Amy Odwarka
she/her
Contact:
Booth Library, RM 4411
Eastern Illinois University
600 Lincoln Ave.
Charleston, IL 61920
Eastern Illinois University
600 Lincoln Ave.
Charleston, IL 61920
217.581.6006
Building your own background knowledge about a topic helps you to share basic information with your audience so they have context for your claim.
Here are three places you should start to build background knowledge.
- Gale OneFile: News This link opens in a new windowFull-text newspaper resource providing access to major U.S. regional, local, and national newspapers, as well as leading titles from around the world | Includes thousands of images, radio and TV broadcasts and transcripts.
- New York Times Digital Edition This link opens in a new window
Full access to news via NYTimes.com for everyone with an EIU email address | **To activate your access, sign up for a free account** | NYT Podcasts, email newsletters, interactive features | Archives (1851-2002) via the TimesMachine | Spanish and Mandarin Chinese versions of NYTimes.com |
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times This link opens in a new windowFull-text coverage 1851-2018.
- WikipediaUse Wikipedia to check on the authority of a writer, to validate the accuracy of web information and to build basic background knowledge. Use the resources at the bottom to grow your research! Remember...Wikipedia is NOT original research.
Subject specific databases can help you build your claim and then produce solid supporting evidence. Here are three databases that specialize in arguments and persuasion.
- Issues and Controversies On File This link opens in a new windowCombines analysis and explanations of opposing points of view for current and historical events. It includes chronologies, illustrations, maps, tables, sidebars, bibliographies, statistics and contact information.
- Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new windowExplore all sides of hundreds of contemporary social issues | Includes viewpoint essays, reference articles, journal articles, infographics, news, images, video, audio, and more | Useful for debates, persuasive speeches, papers on controversial issues
- Points of View Reference Source This link opens in a new windowResources that present multiple sides of an issue | Useful for persuasive arguments and essays and for understanding controversial issues
