English 151 Course Guide
Research guide for English 151: Works in English Literature
Prof. Nancy Foasberg
Bibliographer for English
- English Research Guides
- English Course Guides
- ENG 110 Course Guide
- ENG 120 Course Guide
- ENG 151 Course Guide
- ENG 165 Course Guide
- ENG 170 Course Guide
- ENG 251 Course Guide
- ENG 320 Course Guide
- ENG 333 Course Guide
- ENG 345 Course Guide
- ENG 391 Course Guide
- ENG 395 Course Guide
- ENG 399 Course Guide
- ENG 701 Course Guide
- ENG 724 Course Guide
- English Literature Subject Guides
Books
The CUNY Catalog
Searching Strategies
- Subject Begins With
- Search for the author's name to find books on that author. Write the last name first.
- Keyword in Subject
- Good for authors like Shakespeare with a lot of criticism
- Use the author's name and another word
- Try the title of a play, or the words Criticism and Interpretation
- Call Number Browsing
- Once you find a good book, look for others near it on the shelf.
- Most works on an author will be shelved together
- Try the same call number in the reference section (Level 3), too.
Articles
Please see our list of databases. Once you are there, you can select the subject that you are searching (in this case, English). There are several databases listed there, but I recommend MLA International Bibliography.
MLA International Bibliography
The most important database for English literature, and the best place to start.
- Contains most of the content in JSTOR and Project MUSE and more
- Offers the best search options
- Name of Work
- Allows you to search by title of play, novel or other work
- Person--About
- Allows you to search for all criticism on the works of one author
Useful if you are interested in comparing two works, or if there are multiple works with similar titles - Keyword
- The best way to search for themes, character names, etc.
Other Databases
- JSTOR
- Full text access to journals in a wide variety of fields
- Literature Resource Center
- A good source for background and biographical information
- Project MUSE
- A good secondary database that uses the same subject headings as the CUNY Catalog
Search Tips
Boolean Operators
These are the commands that will help you build better searches.
- AND
- This is the default search between the boxes and finds documents containing both the words you have entered. Use it to link different concepts in your search (The Tempest AND Caliban) that are usually placed in two separate boxes.
- OR
- Use this within a box. Finds documents containing either of the words you have entered. Use to search for synonyms (like this: disguise or illusion or transform*). Articles about disguise, articles about illusion, and articles about transformation will all show up.
Other Operators
* (asterisk) is called a wildcard. Use it to search for words with a particular stem. For instance, use “monst*” to search for documents referencing monsters, monstrosity, monstrousness and other words beginning with this stem.
Limiting Searches
MLA allows you to limit your search to items that have particular characteristics. These are some of the options are available on the Advanced Search Screen.
- Date range searching
- Limits to a particular type of item (e.g. articles only, or no dissertation abstracts)
- Specific language searching (e.g. English only)
Full Text
MLA International Bibliography, like some other databases, does not include full text. To get the full text of an article, you need to use Find It. Here are some options you may see:
- Full Text Online
- Click the link. Sometimes you may need to browse to the appropriate volume and issue.
- CUNY has a copy
- The article is in print somewhere in CUNY. The link will take you to the record in the CUNY Catalog.
- Remember to check whether it is a book or journal article.
- If it is a journal article, check holdings information to make sure we have the volume and issue you want.
- If it is a book and it is held in another CUNY, choose Request Title to have it sent here.
- Request Item via Interlibrary Loan
- We don't have it, but we can get it for you. You will be giving a request form. Most information will be filled in automatically, but you will need to add the year.
- You need to sign up for an account first.
- Arrival time is between two days and two weeks.
- Go to Google Books
- Click to see the book article in Google Books. Keep in mind that this will NOT get you the entire book!
MLA Style
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed.
- Stacks (Call # A-L Level 4; Call # P-Z Level 5) - LB2369 .G53 2003
- Desk Reference Level 3 - LB2369 .G53 2003
- Online MLA Formatting and Style Guide from the OWL at Purdue
