RESEARCH: PRINT SOURCESPCC Library

Critical articles found in books are called PRINT SOURCES. PCC’s literary print sources can be found in the upstairs student computer lab.

1. Masterplots Series are in little groups throughout the research section. This semester you might find the following series useful:

Masterplots II: American Fiction SeriesMasterplots II: Poetry Series

Masterplots II: Short Story Series

Masterplots II: Drama SeriesMake sure you are using the right series for your

work!

Searching this series is pretty simple. The volumes are organized alphabetically, so choose the spine that indicates your title. (This one might include the short story “The Signal-Man,” since that title falls between SHO and TWO).

Once you have the right volume, just search the Table of Contents for your story title. If your story is there, just turn to the appropriate page for the criticism.

Your article will begin with a page that looks like this:Your title will therefore be “ ‘The Signal-Man’: The Story” (or whatever subtitle appears above your quoted section).

The author’s name will appear at the very end of the selection.

The rest of the information for your works cited entry can be found on the title page (see below) and...

... The copyright date can be found next to the copyright symbol. (Remember to use the most RECENT year listed).

For the Masterplots series, you will use #31 on p.459 of the LBBrief, entitled “A series (print).” Here’s an example:

Vidor, Constance. “ ‘The Signal-Man’: The Story.” Masterplots II. New York: Random House, 1982. Print. Short Story Ser. 7.

Everything after the article title comes from the book in

your hand, so find the city and publishing company on the

book’s title page, the copyright date on a nearby

page, and the rest on the book spine.

2.Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (TCLC) is found on several shelves, but the volumes are all together.

Finding articles in TCLC is a bit trickier: you begin by selecting the LARGEST VOLUME NUMBER ON THE SHELF. On the day I visited, it was #252. This is because TCLC uses a cumulative index. Each book’s index includes everything before it, so in this case, bigger is better!

In the back, you will find several types of index, but you want the “author index.” Look up the author of your work here.

For an example, let’s imagine we are looking for a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. You will see many letters and numbers. The letters that matter to you are TCLC. After TCLC, you will find all the volumes which might have criticism on your work. I decided to pull volume 6 of TCLC.

In the beginning of the volume, you will find a table of contents, so it’s pretty easy to find your author and turn to the correct page. I turned to p.158 to find my author.

There he is, the handsome devil! This first page with the picture is NOT your criticism. You want to turn the page until you see the word CRITICISM.

One of many essays found here is by Cleanth Brooks. I can tell this discusses my work because I see The Great Gatsby in bold italics. Most of the information for my works cited entry will come from a short section at the very end of the article.

To do this works cited entry, you will use the TCLC format handout you printed from the top of our class Moodle page. Everything BEFORE the “Rpt. in” comes from that small section at the end of the article:

Brooks, Cleanth. “The American ‘Innocence’ in James, Fitzgerald, and Faulkner.” Shenandoah 16.1 (Autumn 1964): 181-97. Rpt. in

Everything AFTER the “Rpt. in” comes from the book in your hand.

Brooks, Cleanth. “The American ‘Innocence’ in James, Fitzgerald, and Faulkner.” Shenandoah 16.1 (Autumn 1964): 181-97. Rpt. in Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Sharon K. Hall. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale, 1982. 158-65. Print.