ENG 112 - Wedehase

Textbook Proposal -- Essay 1

For this assignment, you will propose a new section theme to be added to the essay collection at the end of They Say/I Say. Current chapter themes/content areas address: division in America, college degrees, dependence on technology, gender issues, and food politics.

What content area would you like to see included in this list based on your interests, and what you think would appeal to college students?

In your paper, you'll want to assert multiple reasons for offering this theme and you'll need good research to back up your reasons. You'll need at least 5 sources of information. You can use the Wake Tech Library databases to find ebooks, reports, and journal articles. 

Types of Information Sources

The Libraries' research databases contain many different types of information sources. After you do a search using your keywords and phrases, you can narrow the results to specific types. Below are several types that you may find helpful as you conduct your research:

• eBooks. Books--particularly encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and other reference materials--are great sources for getting broad background information on your topic. This is a great place to start when doing your research.
• Newspaper Articles. News sources are great for showing how a topic is very current or relevant to modern times. 
• Journal Articles. Journal articles detail the research that scholars have done on the topic. If you're looking for scientific evidence, look for journal articles related to your topic. Be sure to select "Peer-Reviewed" along with "Journal Articles."

Research Tips

A few tricks and tips when searching the libraries' databases:

• Use "quotation marks" around phrases. For example, if you're topic is social media, type "social media" into the search box.
• Use AND to join search terms or phrases. If you're using more than one search term or phrase, join them together with the word AND in all capital letters. For example, if your topic is on how social media affects self-esteem, you'd type "social media" AND self-esteem into the search box. 
• Select "Full-Text Online." After you do you search and have a list of results, narrow down the results using the options on the left menu. Selecting "Full-Text Online" ensures that you'll only be given results where you have access to the entire text online. 
• Select "Peer-Review" when limited to journal articles. Peer-reviewed journal articles have gone through a review process by other experts in the field, which helps to ensure that the information is accurate and trustworthy. 

Search All Databases

Use the box below to search across multiple research databases. You can also use the search box on the library website. 

Databases By Subject

While the "Find it All" search box will search across all of the Libraries' resources, you can also search specific subject databases.