Literatures in English Research Guide

To explore possible paper topics, look at online news sites like NPR, the BBC, or the New York Times, professional organizations in your chosen discipline, Wikipedia, or check out this Idea Generator for a list of possible topics organized by subject.

Here are some other sites that might help get you choose a topic: 

Times Topics Each topic page collects all the news, reference and archival information, photos, graphics, audio and video files published in the New York Times on thousands of topics going back to 1981. 

ProCon.org is also a good place to look for information on controversial topics. Many of the articles link to government websites that contain statistics and other useful information. 

Internet Public Library collects internet resources and organizes them by subject

Remember, however, that although these are great places to go to get ideas for a topic, they may not be appropriate sources to use for your paper. 

In order to find journal or magazine articles, you have search in the library's databases. These databases provide access to thousands of different journals on just about every subject imaginable.

• The first step is to find a database that has journals in your subject area. Take a look at the library's subject page and choose a subject. Here, you will find a list of databases and other resources that are relevant to that subject. Click on a database name to search it directly.

• If you're unsure of your subject, or just want to see what's out there, try Academic Search Complete. This database covers lots of topics and is a great place to start for just about any subject. (click on "Go to this Database" for more precise searching).

Recommended Databases (Fresno State log in required):

• Academic Search Complete is a database that covers lots of topics and is a great place to start for just about any subject. Be sure to check the box next to "Scholarly/Peer Reviewed Journals" if you do not want to include popular magazines (for more info on the difference between popular and scholarly journal articles, click here).
   
• CQ Researcher provides in-depth, fully cited summaries of popular and controversial issues written by seasoned journalist with links to scholarly articles, reports, and newspaper articles.
   
• Opposing Viewpoints in Context a good place to begin exploring different perspectives on a topic and getting ideas for your paper. I would not recommend limiting your search to this database only. You'll want to explore others for scholarly academic articles. 

Don't limit your search to these databases. There are many others that you can find using this page which organizes databases by subject. 

With Google, use site:edu, site:org, and site:gov to limit your search to educational, organization, or government sites.

Example: dogs site:edu

Do a search using the big blue search box on the library's home page

Once you find a book, check to see that it says AVAILABLE. If so, jot down the location and call number. Or, you can text it to yourself. 

To find out more about looking for books, take a look at this page.

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities.

If you are asked to use MLA format, be sure to consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Publishing scholars and graduate students should also consult the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing

Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue This site from the Purdue Online Writing Lab offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, annotated bibliographies and the Works Cited page. It also provides information about the writing process, internet literacy, literary analysis and criticism, English as a Second Language, and APA Style.