Skip to Main Content

Dr. Reid - ENC 1101 - Plant City Campus: Essays & Research

Essay Types and Research

Essay Type

As an ENC 1101 student, you will be assigned several different types of essay writing assignments.  Some of these assignments will require library research.  This online research guide page will help you to determine what type of resource is appropriate for the different types of essays.

The information below explains the different types of resources and the two main types of library systems to use for academic research: the Library Catalog and Library Databases.

Library Catalog

How to use the library catalog

A library catalog is an online tool using keyword search terms relative to your research topic and essay assignment. The resources found through a library catalog search are appropriate for academic research.  

Creating Search Terms

Search Terms

  • Develop search terms by highlighting keywords in your assignment
  • Choose your main topic or idea from those keywords
  • Brainstorm to generate more ideas about what you want to learn or know about your topic

See Brainstorm Exercise PDF below for an example.  

What to Type in the Keyword Search Term Box

  • Not every word in your brainstorm exercise is going to be used as a search term. 
  • This exercise provides you with words and/or phrases that can be used as search terms.
    • Keywords can also be used as a Subject Filter option to help narrow your results. 
  • Having an idea of multiple search term possibilities helps with evaluating a resource to see if that resource will meet your research criteria for this assignment.

What is a Library Database

A Yavapai College student explains the benefits of using library databases for research.

Online Library Databases

Online library databases are search platforms that allow users to locate resources from many different types of sources.  Some of those sources will be:

  • Academic journal articles
  • Newspaper articles
  • Magazine articles
  • Streaming Videos 
  • Images
  • e-Books