Library Guides: ENGL 137H/CAS 137H: Rhetoric and Civic Life: Topics and Beginning Sources

Get Started

Try the databases below for topic ideas and preliminary sources to get started.

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
on the top navigation bar, click on “Browse by Topic” or “Browse Reports” to see categories to help you brainstorm.

The CQ Researcher is a collection of reports covering political and social issues, with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy. Keywords: hot topics, current events, social issues, social trends, archive, English 15, CAS 100, background information, general interest, contemporary issues, overviews.
Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
a good source for opinions about popular topics. Click on "Browse Issues" to get topic ideas.

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center provides research and background information on social issues. The database contains the essays from the Opposing Viewpoints series, supplemented by statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles. Keywords: hot topics, current events, social issues, social trends, English 15, CAS 100, background information, general interest, contemporary issues, overviews.

LionSearch This link opens in a new window
an integrated search of books, e-books, research articles, newspaper articles, and other publications.
Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
provides extensive definitions of words and also tracks their usage over time, including when they were first introduced into the language.

Traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources.
Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) This link opens in a new window
good for a short, authoritative summary of a topic.

A collection of over 1000 reference resources.

American Decades
covers cultural, political, and social trends by decade--good for tracking trends and shifts. Use the drop down menu to chose a decade or search for a term.