American+Authors



=STEP #1: TASK DEFINITION = =NOMINATION FOR THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE=
 * Consider the requirements of your assignment.
 * What type and amount of information you will need to get the job done?
 * You are to investigate the life, works and worth of an American Author in preparation for defending their nomination for a Nobel Prize in Literature. What makes your author worthy of such an extraordinary honor? Start your search by learning a little about the [|Nobel Prize]. The Nobel Prize website offers information about this fascinating foundation, it's creator, Mr. Alfred Nobel, the process for nomination and the long list of distinguished Nobel laureates.

=STEP #2: INFORMATION SEEKING = You will encounter several different types of information about an author's life. Much of the information you will find will be **__biographical__**. Information on such topics as the author's date and place of birth, early life, education, major life events, personal details, influences, date of death or current status, important quotations, awards, and a bibliography of works is relatively easy to acquire and validate.

__**Literary criticism**__, which provides interpretation and analysis of the author's writing, is the other major type of information you will find related to notable authors. It is important to be selective when searching for sources of literary criticism. Books and subscription database sources found in the library are written by experts. Literary criticism on the web should be carefully evaluated. To learn more, visit Springfield Township High School's Guide: [|What is Literary Criticism?]

__**SEARCHING OUR OAHS LIBRARY COLLECTION**__ Search for books in our library using the library catalog, Winnebago Spectrum. Start by searcing the authors name in author's first and last name as a "keyword" search. Remember that SPELLING must be exact for the search to work correctly. This search will turn up the broadest range of materials written //by// AND //about// the author. Good places to start are with the author's works, biographies (921s) and literary criticism (800s).

__**DATABASES**__ [|IN POWER Library]: Biography Reference Bank Contemporary Authors NetLibrary AP Images EBSCO: Masterfile Premier, History Reference Center, MAS Ultra Novelist

__**THE "FREE" WEB** [|Nettrekker]__ (username: oahs password: eathay): search engine of websites that are ALREADY evaluated for quality! [|Google Scholar]: a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature [|Project Muse]: full text access to scholarly humanities and social science journals [|The Internet Public Library]: critical and biographical websites about authors and their works __Free, full text electronic books:__ [|Google Books] [|Project Gutenberg] [|Bibliomania]

__**PUBLIC LIBRARY**__ Public library books - search their [|catalog] __Databases__ (you will need your Oxford Library card # to access - see Mrs. L if you do not have one): [|Literature Resource Center] [|Biography Reference Center] =STEP #3: LOCATION AND ACCESS = Try these examples:  = STEP #4: INFORMATION USE = Weaving the ideas of other authors into your own with __**DIRECT QUOTATIONS, SUMMARIZING AND PARAPHRASING**__ = =  = = =STEP #5: SYNTHESIS = = = = = =STEP #6: EVALUATION =
 * __CITING YOUR SOURCES USING MLA STYLE__**
 * [|John Steinbeck: Unlikely Voice of American Struggle]
 * [|Robert Frost on Poets.org]
 * [|Maya Angelou in Contemporary Authors]
 * See this guide for when and how to use each: [|When and How to use QSP]
 * Take USM's [|Quiz on Paraphrasing and Summarizing]