscis.intocareers.org/materials/portal/home.html

MyBib
MyBib is a free, online tool for creating, formatting, and organizing citations for research papers.

STCC Library Citation Guide
STCC Library's Guide to MLA formatting and citation
Purdue OWL
The Online Writing Lab from Purdue University

Search Strategy

1. What are the main concepts of your topic and what keywords might you use when searching?

Example topic: Does playing violent video games lead to violent behavior in adolescents? Key concepts are in bold.

Other possible keywords: Media violence, aggression, popular culture, teenagers or youth, psychological aspects, social aspects.

Modify your search strategy after you begin searching. Use the power of the databases (limiters, suggested subjects, and more) to further develop your search. Use broader concepts when searching the online catalog for books.

2. Determine what information you need. Follow your instructor's syllabus carefully. Ask yourself the following questions:

How many sources do I need? (Did your instructor give you a number?)
What types of sources do I need? (Books? Articles? Websites?)

3. Get background information on your topic. Use our online reference databases, listed on the left, to gather information on the broader context of your topic. This preliminary research will also help identify more keywords for searching.

TIP: Start early! You can try using the Search Planning Worksheet below from Middlesex Community College, and this Assignment Calendar from the University of Minnesota.

Search Planning Worksheet