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Syracuse University Libraries

SPA 202/SPA 301: How to Use This Guide

How to Use This Guide

Writing a good paper is similar to creating a gourmet meal, it takes time, ingenuity and planning.   

Ann Skiold Fine Arts, Spanish & Italian, Classics, German, Russina Language and Literature, Librarian saskiold@syr.edu 315-443-3539

 

 

Thesis Paper:  Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim (Purdue Online Writing Lab).

Book Report: Written about an author, book or story. It is NOT a thesis paper since it is not arguable.

Summon vs. Classic Catalogue

Summon searches everything in many diverse formats and locations.

Classic Catalogue searches only what Syracuse University Libraries owns.

Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad)   if the library does not own an online article, journal or book you can request it from other university libraries at no cost. This is ONLY possible if you register once with Interlibrary Loan. Your ILL account will be active the entire time you are enrolled as a SU student. Journal articles will be sent electronically to your personal account and books are to be picked up and returned at the circulation desk.

Peer-review- A peer-reviewed article is published in a peer-reviewed journal only after it has been subjected to multiple critiques by scholars in that field. Peer-reviewed journals follow this procedure to make sure that published articles reflect solid scholarship and advance the state of knowledge in a discipline. Cal Poly Kennedy Library

 

MLA Citation Handbook - Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) – site map top left for more

options.

Database Spanish Literature

 

Contemporary Authors- A bio-bibliographical guide. It covers more than 100,000 current writers in a wide range of media, including current writers of fiction, general nonfiction, poetry,  

and drama; prominent print and broadcast journalists, editors, photojournalists, syndicated cartoonists, screenwriters and television.

 

Contemporary Literary Criticism Critical and biographical essays from 1959 to present.

 

CREDO Literature or Reference- Full-text reference books in the arts, humanities, social sciences and science

 

Digitalia Hispanica – A global academic collection comprised of e-books and ejournals in Spanish, French, Portuguese and Catalan. The comprehensive collection contains titles ranging from arts and literature to science and technology.

 

JSTOR- Full-text archive of scholarly publications in mathematics, science, the arts and humanities, and the social sciences.

 

MLA International Bibliography- Index to critical materials on literature, languages, linguistics, and folklore. From worldwide publications, including periodicals, books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, bibliographies

 

ProQuest Research Library- Reference database containing abstracts, indexing, and full text article

 

Project Muse- Full-text online access to all journals. Disciplines covered are humanities, social sciences, and mathematics.

 

Kanopy- One of the largest academic streaming video collections in the market, containing tens of thousands of educational titles, and also U.S. and international feature films

 

Worldcat- A world library catalogue (also found under databases). What has been published in a particular area of research. If the library does not have what world cat lists, you can use interlibrary loan (ILLiad) to borrow the book or have the article sent directly to you electronically

 

Helpful tips

  • How to find critical reviews of an author’s work? If the story has not been reviewed your best bet is to research as much as possible about the author and her/his style and how, what the author writes about. Do they have a style? If so, does it have a name such as “realismo magico” (what does that mean within Spanish literature). Is the author’s focus/interest in once particular area such as love, politics, religion, God, children or crime?
  • When searching online for journal articles, that are accessible through the databases, make sure you have good key words pertaining to your topic.
  • If you have difficulty getting started with your paper and research look at Purdue Online Writing Lab’s tips http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/618/01/  The “site map” on the right will give you more options.
  •  Buena Suerte!