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English 111 - Meisel: Keywords & Search Strategies

This guide provides search strategies and recommended resources for research in English 111 with Jacqui Meisel.

Suggested Keywords

Keywords are the words you type into a search box to search for information on your topic. The words you use to describe your topic may be different from the words used in library resources. For example, another way to describe teenagers might be adolescents.

You might want to try some of the terms listed below as you experiment with different keywords for your topic. If you have trouble finding information on your topic, ask a librarian for help choosing successful keywords.

Literary Criticism

Try combing the keywords below with the name of the author and/or the title of work, as in: Toni Morrison interpretation or Toni Morrison Home symbolism.

  • criticism
  • analysis
  • interpretation
  • imagery
  • symbolism
  • themes
  • history
  • context

Historical Context

Try combining some of the terms below with your own keywords (or which each other) to find information about the time period in which Home takes place.

  • African Americans
  • African American soldiers
  • gender
  • Great Migration
  • grief
  • Korean War
  • loss
  • mortality
  • nineteen fifties
  • race relations
  • segregation
  • social aspects
  • social classes
  • social conditions

Identifying Search Stategies

The following video discusses different search strategies for finding information based on the type of information you need (from off campus you will need to log in using your Pipeline username and password):

Search Techniques

To access the tutorials below from off campus, you will need to log in using your Pipeline username and password.

Search Techniques, Part 1

The following tutorial covers strategies for searching library resources effectively.

Search Techniques, Part 2

The following tutorial covers search tricks that can improve your search results in almost any library database.