Bibliographic Essay Explanation
What is a Bibliographic Essay?
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A bibliographic essay is a critical essay in which the writer identifies and evaluates the core works of
research within a discipline or sub-discipline.
What is the purpose of a Bibliographic Essay?
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A bibliographic essay is written to summarize and compare a number of sources on a single topic. The
goal of this essay is not to prove anything about a subject, but rather to provide a general overview of
the field. By looking through multiple books and articles, you can provide your reader with context for the
subject you are studying, and recommend a few reputable sources on the topic.
Example of a Bibliographic Essay
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http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/goldman/pdfs/EG-AGuideToHerLife_BiographicalEssayTheWorldofEmmaGoldman.pdf
Steps to Creating a Bibliographic Essay
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Start by searching our databases. Think about your topic and brainstorm search terms before beginning.
Skim and review articles to determine whether they fit your topic.
Evaluate your sources.
Write your bibliographic essay. Your essay should be organized so that others can understand the sources
and evaluate your comprehension of them and their presentation of specific data, themes, etc.
o Structure
 Introduction
 Statement summarizing the focus of your bibliographic essay.
 Introduce the texts to be summarized.
 Give the title of each source following citation guidelines.
 Name the author of each source.
 Give important background information about authors, texts to be
summarized, and the general topic from which the texts are drawn.
 Body
 Each paragraph should include:
 Information from more than one source
 Use citations to indicate which material comes from which source. (Be
careful not to plagiarize!)
 Show similarities and differences between the different sources.
 Represent texts fairly.
 Conclusion
 Write a conclusion reminding the reader of the most significant themes you
found and the ways they connect to the overall topic.
Core English Databases
Gale Books and Authors This link opens in a new windowSession times out
Gale Books and Authors is a reader's go-to site for everything: book suggestions from experts, titles,
biographies and more.
Gale Literary Index This link opens in a new windowSession times out
Gale Literary Index provides quick and easy access to author and title listings from over 130 literature
products from Gale and the imprints Charles Scribner's Sons, St. James Press, and Twayne Publishers.
The referenced products themselves will contain complete biographies on authors and critical essays
on their writings.
Gale Literature: LitFinder This link opens in a new windowSession times out
Provides access to a wealth of literary works and secondary-source materials covering world
literature and authors throughout history. Including more than 132,000 full-text poems and 670,000+
poetry citations, as well as short stories, speeches, and plays.
Literature Criticism Online This link opens in a new windowSession times out
10 individual Gale series comprise Literature Criticism Online to represent a range of modern and
historical views on authors and their works across regions, eras and genres.
Oxford English Dictionary Online This link opens in a new window
The OED online can be used to perform simple searches for word definitions, or for full-text
searching of all OED's definitions, etymologies and quotations through the Search function.
Oxford Scholarly Editions This link opens in a new window
Oxford Scholarly Editions provide trustworthy, annotated primary texts for scholars and students.
Beaman access includes the Romantic Prose and Romantic Poetry collections.
Shakespeare's Words This link opens in a new window
A compiled glossary of nearly 14,000 words and meanings. Includes every word which presents the
reader with a difficulty arising out of the differences between Elizabethan and Modern English.
General Databases
Academic Video Collection: Premium This link opens in a new windowVideo Collection
A video subscription that comprises content from 39 full video collections and 8 bonus discipline
clusters, containing more than 40,000 full video titles (not just clips) and well over 20,000 hours of
content.
Dissertations & Theses This link opens in a new window
A collection of PhD dissertations and Master's theses from around the world, spanning from 1743 to
the present day. Full text for works added since 1997, and for selected works written prior to 1997.
Gale Academic OneFile This link opens in a new windowSession times out
Peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources, covering
physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other
subjects.
JSTOR This link opens in a new windowMulti MediaIncludes Scholarly Articles
A collection of academic materials in humanities, social sciences, and the sciences. Includes books,
images, videos, audio, and selected scholarly journals. (Most journal titles do not include the most
recent 3-5 years)
Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new windowIncludes Scholarly Articles
One of the largest and most authoritative collections of online journals, books, and research
resources, covering life, health, social, and physical sciences.
Finding Databases
To find a specific database, go to Databases and browse the list of databases by subject or title.