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American Literature

Use this guide to identify research tools and strategies for the study of American Literature.

Having trouble finding criticism?

If so, try the search strategies below.

Limiting your Results in MLA International Bibliography

Using drop-down options:

  • Lots of options are provided but two very helpful ones are:
    • Primary Subject Author (who wrote the book, poem, etc.)
    • Primary Subject Work (the title of the book, poem, etc.
       
  • Use these to make sure the criticism is focused on a particular author and/or work, rather than just casual mentions.

MLA International Bibliography search screen with Primary Subject Author and Primary Subject Work limiters highlighted.

Adding other keywords:

Narrow your focus by adding keywords related to the characters, themes, motifs, etc. that you are writing about to your search.

Ex: For an essay focused on symbolism in the Scarlet Letter, symbolism and specific symbols (such as Pearl) make great keywords.

 

MLA International Bibliography search for Nathaniel Hawthorne are Primary Subject Author, Scarlet Letter as Primary Subject Work, and Pearl.

Limiting to peer-reviewed criticism:

For quality criticism, you can limit to Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals.

* Remember, this will remove all book results from your list. You will need to evaluate these yourself for quality.

 

MLA International Bibliography results screen with Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals box checked.

Limiting to English:

Removing results that you will not be able to read from your list can keep the number of results manageable.

 

MLA International Bibliography results screen with Language indicated and English selected.

Thinking Outside the Box