Exploratory Essay

After being assigned a topic and creating a thesis, students often turn to the internet to find sources and information for their papers. The internet is an endless stream of information where simply typing your topic into a search engine will send you hundreds of links leading to various sources including journals, encyclopedias, periodicals, blogs, newspapers, and videos. Although the internet is the most common way to find sources it is important to use more tangible outlets as well. Public and school libraries offer a variety of material. Through the library’s catalog system or resource librarians many reliable sources can be found. The library and other methods may not provide such a plethora of sources as the internet but it can be much easier to find authentic searches in reality than it can on the computer.

For a book or website it is important to learn more about the author; Check their credentials and scour their past for hidden agendas and bias, look into their past and discover their affiliations and associations, and always be sure to find the date the source was published. It is crucial that all your information is trustworthy. Take the time to look up similar websites, examine opposite view points, and certify your information. Web addresses, publishers, and comments can all be extremely helpful to ensure that your information is current and correct.

As you compile your sources it is important to create a works cited list by recording all of your bibliographic information. You should write down all of the facts you will need in your reference or works cited lists like the title, author, page number, and other specified data as you find them. By creating your reference list while you are looking for your sources you will save yourself much time and