Writing Homework Help

This assignment is meant to help you become familiar with the library’s online resources and how to cite sources. Go to the library’s website: lib.fit.edu and click on the drop-down menu “Search and Find” to select “Databases.” Do NOT just start typing into the search bar on the main page of their website. 

1. You need to search in the Databases section to find articles rather than books. You will now be on the A-Z Databases page and you can use the drop-down menu on that page to find databases by subject – select Arts & Communication.  From this list, choose one of the following databases to search in: Academic Search Complete, Bloom’s Literature, JSTOR, Literature Resource Center, or ProQuest. 

You will be searching for sources about the writer Yusef Komunyakaa and his poem “Facing It” which appears in your Bedford textbook in the “Poetry and Visual Arts” section (the glossy pages in the middle of the book, pages H & I). Read the poem and view the image of the memorial in your textbook first before completing the assignment below. 

• Do an advanced search in one of the five databases listed above using the author’s last name and the title of the poem as keywords. Tell me which database you used.
• How many results did you find?
• Now narrow your search results to just journal articles (not book reviews or chapters or other types of sources). Some databases might use the terms “peer reviewed” or “literature criticism” or “scholarly journal” so choose those options. How many sources are listed now?
• Pick one of the sources that you found that seems most relevant and type the full citation for it using MLA format. [NOTE: If you did not find any sources then you need to either use a different database or try different keywords because you must find something to cite in order to complete this part of the assignment.] Cite the source as an article in a scholarly journal. To help you format it properly, follow the directions and examples on this website: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_periodicals.html (Links to an external site.)  — Scroll down to the section “AN ARTICLE IN A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL” 
• Now do the search again in a different one of the databases from the list. Compare your results. Tell me which database you used the second time. Which of the two produced more results?  Which one produced more relevant results (for example, results that were clearly about the author and his poem rather than a different person with that name or something that appears unrelated to the author)?

2. You will be searching in the Databases section again to find articles. Select Arts & Communication under databases by subject and pick one of the following databases to search in: Academic Search Complete, Bloom’s Literature, JSTOR, Literature Resource Center, or ProQuest. 

Now you will be searching for sources about something else from the “Poetry and Visual Arts” section of your Bedford textbook. From this section, choose one of the other poems + images (i.e. American Gothic, Girl Powdering Her Neck, Two Monkeys, House by the Railroad, or The Milkmaid). Read the poem and view the image in your textbook first before completing the assignment below. 

• Do an advanced search in one of the five databases listed above using the author’s last name and the title of the poem as keywords. Tell me which database you used and which keywords you typed.
• How many results did you find?
• Now narrow your search results to just journal articles (not book reviews or chapters or other types of sources). Some databases might use the term “peer reviewed” or “literature criticism” or “scholarly journal” so choose those options. How many sources are listed now?
• Pick one of the sources that you found that seems most relevant and type the full citation for it using MLA format. [NOTE: If you did not find any sources then you need to either use a different database, try different keywords, or choose a different poem/author because you must find something to cite in order to complete this part of the assignment.] Cite the source as an article in a scholarly journal. To help you format it properly, follow the directions and examples on this website: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_periodicals.html (Links to an external site.)  — Scroll down to the section “AN ARTICLE IN A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL” 

3. Go back to the library’s main page on their website: lib.fit.edu and click on the drop-down menu “Search and Find” to select “Library Catalog.” Do NOT just start typing into the search bar on the main page of their website. 

This will allow you to search the books in Evans Library.  Begin by searching for books by or about James Joyce and answer the following:

• On what floor can you find books on Joyce in Evans Library?  This is listed in the entries for the results that come up during your search. 
• How many results did you find? What is the Call Number for the first result that is listed?   
• Narrow your results by clicking on the option for “History and Criticism.” You’ll see that option at the top above the results. How many results are there now? 
• Click on the entry for the book by Robert M. Polhemus. Write a full citation for it using MLA format. To help you format it properly, follow the directions and examples on this website: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_books.html (Links to an external site.)  — Scroll down to the section “BOOK WITH ONE AUTHOR”

4. Now do a new search in the Library’s Catalog for books by or about Alice Walker and answer the following:

• Are there more books in the library about Walker or Joyce?
• Give the Call Number for a book that is by or about Alice Walker. What year was it published?

5. Do a new search in the Library’s Catalog again, but this time look up Kate Chopin. You will notice a book that comes up in this search that also came up in the search for Alice Walker.

• What is the Call Number for that book? 
• What year was it published? 
• Is it listed as currently available at Evans Library or is it checked out?