First-Year Writing Reference Resources

This is a guide to literary reference resources in the University Libraries at the University of the Arts useful to the First Year Writing student. It includes print and online resources for finding information from literature and poetry on: terms, symbols, people, places and events. It also lists books and websites on how to do research, write papers and cite sources. Send any questions about this topic to the e-mail address at the end of this document.

REFERENCE MATERIALS  |   SUBJECT HEADINGS  |   CITING YOUR SOURCES

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Reference Material

The first place to look when beginning research on a topic is in reference material: specialized dictionaries, encyclopedias or handbooks. These allow you to check names, dates and places, find additional information, and look up definitions of unknown terms. They are particularly helpful for finding basic background information on a topic, and are often the only place many students may need to look to find answers to their questions. They may include bibliographies (lists of additional materials, usually considered by the author to be the best on that topic).

DICTIONARIES, ENCYCLOPEDIAS, GLOSSARIES AND HANDBOOKS

Abrams, M. H. A glossary of literary terms. 8th ed. Thomson/Wadsworth, c2005.
REF 803 Ab83g 2005

Baldick, Chris. The concise Oxford dictionary of literary terms. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, 2001.
REF 803 C748b 2001

Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. Brewer's dictionary of phrase and fable. 14th ed. Harper & Row, c1989.
REF 803 B75 1989

Ferber, Michael. A dictionary of literary symbols. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
REF 809.915 F373d

The Oxford dictionary of phrase and fable. Oxford University Press, 2000.
REF 803 Ox2k

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Benét's reader's encyclopedia. 3rd ed. Harper & Row, c1987. REF 803 B43r3

Benét's reader's encyclopedia of American literature. 1st ed. HarperCollinsPublishers, c1991.
REF 810.3 B435p 1991

Blain, Virginia. The Feminist companion to literature in English: women writers from the Middle Ages to the present. Yale University Press, 1990.
REF 820.90003 B573f

Encyclopedia of world literature in the 20th century. Rev. ed. Ungar, c1981-c1984.
REF 803 En195 4 vols.

Harmon, William. A handbook to literature. 8th ed. Prentice Hall, c2000.
REF 803 H73 2000

Merriam-Webster's encyclopedia of literature. Merriam-Webster, c1995.
REF 803 M551

Oxford companion to American literature. 6th ed. Oxford University Press, 1995.
REF 810.9 H251o6 1995

Oxford companion to English literature. 6th ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.
REF 820.3 H3o6 2000

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The New Princeton encyclopedia of poetry and poetics. Princeton University Press, 1993.
REF 809.1 N42 1993

The Oxford companion to twentieth-century poetry in English. Oxford University Press, 1994.
REF 821.910903 Ox2h

Packard, William. The poet's dictionary: a handbook of prosody and poetic devices. 1st ed. Harper & Row, c1989.
REF 809.1 P125p

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

CONTEMPORARY LITERARY CRITICISM
multivolume collection in Greenfield Library on the works of novelists, poets, playwrights, short story writers, etc. that contains full-text critical essays as well as biographical information and suggestions for further reading.
REF 809 C76

There is an ONLINE VERSION as well. (Go to the http://www.uarts.edu/stuserv/libraries/resources/webresources.html#clc for more information.)

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CONTEMPORARY DRAMATISTS (6 books):
Contemporary dramatists. REF 822.91 V786c [5 seperate editions 1973 to 1999]
Contemporary American dramatists. REF 812.00373 C767b 1994
Contemporary British dramatists. REF 822.91 C787t
Contemporary Black American playwrights and their plays: a biographical directory and dramatic index. REF 812.002573 P442c
Contemporary women dramatists. REF 809.2 C767b

Contemporary novelists. 5th ed. St. James Press, c1991. [also 1976, 1972 editions]
REF 823.03 C767 1991

Contemporary poets. 4th ed. St. Martin's Press, 1985. [also 1975, 1970 edition]
REF 821.91 C767 1985

Current biography. Monthly, with annual cumulations.
Biographies of all types of people: authors, artists, scientists, politicians, athletes, musicians, actors, etc.
REF 920 C93

Kamm, Antony. Biographical companion to literature in English. Scarecrow Press, 1997.
REF 803 K129b

Larousse dictionary of writers. Larousse, 1994.
REF 803 L328g

Modern black writers. 2nd ed. St. James Press, c2000.
REF 809.8896 M72 2000

WORLD AUTHORS
World authors, 1950-1970. REF 809.04 W138w 1950-70
World authors, 1970-1985 REF 809.04 W893 [3 separate volumes]

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REFERENCE MATERIALS  |   CITING YOUR SOURCES  |   TOP

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Searching the Catalog by Subject

The University Libraries combine their holdings in one ONLINE CATALOG. Use it to find books, videos, CDs, DVDs, scores, journal titles, etc. To locate all of the materials the library holds on a topic, it is most efficient to search by subject. Use the following SUBJECT HEADINGS to find materials in addition to the Reference Books listed above. These subject headings are standard and are used in most libraries.

AMERICAN DRAMA -- 20TH CENTURY -- BIO-BIBLIOGRAPHY AMERICAN DRAMA -- 20TH CENTURY -- DICTIONARIES AMERICAN LITERATURE -- BIO-BIBLIOGRAPHY AMERICAN LITERATURE -- DICTIONARIES AUTHORS, AMERICAN -- BIOGRAPHY -- DICTIONARIES AUTHORS -- BIOGRAPHY -- DICTIONARIES

CRITICISM -- TERMINOLOGY ENGLISH DRAMA -- 20TH CENTURY -- BIO-BIBLIOGRAPHY ENGLISH LANGUAGE -- TERMS AND PHRASES ENGLISH LITERATURE -- DICTIONARIES LITERATURE -- DICTIONARIES LITERATURE -- TERMINOLOGY LITERATURE, MODERN -- 20TH CENTURY -- BIO-BIBLIOGRAPHY REPORT WRITING -- HANDBOOKS, MANUALS, ETC.

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Citing your Sources / Research Writing

When you find information on a topic, no matter what format it takes (book, journal, Web page), there are STYLE MANUALS to show you the correct way to give credit to the author in your paper or project. The following are located in the reference section:

Chicago manual of style. 15th ed.
Greenfield REF 808.02 Un355c 2003
Music REF LB 2369 .C45 2003

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA handbook for writers of research papers. 6th ed.
Greenfield REF 808.02 G35mla 2003
Music REF LB2369 .G5M68 2003

Hacker, Diana. Rules for writers. 5th ed. Bedford/St. Martin's, c2004.
Music REF LB2369 .H23R8 2004

Hacker, Diana. A writer's reference. 5th ed. Bedford/St. Martin's, c2003.
Greenfield REF 428.2 H115w 2003
ONLINE VERSION: http://www.dianahacker.com/writersref

Lester, James D. Writing research papers: a complete guide. 9th ed. Longman, [1998], c1999.
Music REF LB2369 .L47 1999

Malless, Stan. The elements of English: a glossary of basic terms for literature, composition, and grammar.
2nd ed., completely rev. and expanded ed. of: A handlist to English,1986.Madison Books, c1988.
REF 803 M296e

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed.
Greenfield REF 808.02 P96 2005

Strunk, William. The Elements of style; with revisions, an introduction, and a chapter on writing by E.B. White. 4th ed.
Allyn and Bacon, c2000.
Music REF LB2369 .S778 2000

Walker, Janice R. The Columbia guide to online style.
Greenfield REF 808.027 W152c
Music REF LB2369 .W25C6 1998
ONLINE VERSION: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html

Walliman, Nicholas. Your research project: a step-by-step guide for the first-time researcher. Sage Publications, 2001.
Music REF LB2369 .W26 2001

Winkler, Anthony C. Writing the research paper: a handbook. 6th ed. Thomson & Heinle, c2003.
Greenfield REF 808.02 W729w 2003

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CITATION STYLES: http://www.uarts.edu/stuserv/libraries/resources/styleguides.html