USAFA Library Guides: English: Getting Started

Brainstorming

Brainstorming your topic is an essential first step to research. Mind mapping is a good way to visualize and track your brainstorming. Use one of the mind maps below to generate and capture your ideas. Start with your main topic in the center and then break down the different aspects or subtopics into one word or simple phrases. Suggested areas of exploration include:

Author of primary work
Title of primary work
Key themes
Relevant literary theories
Rhetorical terms and approaches
Literary elements (characters, setting, plot, etc)

Mind Map

Key Resources

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Provides access to more than 10 million academic journal articles, books, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.
Literature Online (LION) This link opens in a new window
Full-text collection of more than 350,000 works of English and American poetry, drama and prose, plus biographies, bibliographies and key criticism and reference resources.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on nearly 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Search more than 300+ electronic journals in the humanities and social sciences

Inspiration

Wikipedia
Look for keywords and ideas as well as references to locate and evaluate.

Scribner Writer Series Online This link opens in a new window
Biographical profiles of authors that contextualizes their works within their lives and times.

World History Encyclopedia
This encyclopedia has translations of texts, audio and video lessons, images, maps, and more. It is all openly licensed or in the public domain, meaning you can use the materials with proper citation.