Literary Criticism An Introduction to Secondary Sources and Databases
Vocabulary Preview Please take these notes down Primary Source- The piece of literature you are examining/analyzing in your research. In ELA, primary sources are novels, poems, plays, etc. Secondary Source- A piece of literary criticism, written by a scholar, that supports your assertion. It is usually in the form of a book or article. Literary Criticism- This is just another term for secondary sources in the English field. The author s analyze literature in their articles. Database- A point of access to secondary sources on our library s website. Biased- When an author, magazine, publisher, etc. is unfairly prejudiced against someone or something.
What is Literary Criticism? Literary criticism is the evaluation, analysis, description, or interpretation of literary works. It is usually in the form of a critical essay, but in-depth book reviews can sometimes be considered literary criticism. Criticism may examine a particular literary work, or may look at an author's writings as a whole. Finding literary criticism can be challenging. credit for definition goes to www.ipl.com
Primary vs. Secondary Sources You are asked to use both primary and secondary sources. Your primary source is the original piece of literature your paper focuses on. Your secondary source is the literary criticism you will find. Secondary sources can be found online and in books. You will be required to quote both sources in your papers.
Books or Internet The internet has many excellent critical articles located in databases. Most of the time, you can have any combination of types of secondary resources. When conducting research, be sure to photocopy the citation information from books. You will need it later. Books and the internet sources from reputable databases are equally valuable.
Accessing Our Databases https://sites.google.com/a/bpsk12.org/bhs-library/ You can find the library site by googling it. It is the first option that will show up.
Databases to Use for English - In the databases tab on the library s main page - You will find the best literary criticism on the databases in the upper right-hand corner, pictured here
Conducting Research Click the QR code to access this page in real-time. We will practice searching.
Inside Bloom s Literature You may only use the Analysis and Criticism Tab. These articles are peer-reviewed for their merit.
Why do we use Secondary Sources? Just like we use quotes from the literature to support our topic sentences and points, (I) in PIE, we use Secondary Sources to also support our topic sentences. Conducting research, vetting sources, and appropriately using sources is an important skill to learn for college-writing and beyond. We are not masters of literature, so we use scholar s writing and analysis to support our assertions.
Who Writes Literary Criticism? Masters of works of literature write literary criticism. They are well educated in their field (Hawthorne, Poe etc.) and are PUBLISHED authors. These authors are considered masters in their field by fellow writers and colleagues. We can trust what they say because they appear in unbiased, scholarly journals. Harold Bloom- a famous LIterary Critic
What is a Scholarly Journal? First, lets discuss and identify the differences between these two magazines. This is a copy of the inside of Newsweek (which is NOT a scholarly journal). What is the CEO of Newsweek most concerned about?
Newsweek vs. Scholarly Journal The CEO at Newsweek, or People, or the Globe Magazine all want to MAKE MONEY. How do they do that? Through selling copies and add space. THIS INFLUENCES THE CONTENT OF THE MAGAZINE! This is NOT a scholarly source.
A Scholarly Journal How is this magazine different from Newsweek? - There are no advertisements selling you products, no popculture influences. - The purpose of the Scholarly Journal is to educate and to disseminate information in that field. - Scholarly Journals appear in a variety of academic subjectsscience, History, English, etc.
Practice Working with your ipads and a partner, find one valid piece of literary criticism about John Proctor from a database other than Bloom s. Answer the following questions 1. Who is the author? 2. What is the title? 3. What makes it a valid source? 4. Which journal does it come from?