Encyclopedias:
Example encyclopedia entry: This example is about the Canadian author Mavis Gallant. The entry you choose should look similar to this one. Your entry must be about the author you have chosen to study. The entry title should be the same as your author’s name.
In an English course, primary sources are original works of literature and may be novels, short stories, poems or other creative works.
The primary sources you choose for this assignment must be written by the author you have chosen. They should be in the form of a book; for example, a book of short stories, a book of poetry, or a novel.
Example primary source: This primary source is a book of short stories written by Mavis Gallant. Note that the creator or author of the work is Gallant herself. (Note that the example above is a actually a description of the book by Gallant, while the book itself is sitting on the shelf of the MRU Library).
Secondary sources are sources that interpret, analyze or reflect upon primary sources. They can be popular or scholarly. For this assignment, you must use scholarly secondary sources.
The secondary sources you choose must be very clearly about the author you are studying - about the person’s life or the primary sources they have written. They should have in their titles either the name of your author, or the title of a primary source your author has written. Appropriate secondary sources for this assignment must be written by someone other than the author you are studying.
Below are two examples of secondary sources appropriate for this assignment. Note that in both examples, Mavis Gallant's name appears in the title, and someone else is the author of the source.
Secondary sources can be popular or scholarly. For most academic assignments, including this one, you are expected to use scholarly secondary sources.
|
|
Scholarly/Peer Reviewed Source | Popular/Trade Source |
| Author | An academic expert in the field, usually with an advanced degree | Journalist/Professional Writer |
| Review Process |
Peer reviewed by other academic experts in the field, who look carefully at research methods and sources cited | Reviewed by an editor for spelling and grammar |
|
Audience/ |
Written for scholars and students; uses academic language | Written for the general public; uses everyday language |
| Content | Original research and criticism; uses previous academic literature for background | News and practical information; uses a variety of sources for background |
| Citations | Always provided, usually an extensive list | Rarely provided |
For this assignment, you are expected to use specialized academic encyclopedias in MRU's library collection.
On the MRU Library homepage, use the Search books, articles and more box (a.k.a. Library Search).
LibrarySearch Tips:
Citation is a part of academic writing that helps us tell our readers where we found any ideas, information or facts that are not our own. Citation styles are sets of rules used in academic writing to format citations in a consistent way across an academic discipline. MLA Style is used in most English classes; APA and Chicago are common styles used in other course.
MLA citation is a two step process:
1. In-text citation: When we use direct quotes or paraphrase from another person's work in our own writing, we must include an in-text citation after the quoted or paraphrased text. The in-text citation very briefly describes the work we have borrowed from. You will do this in PART TWO of your English 0130 assignment.
2. Works cited list: At the end of our essay, citation requires us to provide a detailed list of all of the sources we quoted or paraphrased in our work. This is called a bibliography, a works cited list or a references list. You will do this in PART ONE of your ENGL 0130 assignment.
This image highlights the common layout of publication information for a print book, as displayed in MRU's LibrarySearch results screens. For a book in hand, this information will usually be on the back (or verso) of the title page.
Note that while print books like the example below are standalone items and have no container, for ebooks, MLA requires the title of the database or second container.
I will be available to answer questions on May 11, during your designated class time. Email me at aswabey@mtroyal.ca and we can connect via Google Hangouts from there. Use your MRU gmail account to do this.
Outside of that class time, help is still available. You can:
- Use the Library's live chat "Ask Us" Service
- Make an appointment with me (see above), or
- Send me your question via email
Annotated Bibliography Samples - Look at the MLA example to see what an annotation looks like
