Lesson Topic 3: Searching for Sources

You will find proof and support from both primary and secondary sources. Remember that sources are the various books, essays, and other places a writer finds support for an essay. The primary source is the main work of literature a writer focuses on and uses for an essay.

For example, if you were writing about the characters in our novel, your primary source would be Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. The secondary sources are the various texts about the primary source that a writer uses to find support for an essay. For example, you might look for books or articles where other people have written about the characters in the novel.

Remember that there are rules to finding secondary sources. You never want to search for information on the internet and use the first source that appears without making sure the source is legitimate.

Once you have found support and written your essay, each source will be listed at the end of your essay in what we call a Works Cited page. The Works Cited page must be set up in a certain format.

Reliable sources on the internet might be difficult to find. Students that have access to Gale and Galileo can use the various reference articles appearing on the subscription sites. However, aside from the articles on Gale and Galileo, only certain websites are consistently trustworthy. Educational and governmental websites are considered dependable because the reputation of the schools and governments are at stake, so they try to only publish trustworthy material.

Make sure to look at the very end of the link to determine the ending. The following are different types of websites that can be sources:

Practice

Now you will have the opportunity to determine whether the following websites are reliable or not.

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