Library Guides: Writing: Home

Subject Resources

Some reference titles for research in writing:

Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition
Call Number: R 808 E56e
Publication Date: 1996
The Chronology of American Literature
Call Number: R 810.9 C557
Publication Date: 2004
Better Business Writing
Call Number: R 808.066 G2342
Publication Date: 2013
MLA Handbook
Call Number: R 808.02 G437 2016
Publication Date: 2016

Linguistics Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC): Software available on DLC PC computers in Schewe Library. LIWC2015 is the gold standard in computerized text analysis and allows you to analyze your own writing. Basically, it reads a given text and counts the percentage of words that reflect different emotions, thinking styles, social concerns, and even parts of speech.

These databases will be the best bets for starting your research in writing. If you are having trouble finding articles, see our Finding Articles guide, or ask a librarian for help!

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
This general database provides full-text access to over 1,300 journals and magazines in a variety of content areas. The searching options are limited, but students like the "clean and simple" interface.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
This modern languages database indexes over 2.2 millions books, articles and websites having to do with modern languages, literature, linguistics and folklore. No direct full-text, but provides many links to external full-text content.
Literature Resource Center (Gale) This link opens in a new window
The literature database provides the world's most comprehensive collection of information about literature and authors. Includes full-text coverage of over 350 scholarly journals and literary magazines. Also includes critical essays, author bios and book reviews.
LitFinder (Gale Literature) This link opens in a new window
This literature database contains a wide range of full-text content, including over 140,000 poems, over 7,000 short stories, and nearly 4,000 essays as well as biographies, work summaries, and glossaries.

One excellent place to locate books on writing is in the Schewe Library Catalog or in the library on the shelves in the 070.5 range on the lower level (for publishing) or in the 808 range on the upper level (for style manuals). Inspiration can also always be found in any of the 800-899 ranges for literatures of the world. If you are having trouble finding more books, see our Finding Books guide. Here are some suggested titles:

The Art of Creative Research
Call Number: 808.02 G356a
Publication Date: 2017
Handbook of Writing Research, Second Edition
Call Number: 808.042071 M1161
Publication Date: 2016
Do I Make Myself Clear?
Call Number: 808.042 E9242d
Publication Date: 2017
Strunk & White's Elements of Style
Call Number: 808 S927
Publication Date: 1995
Writing advice for if you hate yourself. Some people find this useful.
Writing for Academic Journals
Call Number: eBook
Publication Date: 2013
Wanderwords: Language Migration in American Literature
Call Number: eBook
Publication Date: 2014

Some example keywords to follow up on searches of your own in our local or I-Share catalogs:

Software

SmartEdit
SmartEdit is an add-on that can be applied to Microsoft Word, adding features that mostly fall within the school of ‘Advanced Editing’. For a start, it flags repeated adverbs and phrases, keeping a count to alert author of overuse or problematic repetition. It also enhances Word’s error-checking facilities to pick up on inconsistent, rather than just incorrect, punctuation and grammar.
FocusWriter
Free software! Available for Linux, Windows and macOS, FocusWriter is designed to eliminate distractions so you can actually get on with the job of writing. To that effect it enables you to hide other apps, customize the way your text appears on screen and keep track of your progress. It blocks all distractions, has timers and alarms and an auto-save function. If you're feeling particularly old-school you can even add typewriter sound effects.
LibreOffice
LibreOffice is a free, open source alternative to Microsoft Office, and that means its word processing app, Writer, has many of the power features of Word without the price tag. It has excellent format compatibility, document template galleries and support for plugins. One of its most useful features is the LibreOffice Template Center, where you'll find templates for all kinds of content.
Scribus
This is a free, highly-rated desktop publishing application for Linux, OS X and Windows that's suitable for producing entire magazines. Around since 2001 and regularly updated. Although it's a little tricky to use at first, it offers professional-grade publishing with layered, multi-page documents and good color management support. If you've ever used Adobe InDesign, you'll find them very similar.

Websites

American Life in Poetry
American Life in Poetry is a free weekly column for newspapers and online publications featuring a poem by a contemporary American poet and a brief introduction to the poem by Ted Kooser [the 2004-2006 Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress]. The sole mission of this project is to promote poetry, and we believe we can add value for newspaper and online readers by doing so.
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
The mission of The Association of Writers & Writing Programs is to foster literary achievement, to advance the art of writing as essential to a good education, and to serve the makers, teachers, students, and readers of contemporary writing.
AWP
The Associated Writing Program's website, which includes a detailed and helpful guide to writing programs, a guide to writers' workshops, and other resources. Some items require membership.
Library of Congress Poetry and Literature
The mission of the Library of Congress Poetry and Literature Center, under the terms of the bequests that established and support its programs, is to foster and enhance the public's appreciation of literature. To this end, the Center administers the endowed Poetry chair and coordinates an annual literary season of public poetry, fiction and drama readings, performances, lectures and symposia, all sponsored since 1951 by the Library's Gertrude Clarke Whittall Poetry and Literature Fund and the Huntington Fund.
New Pages
Great list of resources for writers, including calls for submissions, contest information, and an excellent list of literary journals.
Poetry Foundation
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience.
Poets & Writers Tools
The Tools for Writers section of the Poets & Writers website contains a good list of lit journals and other key resources
Poets.org
Poets.org is produced by the Academy of American Poets. The site was launched in 1996, becoming the original online resource for poems, poets’ biographies, essays about poetry, and resources for K-12 teachers.
Small Press Distribution
An association connecting readers and small presses. Includes book reviews, publishers' pages for books, listings for new issues of lit journals and more

Talk to your professor or look in your syllabus to determine which citation style you should use.

Scholarly articles may use a variety of APA, MLA, Chicago, or other styles. You can find more information on these styles in the Schewe Library citation guide.

Subject Reference Person

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