How To: Literary Research

For information on how to find and use appropriate books, we have the following guides and tutorials:

• Finding Books in the Library
• Finding and Downloading eBooks
• Borrowing Materials from Other Libraries
• Evaluating Sources
• How to Effectively Read Scholarly Sources

For guidance on doing background research, please see these subject guides:

• Choosing a Topic
• Types of Sources
• Finding Information

While this is in no way an exhaustive list, these are some of the physical reference materials on literary subjects that can be found in the WNC library.

These are examples of the reference materials available online that provide a good starting point for research.

• Writing in Literature (Purdue OWL)

  This scholarly web site discusses how to write papers in literature and provides examples. It discusses research topics, how to begin to research, how to use information, and formatting.

• Writing a Literary Analysis (Purdue OWL)

  A short PowerPoint presentation on the basics of writing a literary analysis paper.

• Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism 

  The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University provides a brief overview of major schools of criticism.

• Introductory Guide to Critical Theory

  Created by Dino Felluga, Associate Professor of English at Purdue University, The Introductory Guide to Critical Theory provides a brief overview of the following critical schools and/or areas: gender and sex, Marxist literary theory, narratology, New Historicism, Postmodernism, and Psychoanalysis. Within each overview, Felluga provides a general introduction to the school or area's terminology, sample applications, syllabi, modules featuring relevant critics, and links to additional resources.

• Literary Theory This article from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, a peer-reviewed academic resource, features a brief overview of the following areas of criticism: Formalism, New Criticism, Marxist literary theory, Structuralism, Post-structuralism, New Historicism, Cultural Materialism, ethnic studies and Post-colonial Criticism, gender studies and Queer Theory, and cultural studies. The article also provides a list of references for further reading.