Subject Guide: English Composition

Databases Reference Books Electronic Books Videos Websites Style Guides

Databases

This database examines great writers, important works, characters, and influential movements and events
Bloom's in world literature. Sections include writing help, topic and themes, and multimedia on authors, works and
Literary Reference eras.

Search this encyclopedia for quotations, selected eBooks, primary sources by either title or author, as well
Britannica Online
as a biographies section, which may be searched by topic, culture, era, or gender.

Gale Literary This resource includes Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, and Dictionary of Literary
Databases Biography.

An interactive skills tutor that assesses and builds critical thinking. Using an avatar, this session moves
iThink
users through a step-by-step process of organizing ideas and putting them on paper.

Full-text articles from scholarly journals and literary magazines are combined with critical essays, work and
Literature topic overviews, biographies, while supporting information literacy and critical-thinking skills.
Resource
Center/Gale

Literary Reference
Center

A step-by-step interactive feature aimed at helping students with critical thinking throughout the research
MyAnalysis process.

Note Organizer An interactive note-taking tool that helps with organizing your research.

NoveList A fiction database that provides subject heading access, reviews, annotations, and more for over 135,000
fiction titles.

Oxford Digital This collection of databases contains resources for American, British, and Children’s literature, as well as
Reference eras such as the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

Offers 678 profiles of major writers of long fiction throughout history and the world, and analyses of their
significant novels and novellas. Discusses the novel in overview essays by time period, country, ethnicity,
Salem Literature
and genre.

Provides information on architecture and design, culture, literature, multimedia, music, performing arts,
SIRS philosophy and religion, and visual arts.
Renaissance

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Reference Books

The Brief Penguin With exercises, visual guides and models for writing, research, and documentation, distinctive coverage of
Handbook writing for different purposes.
PE1408F25

College Reading & A developmental level reading and study text depicting reading as a process and providing concise
Study Skills instruction, skill application exercises, and exercises using textbook excerpts to contribute to success in
LB2395.3.M386 college.
A Manual for Subtitled, Chicago Style for Students and Researchers, this book provides a step-by-step process for
Writers of conducting research. Topics include the nature of research, taking notes, developing an argument, drafting
Research Papers, and revising, and presenting evidence with tables and figures.
Theses, and
Dissertations
LB2369.T8

Rules for Writers This resource provides help with academic writing and research and one that works for a wide range of
PE1408.H2773 multilingual students and helps solve writing problems in any college course.

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Electronic Books

The Basics of This books deals with the rules and conventions of basic English, and also the preferred style of writing the
English Usage language.

English Grammar While the book covers most areas of English grammar, it has a heavy concentration on those aspects of
Drills grammar that have proven to be the greatest obstacles for intermediate and advanced nonnative speakers.

The goal of this book is to guides you through the various types of structures in the English
English Sentence
language and illustrates how those structures combine to make sentences. Exercises and examples or
Builder
given.

English Verb Drills is designed to promote skills for effective usage of verbs. It is designed for all learning
English Verb Drills
levels to review and practice conjugational forms, tenses, voice, mood, and verb usage.

The Grammar Subtitles: How to Write Perfect Sentences. This book focuses on the rules in standard school English that
Crammer cause the most grammatical errors.

This book focuses on the processes of research as well as research methods. It is suitable for research in
the social sciences, as well as in related subjects such as education, business studies and health and social
How to Research
care.

How to Write A step-by-step guide for all learning Levels, providing key essay writing skills with sample essays available.
Essays
The material is presented in an easy, step-by-step format, so the learner will gain an understanding of the
Just Enough
basic principles of the English language while advancing through the readings and exercises. Answer key
English Grammar
available.
Illustrated

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Videos

English Homework From Discovery Education, these video chapters and web resources will assist students with their written
and verbal communication skills. Content areas included are grammar, composition, and mechanics.
Help

English Language Teachers' Domain is a free digital media service for educational use from public broadcasting and its
partners. This website provides thousands of media resources, support materials, and tools for classroom
Arts
lessons and individualized learning programs.

OWL Purdue This section contains links to all the media files found on the Purdue OWL. In this section, you can click on
links that will take you to a resource where you can view or download a PowerPoint presentation or
workshop, sample paper, sample employment document, videocast, podcast, or Flash movie.

Writing Essentials Practical skills are emphasized, for academic and non-academic writing, such as gauging the needs of the
reader, keeping prose short and simple, emphasizing benefits, avoiding jargon and overblown language,
employing a confident yet respectful tone.

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Websites

A+ Research and Step-by-step approach to writing, from choosing a topic, gathering information, creating an outline, to
Writing editing and proofing.
 From Prentice Hall, this website offers help with composition skills such as: exercises for basic grammar,
College Writing
research, mechanics, as well as additional study tools.
Reference Center
This site has guidance from sentence building to research structuring. The Guide to Grammar and Writing
is sponsored by the Capital Community College Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports
Guide to Grammar
scholarships, faculty development, and curriculum innovation.
& Writing
Step by step, section by section break down of how to write an essay with sample essay and additional
Guide to Writing a
resources.
Basic Essay
Free online dictionary, thesaurus, Spanish-English and visual dictionaries, audio pronunciations, Word of
the Day, word games, and more.
Merriam-Webster
Online Writing Lab This site, from Purdue University, offers over 200 free resources including guidance in writing, research,
(OWL) grammar, style guides, and more.

Principles of
An entire website for writers in English composition courses, featuring handouts on getting started,
Composition
structure, tone, transitions, editing, logic, and formats.
Townsend Press Exercises and practice for reading, grammar, vocabulary, and English usage.
Learning

From the University of North Carolina, these handouts and demonstrations provide guidance through a
The Writing Center multitude of writing concerns, from citations to formats, to writing for specific disciplines.

From Kansas University, helpful writing guides from essays to dissertations, with citation help and links to
Writing Guides more useful resources.

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Style Guides

Citations Examples for APA for MLA

Citation
Citation Machine or Bibme
Generators

Noodle Tools
Noodle Tools formats and alphabetizes bibliographies in MLA, APA, and CMS styles for over 50 types of
APA MLA
sources. Users can save bibliographies online or import to Word. Noodle Tools includes an integrated note-
taking feature and online help linked next to each input field of the template.

This site, created by the Online Writing Lab of Purdue University, offers style guidance for APA, MLA, and
OWL- APA and MLA CMS citations, bibliographies, research paper formatting, and more.

Website informed by Research and Documentation in the Electronic Age by Diana Hacker and Barbara
Research and
Fister, offers help with finding, evaluating, and documenting resources, as well as sample style papers.
Documentation
Research Tutorial: From Eastern Washington University, this resource provides interactive tutorials for MLA and APA citations,
Citing Your then offers hands-on ordering of citation elements.
Sources

The Writer’s From the Writing Center of the University of Wisconsin. This resource demonstrates several citation styles
Handbook and tips for improving your writing.

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