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ENGL 201 (Wood)

MLA Style Guide

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Learn About the Authors

Introductory Video

Author Investigation: The Author and the Canon

Write a well-reasoned, thesis-driven argument paper in which you investigate an author with the purpose of making an argument about their continued inclusion in the Western Literary Canon.

Questions to consider: 

1. Does this author's work bring richness to the Western Literary Canon? In which way?

2. Does this author benefit and contribute to a modern academic conversation? In which way?

3. Does this author deserve to remain in the Western Literary Canon? Why?

Use your SURF ID & Password to access library databases & eBooks from off-campus.

Background & Reference Databases

Literature Databases

  • Gale Literature is an excellent database to access literary criticisms, work overviews, author biographies, etc. of works of literature. 
  • MagillOnLiterature Plus contains biographical essays of over 2,500 popular authors and their works, and writers of fiction, poetry, and drama. 
  • Literature Criticism contains full-text criticisms of drama, poetry and short stories.

Looking for More? Try These:

 

EBSCOhost: 30+ databases all in one: scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, ebooks, and more

  • Select checkbox for "Limit your Results" to search Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed/Academic Journal Articles. 

 

 

JSTOR: Search full-text scholarly journals and chapters from eBooks

Two ways to search Literature articles:

1. Narrow by discipline in the Advanced Search and check the box for Language & Literature.

2. Browse by Subject and select Language & Literature under the Humanities heading.

Scholarly Article Checklist:

A source is scholarly if:

  • Author is an expert in the subject and credentials are given, e.g. holds an MA or PhD, works at a university or research institute
  • Includes lengthy references or bibliography to show where the information came from
  • Author uses in-text citations when referring to the research, ideas or quotes of others
  • Presents findings from a research study, case study or in-depth analysis
  • Information is published in a scholarly source, e.g. a journal
  • Publisher (e.g. Elsevier) or organization (e.g. American Medical Association) produces scholarly work
  • Often includes tables, charts and graphs
  • Includes few to no advertisements, and advertisements are clearly labeled as advertisements
  • Articles will usually be long (8 pages or more)
  • Author will use technical or academic words