Librarian Tutorial Videos
Need a Topic?
When you are looking for a short story, poem, play or novel to study, it can be difficult to find a work that has enough published criticism to support your research paper topic. Gale Literature has a list of suggested titles and authors to help get you started.
- Short Story and Poetry TopicsA list of topics pulled from Gale Literature specifically for short stories and poetry.
- Browse Literary Topics, Works, or AuthorsUse the dropdown menu under "Browse Topics" to view of list of Topics, Works or Authors. Select one of the links provided to learn more and view associated resources like literature criticism.
Thematic Guide to American Poetry by Call Number: REF 016.811 B9671This unique poetry resource offers interpretations of 250 poems, representing the work of 86 poets from a wide spectrum of historical, contemporary, ethnic, and canonical writers. Organization of this volume facilitates easy access to information on poetry for users' individual purposes. The main section of the guide contains narrative essays on 21 alphabetically arranged themes that recur throughout the rich history of American poetry. In each section, the explications of individual poems are arranged chronologically to trace the evolution of a particular theme over time. Following each entry, the poems are listed with information about the anthologies in which they may be found. This guide is ideal for librarians and teachers who need to identify and locate poems on a given theme, and for students and lovers of poetry who wish to enrich their understanding of the thematic meanings of poems.
The Oxford Book of American Short StoriesCall Number: 813.01 O98 2013 General CollectionISBN: 9780199744398In The Oxford Book of American Short Stories, Joyce Carol Oates offers a sweeping survey of American short fiction, in a collection of nearly sixty tales that combines classic works with many "different, unexpected" gems, and that invites readers to explore a wealth of important pieces bywomen and minority writers. Some selections simply can't be improved on, Oates admits, and she happily includes such time-honored works as Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" and Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." But alongside these often-anthologized tales, Oates introduces such little-known stories as Mark Twain's "Cannibalism in theCars," a work that reveals a darker side to his humor. From Melville come the juxtaposed tales "The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids," of which Oates says, "only Melville could have fashioned out of 'real' events...such harrowing and dreamlike allegorical fiction." The reader willalso delight in the range of authors found here, from Charles W. Chesnutt, Jean Toomer, and Sarah Orne Jewett, to William Carlos Williams, Kate Chopin, and Langston Hughes, to Ray Bradbury, H.P. Lovecraft, and Stephen King. For the second edition, Oates has introduced a wide range of new stories from writers who represent the state of American literature today. These new works include Lorrie Moore's "How to Become a Writer," Richard Ford's "Under the Radar," Junot Diaz's "Edison, New Jersey," David Foster Wallace's"Good People," Philip Roth's "Novotny's Pain," and Amy Hempel's "Today Will Be a Quiet Day." As in the original volume, Oates provides fascinating introductions to each writer, blending biographical information with her own trenchant observations about their work. In addition, she has written a newintroductory essay for this edition, in which she offers the fruit of years of reflection on a genre in which she herself is a master.
The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary British Playwrights by Call Number: Ebook Central EbookThe Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary British Playwrights is an authoritative guide to the work of twenty-five playwrights who have risen to prominence since the 1980s. Written by an international team of scholars, it will be invaluable to anyone interested in, studying or teaching contemporary drama. Among the many playwrights whose work is examined are Sarah Daniels, Terry Johnson, Martin Crimp, Sarah Kane, Anthony Neilson, Mark Ravenhill, Simon Stephens, Debbie Tucker Green, Tanika Gupta and Richard Bean. Each essay features: A biographical sketch and introduction to the playwright A discussion of their most important plays An analysis of their stylistic and thematic traits, the critical reception and their place in the discourses of British theatre A bibliography of texts and critical material
Helpful Resources
- JSTOR Text Analyzer ToolUpload your own paper or a relevant source to have JSTOR's tool analyze the text to find other related sources in JSTOR. This tool is still in BETA, but it looks promising.
Database Tutorials
- Gale Literature - Literary Analysis Video Overviewprovided by Gale
- Gale Downloading and Sending to Google Driveprovided by Gale
- Gale Topic Finder How Toprovided by Gale
- Topic Finder - Gale Literary SourcesTry out the Topic Finder in Gale Literature
A comparison of the Wheel and Tile displays of Topic Finder in Gale Literary Sources. Each graphically displays the words and subjects most often appearing in the text of the search results for "Maya Angelou."
How to cite Short Story Criticism and Contemporary Literary Criticism
It can be a little tricky to cite an article/essay that appears in a reference work but was originally printed in a different book or journal. Use the examples below to create your citations for those multi-volume print literary criticism books in the Reference Collection.
Literary Criticism in a Multi-Volume Reference Work (eg, Short Story Criticism):
Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Chapter/Essay/Novel [usually listed at the end of the entry]." Title of Collection, edited by Firstname Lastname, vol. #, Publisher, date, pp. #-##. Originally published in Title of Original Publication, edited by/by Firstname Lastname, Publisher/Journal Name, vol. #, issue # [if a journal article], date, pp. #-##.
Examples:
Ginsberg, Lesley. "'I Am Your Slave for Love': Race Sentimentality, and Harriet Beecher Stowe's Fiction for Children." Short Story Criticism, edited by Jelena Krstovic, vol. 159, Gale, 2012, pp.321-30. Originally published in Enterprising Youth: Social Values and Acculturation in Nineteenth-Century American Children's Literature, edited by Monika Elbert, Routledge, 2008, pp. 97-113.
Aizenber, Edna. "Mi Buenos Aires Herido: Borges and Landscapes of Fear." Short Story Criticism, edited by Jelena Krstovic, vol. 159, Gale, 2012, pp.157-61. Originally published in Variaciones Borges, vol. 25, 2008, pp. 69-78.
Writing Help from the Literacy Lab
The Literacy Lab offers writing tutoring for all subjects on a drop-in basis, both in person and virtually (by request). Our professional and peer tutors are available to assist students with a variety of writing assignments, including essays, research, lab reports, and more. Space and computers are also available for independent work. We welcome you to join us!
Location: Vanderlyn 208 & 210
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00am-3:00pm
Stop by or email literacylab@sunyulster.edu for more information.
Reading Peer-Reviewed Articles
Know your question or argument. Keep your question in mind as you read with the understanding that it may change as you gain more understanding and do more research.
Start with the Abstract (summary). The abstract will help you decide if you should go any further. If it doesn't seem to address your question or argument, stop reading.
Read the Conclusion/Discussion. The main claims of the author's work should be discussed at the end. If the conclusion is relevant, then move on to the Introduction.
Make your own summary. It is helpful to put in your own words why the article is relevant to your research question. It will help you organize your thoughts when moving to the next step of the research/writing process.
Review the references. It is important to see what types of sources the author consulted in their research. It can also lead you to other relevant sources to help you with your own research.
Reading Books & eBooks
Review the Table of Contents. Review the Introduction if there is one. Skip to the chapters that are most relevant to your research question/argument.
Look for summary information like a conclusion at the end of a chapter or the end of a book.
In ebooks, use the Search within option to find relevant passages (you need to open the ebook to find this option). In print books, use the index to find relevant pages.
Review the references at the end of each chapter or the end of the book to see what types of sources the author consulted in their research. It can also lead you to other relevant sources to help you with your own research.