English Literature

Welcome to the guide for the study of literature in the English language. 

This guide will connect you with resources to find books, journal articles, information from reference books, as well as primary texts and other sources. English Department-specific course guides to further help you with research in those courses.

Have an assignment and don't know where to start? Just ask us, as we're glad to help.

Some tips to get you started:

• Understand your assignment.  What kind of information do you need?  Peer-reviewed journal articles, literary criticism, biographical information?

• Know your deadlines.  It is so much easier to do your research early so that you will have plenty of time to write your paper.

• Develop your topic.  Narrowing your broad idea to a specific question you want to research will save you much time and effort.

• Brainstorm keywords.  Think about keywords related to each aspect of your topic to help in searching.

If you run into any trouble at any point in your research process, you can always Ask Us for help. 

Another advantage to starting your research early: you can schedule a consultation with a librarian. Librarians are here to help you navigate the many resources available to you, and a consultation is a great opportunity to make sure you are looking in the right places. Librarians are glad to help!