Ms. Cheney's ENG 4U0
Hamlet Essay Assignment
The Task
No matter what subject you’re planning to study in university, you will be required to write essays. The purpose of any good essay however, is to demonstrate your understanding of the content learned in class. For this essay, you will be applying a theoretical perspective to William Shakespear's "Hamlet". Before writing this essay, it is important to do research to get a firm understanding of your theoretical perspective. Once you fully understand your chosen perspective will you be able to apply it to Hamlet effectively. This is not an easy task but one, if you are persistent and focused in your research, is one you will be able to complete!
Books in the Library Learning Commons
Doing Your Research - The Databases
Sometimes books on your topic can be hard to find because your subject area might be really new or really specific. This is where databases will become your best friend! There are two ways to get to the databases:
- Go to the applications page and click on "Library Catalogue - Louise Arbour". Then click on Library eResources. Click on eResources. Click on Intermediate/Secondary. Then you will find all of our databases.
- Go to www.peelschools.org. Click on the BYOD link. Then click on the Library link at the very top of the page. The link to the intermediate/senior database will be toward the bottom of the page.
How To Do a Boolean Search
The Databases - Finding the Information You Need!
- The Shakespeare Collection
- Literature Resource Centre
- Literary Reference Centre
- Gale Virtual Reference Library
These databases have been specifically selected for you for this assignment because they will have the most relevant information for what you are looking for. They are better than a random search on a website because you can find a lot of information here that has been written by experts in the field. But beware! For this assignment you are not allowed to get your information from overtly biased news sources like CNN or the Toronto Star. If you are unsure if your source of information is biased, ask the librarian or Ms. Cheney! The databases should have what you need to get your work done. Please keep in mind that you cannot click the links below to get to the databases. You will need to go to the Library Learning Commons MyClass page to get there or you can click on the secondary eResources link below.
To Google or not to Google....that is the question!
MLA 8 - The New Way to Cite in MLA Format
Creating a Works Cite Page in MLA 8 Format
MLA 8 was designed to simplify the process, helping writers accurately and intuitively cite sources more easily, requiring that every source type follow the same format. This means that books, websites, periodicals, videos, photographs, and all other types of sources now use this same standard format.
MLA 8 requires researchers to locate the same “core elements” from their sources and place them in a standard order in order to create their citations.
The “Core Elements” of an MLA 8 citation, along with their corresponding punctuation marks, include the following (in this order):
- Authors.
- Title of the source.
- Title of container,
- Other contributors,
- Version,
- Numbers,
- Publisher,
- Publication date,
- Location.
The appropriate punctuation mark will follow each core element, unless it is the final piece. In this case, the punctuation mark would be a period.
Example of an MLA Eighth Edition Works Cited Page:
Patterson, James, and Chris Grabenstein. House of Robots. Little, Brown and Co., 2014.
Patterson, James, and Chris Tebbetts. Middle School: Get Me Out of Here. Little, Brown and Co., 2012.
Sparks, Nicholas. Dear John. Grand Central, 2007, p. 82.
– – – . A Walk to Remember. Warner, 1999.
Twenty-Eight Days Later. Directed by Danny Boyle, produced by Alex Garland, Fox
Searchlight Pictures, 2002.