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ENGL 1212-002: First-Year Writing, The Americas (Watson)

Dos and Don'ts for Reference Resources

Do use reference resources to:

  • Narrow topics and learn the key terms/concepts of your fields of interest ​
  • Identify leaders in your fields of interest
  • Learn about contemporary issues/controversies surrounding your text
  • Link you to other resources (scholars, books, articles) on these topics and issues
  • Help you understand terms, ideas, and contexts in more challenging readings

Don’t:

  • Use them in an essay or annotated bibliography
  • Quote or cite them as a source for an essay, even if you used them to help you understand more difficult readings
  • Use encyclopedias alone to define a research topic or issue that you will pursue in a paper or project; always ground your research in more authoritative sources 

Specific Reference Resources

Specific Reference Resources