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English 101

Resources, tips and tricks to help you do research for your English 101 class

Where to go?

On our Database page we've listed some databases that are particularly helpful for English majors - including the Oxford English Dictionary and some ebook collections. You'll notice that on top we have "best bet" databases for you - try these first.

Since English is such an interdisciplinary major, we also have databases arranged by other subjects and categories you should check out:

 

On the other tabs in this box, you'll find additional resources to help you locate materials both in the physical library and online.

Kemp Library maintains subscriptions to a number of journals related to the study of English. You can search for journals and journal articles through both the Primo Library Catalog and the A-Z Databases page. Below are direct links to some of the journals you might find especially useful for your research:

 

In addition to subscription journals, many high-quality open access journals in the field are freely available online. A good sources for finding open access journals and articles is the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Here are direct links to a few of the open access journals you might find useful:

Where do you find literature in the library?  It's pretty much all in the 800s except for popular fiction which is shelved under "F" for Fiction. All of these are shelved on the top floor of Kemp Library.  If you need help finding anything you can check out this LibGuide or ask for help at the Circulation Desk when you walk in.  You can also learn more about Dewey Decimal Classification and call numbers here.

The overarching breakdown of the 800s:

  • 800 Literature, rhetoric & criticism
  • 810 American literature in English
  • 820 English & Old English literatures 
  • 830 German & related literatures
  • 840 French & related literatures
  • 850 Italian, Romanian & related literatures
  • 860 Spanish & Portuguese literatures
  • 870 Latin & Italic literatures
  • 880 Classical & modern Greek literatures
  • 890 Other literatures

By Individual Number:

800 Literature (Belles-lettres) & rhetoric
801 Philosophy & theory
802 Miscellany
803 Dictionaries, encyclopedias, concordances
804 Not assigned or no longer used
805 Serial publications
806 Organizations & management
807 Education, research, related topics
808 Rhetoric & collections of literary texts from more thantwoliteratures
809 History, description, critical appraisal of more thantwoliteratures

810 American literature in English

810 American literature in English
811 American poetry in English
812 American drama in English
813 American fiction in English
814 American essays in English
815 American speeches in English
816 American letters in English
817 American humor & satire in English
818 American miscellaneous writings in English
819 No longer used—formerly Puzzle activities

820 English & Old English literatures

820 English & Old English (Anglo-Saxon) literatures
821 English Poetry
822 English drama
823 English fiction
824 English essays
825 English speeches
826 English letters
827 English humor & satire
828 English miscellaneous writings
829 Old English (Anglo-Saxon) literature

830 German & related literatures

830 German literature & literatures of related languages
831 German poetry
832 German drama
833 German fiction
834 German essays
835 German speeches
836 German letters
837 German humor & satire
838 German miscellaneous writings
839 OtherGermanicliteratures

840 French & related literatures

840 French literature & literatures of related Romance languages
841 French poetry
842 French drama
843 French fiction
844 French essays
845 French speeches
846 French letters
847 French humor & satire
848 French miscellaneous writings
849 Occitan, Catalan, Franco-Provençal literatures

850 Italian, Romanian, & related literatures

850 Literatures of Italian, Dalmatian, Romanian, Rhaetian, Sardinian, Corsican languages
851 Italian poetry
852 Italian drama
853 Italian fiction
854 Italian essays
855 Italian speeches
856 Italian letters
857 Italian humor & satire
858 Italian miscellaneous writings
859Literatures of Romanian, Rhaetian, Sardinian, Corsican languages

860 Spanish, Portuguese, Galician literatures

860 Literatures of Spanish, Portuguese, Galician languages
861 Spanish poetry
862 Spanish drama
863 Spanish fiction
864 Spanish essays
865 Spanish speeches
866 Spanish letters
867 Spanish humor & satire
868 Spanish miscellaneous writings
869Literatures of Portuguese & Galician languages

870 Latin & Italic literatures

870 Latin literature & literatures of related Italic languages
871 Latin poetry
872 Latin dramatic poetry & drama
873 Latin epic poetry & fiction
874 Latin lyric poetry
875 Latin speeches
876 Latin letters
877 Latin humor & satire
878 Latin miscellaneous writings
879Literatures of other Italic languages

880 Classical & modern Greek literatures

880 Classical Greek literature & literatures of related Hellenic languages
881 Classical Greek poetry
882 Classical Greek drama
883 Classical Greek epic poetry & fiction
884 Classical Greek lyric poetry
885 Classical Greek speeches
886 Classical Greek letters
887 Classical Greek humor & satire
888 Classical Greek miscellaneous writings
889 Modern Greek literature

890 Other literatures

890 Literatures of other specific languages and language families
891 East Indo-European & Celtic literatures
892 Afro-Asiatic literatures
893 Non-Semitic Afro-Asiatic literatures
894 Literatures of Altaic, Uralic, Hyperborean, Dravidian languages; literatures of miscellaneous languages of South Asia
895 Literatures of East & Southeast Asia
896 African literatures
897 Literatures of North American native languages
898 Literatures of South American native languages
899 Literatures of non-Austronesian languages of Oceania, of Austronesian languages, of miscellaneous languages

These online book collections provide access to millions of free ebooks that might help you in your English studies.

 

The Journal of Writing Research is an international peer reviewed journal that is open access and highly rated - this is an excellent source as well. 

  • Lexicons of Early Modern English: LEME searches and displays word-entries from monolingual English dictionaries, bilingual lexicons, technical vocabularies, and other encyclopedic-lexical works, 1480-1755
  • Glossary of Rhetorical Terms: put together by the University of Kentucky
  • Middle English Compendium: The Middle English Compendium has been designed to offer easy access to and interconnectivity between three major Middle English electronic resources: an electronic version of the Middle English Dictionary, a HyperBibliography of Middle English prose and verse, based on the MED bibliographies, and a Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse, as well as links to an associated network of electronic resources.
  • Wordnik: the world's largest online dictionary
  • Cambridge Dictionary
  • Your Dictionary: a comprehensive reference site with a comprehensive reference site with synonyms, sentence examples, quotes, biographies, and an amazing collection of grammar-related articles and education resources.
  • FreeRice: support the World Food Programme and play a game that builds your vocabulary at the same time. 
  • Luminarium: anthology of English literature
  • Middle English Compendium: The Middle English Compendium has been designed to offer easy access to and interconnectivity between three major Middle English electronic resources: an electronic version of the Middle English Dictionary, a HyperBibliography of Middle English prose and verse, based on the MED bibliographies, and a Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse, as well as links to an associated network of electronic resources.
  • ​Poets.org is a collection of information on poets and poetry and includes things like videos of poets reading their poems.
  • Poets Corner: an online poetry anthology
  • Representative Poetry Online: an online anthology of English and French poetry from the last 1400 years.
  • The Victorian Women Writer's Project began in 1995 at Indiana University and is primarily concerned with exposing lesser-known British women writers of the 19th century. The collection contains a wide array of genres - poetry, novels, children's books, political pamphlets, religious tracts, histories, and more.
  • The Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database: free online resource to help locate secondary sources in these genres. 
  • The Camelot Project: collecting works and materials related to King Arthur and his court
  • Discovering Literature: Romantics & Victorians: topics, items and ideas from this time period are explored (British focus). Dickens, Austen, Wilde, Shelley, Keats, etc. can be found here. Some images of primary source material are included, as are citations. 
  • Discovering Literature: Medieval: topics, items and ideas from this time period are explored (British focus). Arthurian legends can be found here. Some images of primary source material are included, as are citations. 
  • Discovering Literature: 20th Century: topics, items and ideas from this time period are explored (British focus). Virginia Voolf, Ballard, Joyce, Plath, etc. can be found here.  Some images of primary source material are included, as are citations. 
  • Discovering Literature: Restoration and 18th Century: topics, items and ideas from this time period are explored (British focus). Milton, Sancho, Pope, Defoe, etc. can be found here. Some images of primary source material are included, as are citations. 
  • Discovering Literature: Shakespeare and Renaissance: topics, items and ideas from this time period are explored (British focus). Shakespeare, Donne, Marlowe, etc. can be found here. Some images of primary source material are included, as are citations. 
  • Romantic Circles is a referred academic website dedicated to Romantic era literature and culture. 

This video is a brief overview of how to conduct library research aimed at English 103 students but applicable to anyone. Done in Fall 2020