ENG 316
Your friendly neighborhood librarian
Library Quick Links
- Assignment CalculatorFrom the University of Connecticut - this tool can help you develop a timeline for your project.
- Wireless PassthroughBypass the need to log in to wifi every time you come to campus.
Research Basics
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Research is an iterative process. It can take more time and effort than simply plugging a few keywords into Google and taking the top three hits.
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Research Tips
- Give yourself enough time to engage the process.
- Work broad to narrow. Gain an overview of your topic before you delve deep.
- Ask yourself who might "have" the information you need?
- Always "be researching" -- Look carefully at what your sources are telling you; use them to guide your research.
- The Librarians are here to help you! Use them as a resource!
Writing and Reading Advice and Hints
Advice
There are three main ways to integrate another person's work into your own. As you write, it is important to use each method to make your writing interesting and readable.
The three methods are:
- Quoting - Direct quotations means that you use the exact words employed by the authors in the original text. Usually, you will only use a few phrases or a sentence or two.
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Paraphrasing -- To paraphrase something means to put the source material into your own words. Typically, the paraphrase will be shorter than the source material.
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Summarizing -- When you need to use long passages, chapters, etc. of source material, you can rewrite the main ideas in much shorter form. However, the ideas belong to the source material so they still need to be cited.
- What is the difference between quotation, paraphrase, and summary?This page from the University of Louisville Writing Center has some great examples of how and when to use paraphrasing and summarizing.
- Incorporating sources into your writingThis video explains the basics of a research paper including the process of incorporating other sources into your writing.
- How to Read Scholarly MaterialsA short video showing the different aspects of an academic paper and how to get the most out of it.
Know your sources
Click on the infographic to explore more different source types.
