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Object of a Preposition. A noun may be used as an Object of the Preposition.

The barista served the coffee to the customer.

King Lear and his fool walked across the heath.

The plane arrived from New York.

Here customer, heath, and New York are the objects of the prepositions to, across, and from, respectively. (Prepositions are words like to, from, under, through, during, between, above, by, over, before, after, etc.)

The object of the preposition answers the questions what? or whom? after the preposition: thus, “He swam across the lake.” Across what? — Answer, the lake.

In Apposition. The noun may be used in Apposition with another noun.

My brother, the taxi driver, has his own blog.

I heard my neighbor’s dog, Carson, barking.

We visited Richmond, the former capital of the Confederacy.

A noun in apposition stands for the same person or thing as the other noun: in other words, it is another name for the same person or thing. In a combination of two nouns with this sort of relation, the one that follows the first is said to be in apposition with the first, not the first with the second.

Note. A predicate noun and a noun in apposition with the subject of the sentence both stand for the same person or thing as the subject. What distinguishes them is that the predicate noun is connected to the subject by a verb.

My neighbor is a professor (predicate noun).

My neighbor, the professor, arrived at the party (apposition)

A noun in apposition may be separated from its related noun by several words, if the relation between the two nouns is clear.

A lone man walked across the desert, a solitary figure in the scorching landscape.

Objective Complement. A noun may be used as an Objective Complement.

Barack Obama was elected president.

They made my uncle supervisor.

The objective complement is so called because it is added to the direct object in order to complete the meaning expressed by the verb (“complement” is something that completes). Thus, in the second example, they didn’t make my uncle; they made my uncle supervisor. A simple test is to insert to be between the direct object and the noun following: for example, “They made my uncle to be supervisor.” If to be can be inserted in this position without changing the meaning of the sentence, then the second noun is an objective complement.

The objective complement is commonly used with verbs expressing the idea of choosing, making, electing, appointing and similar ideas, but there are exceptions.

Concertgoers considered Mozart a prodigy.

The police found the man a raving lunatic.

Nominative Absolute. A noun may be used Absolutely with a Participle to form what’s known as a Nominative Absolute construction.

The curtain rising, the audience anticipated the start of the play.

The book being short, I read it in two hours.

Her eyes rolling upwards, the girl made no effort to hide her disgust.

For now it is sufficient to say that a participle is a verb form ending in -ing, such as being and rising — although in a future podcast we will have to modify this definition. The nominative absolute construction consists of a noun followed by a participle.

When such a construction is placed at the beginning of the sentence, it must be carefully distinguished from the noun used as the subject of the verb.

For example, in the sentence, “The soldiers needing backup, the helicopters soon arrived,” soldiers is in the nominative absolute construction with the participle needing, and helicopters is the subject of the verb arrived. On the other hand, in “The soldiers, needing backup, radioed command for helicopters,” soldiers is not in a nominative absolute construction: it is the subject of the sentence (subject of the verb radioed).

Note. The word absolute, as used here, means “free” or “loose.” The noun in a nominative absolute construction is “free” from the traditional uses of a noun in a sentence, such as the subject or object of a verb.

Direct address. A noun may be used in Direct Address.

David, it would be better to explain that in an e-mail.

My illness, dear friend, is worse than imagined.

Sandy, come here.

Students, listen up.

Here David, friend, Sandy, and students are the names or words by which the persons are addressed. These nouns do not function as the subject of the verbs. The subject of the first sentence is it; in the second, illness; in the third and fourth the subject is you understood (the subject is usually omitted in a direct command because it is always you). With the third example, compare “Sandy comes here every day” — in which Sandy is the subject.

Take note that a word used in direct address is set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma or commas.

Any word having one of these nine uses in a sentence (covered in this and the previous podcast) is a noun or noun-equivalent in that sentence, despite the fact that it may be used as another part of speech in other sentences.

Run is a verb.

He mispronounced superfluous.

The poor pay more.

Nouns Used as Other Parts of Speech. Some words that are usually nouns may be used:

(1) As Adverbs (adverb-equivalents), to denote time, place, measure, etc.

We’re going on vacation tomorrow.

I went home.

She ran ten kilometers.

In etymology these words are nouns since they are the names of things; but in the above sentences they are used as adverbs (in a future podcast we will discover that any word that tells when, where, how, how much, or how far is an adverb.

(2) As Adjectives (adjective-equivalents).

This is my brother’s camera.

The football game was Sunday night.

Copyright © 2012 Thomas Fasano.
Your English Class™ trademark is the property of Thomas Fasano.

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The principle uses of a noun in a sentence are:

Subject of a Verb. A noun may be used as a subject of a verb.

The birds flew away.

The man jumped off the bridge.

Here comes the train.

The subject names the person or thing about whom or which something is said by the verb. In some sentences the subject follows the verb, as in the last example above.

Predicate Noun. A noun may be used as a predicate noun.

The president became a dictator.

The mayor is Bill Henry.

My grandfather was a clockmaker.

The gangster turned snitch.

Normally a predicate noun follows the verb and answers the question who? or what? and it stands for the same person or object as the subject. For example, “The president became what?” — Answer, a dictator. “The mayor is who?” — Answer, Bill Henry. The dictator is the same person as the president (subject); Bill Henry is the same person as the mayor (subject).

Direct Object of a Verb. A noun may be used as the direct object of a verb.

The carpenter built a house.

The soldier killed the enemy.

The direct object names the receiver of the action indicated by the verb; it answers the question what? or whom? and it stands for a person or thing different from the subject. For example, “The carpenter built what?” — Answer, a house. “The soldier killed whom?” Answer, the enemy. The house is not the same person or thing as carpenter (subject); the enemy is not the same person as soldier (subject).

Both the predicate noun and the direct object of a verb answer the same question, what? or who? (whom?). They are easily distinguished, however, by their relation to the subject: the predicate noun stands for the same person or thing as the subject; the direct object stands for a different person or thing. The only exception occurs in use of a reflexive pronoun to be covered in a future lesson.

The direct object occasionally precedes the subject of the verb.

These shoes she bought in Paris.

Indirect Object of a Verb. A Noun may be used as the Indirect Object of a Verb

The man gave his wife a gift.

Mary bought her grandmother a Christmas card.

The indirect object tells to whom or to what, for whom or to whom something is done. In the first sentence above, the direct object gift tells what the man gave, and the indirect object wife tells to whom he gave it; in the second sentence, the direct object Christmas card tells what Mary bought, and the indirect object grandmother tells for whom she bought it.

A phrase beginning with the preposition to or for can be used in place of an indirect object. In such instances the first sentence would become “The man gave a gift to his wife”; the second sentence would become “Mary bought a Christmas card for her grandmother.” With an indirect object, the to or for is never expressed in the sentence; were it expressed, the noun would be an object of a preposition (to be covered in the next podcast) and not an indirect object.

Also in the classification of indirect objects are certain nouns that are equivalent to of whom when used after the verb ask. Thus the sentence, “The teacher asked the student a question,” is equivalent to “The teacher asked a question of the student.” In this instance the idea of to is also present, because asking something of a person is the syntactic equivalent of addressing one’s self to him.

Copyright © 2012 Thomas Fasano.
Your English Class™ trademark is the property of Thomas Fasano.

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Nouns have Number, Gender, and Case.

Number is that aspect of a noun designating whether one or more objects is indicated.

(1) The Singular Number indicates one object only: as, cat, lake, woman.

(2) The Plural Number indicates two or more objects: as, cats, lakes, women.

The plural number in most cases is formed by adding –s or –es to the singular: as spoon, spoons; glass, glasses; house, houses; fax, faxes.

Gender is that property of a noun or pronoun that indicates the sex of an object.

There are three genders: Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter.

(1) The Masculine Gender indicates a being of the male sex: as, man, son, father, Anthony.

(2) The Femine Gender indicates a being of the female sex: as, woman, lady, sister, niece, hen, sow, Sophia.

(3) The Neuter Gender indicates an object of no sex: as, tree, rock, carton, city.

Some inanimate objects are often spoken of as if they were feminine. For example, a ship is often spoken of as she; automobiles and trains are also occasionally referred to as she. Sometimes in poetry celestial objects, such as the moon, are referred to as she; the sun, as he. These uses are chiefly colloquial or poetical. In ordinary prose, especially in science, all these words are treated as neuter nouns, with the exception of ship, which stubbornly retains its feminine reference.

Case is a property of a noun or pronoun that indicates the relation of the noun or pronoun to the rest of the sentence.

Nouns have three cases.

(1) The Nominative Case is the case used for the subject of a verb or in the predicate noun.

The politician spoke with emphasis.

The boy is an athlete.

(2) The Objective Case is the case used for the object of a verb or preposition.

The farmer built a fence.

He drove across the country.

(3) The Possessive Case is the case that denotes possession.
This is the gentleman’s hat.

Forms. The three cases have the following forms.

The Nominative and the Objective Cases. The nominative and objective cases of a noun have the same form. Thus there can be no confusion in the use of those two.

The Possessive Case. The possessive case of a noun is marked by the use of an apostrophe (’).

(1) The possessive case of a singular noun is regularly formed by adding an ’s to the end of the noun: as, woman’s, mayor’s, girl’s.

(2) The possessive case of a plural noun is formed:

(a) By adding an apostrophe to the simple plural, when the plural ends in s: as, dogs’ (simple plural, dogs), girls’ (simple plural, girls).

(b) By adding ’s, as in the singular, when the simple plural does not end in s: as, women’s (simple plural, women), children’s (simple plural, children).

In a few singular nouns that end in s or an s-sound (like ce) add only an apostrophe, as in the plural: as, Moses’ story, Jesus’ crucifixion, for conscience’ sake. This is especially true when, as in the preceding examples, other s-sounds precede or follow. Use of the regular ’s in such instances is not, however, incorrect.

(3) In compound nouns or in titles or in names having a unit idea, an apostrophe (’) or an apostrophe s (’s) is added to the last member of the group: as, mother-in-law’s, the Prince of Wales’, the Queen of England’s.

The possessive case usually denotes possession.

John’s car was stolen.

A crowd occupied the city’s square.

Sometimes the possession indicated is of a modified type. For example, in the expressions “Einstein’s theories” and “Wordsworth’s poems,” Einstein and Wordsworth are the possessors only in the sense that they are the theorists or creators. Compare the two kinds of possession indicated in the following sentence: “This is David’s copy of Wordsworth’s collected poems.”

Some cases of possession indicate a lack of ownership entirely: a day’s work, a year’s salary, the law’s delay. These mean “the work of a day,” “the salary for a year,” “the delay of the law.”

A noun in the possessive case is usually equivalent to a phrase beginning with of. For example, we may say either “Hardy’s poems” or “the poems of Hardy”; “the governor’s mansion” or “the mansion of the governor”; “the President’s agenda” or “the agenda of the President.”

We would not, however, say “the car of Johnny” for “Johnny’s car,” or “the law of Murphy” for “Murphy’s law.” When making such distinctions in usage, the student must be guided by his or her ear for what sounds correct.

As a general rule the possessive case is not used with inanimate objects. A phrase with of is used in its place: thus, “the cover of the book” (not the book’s cover); the branches of the tree (not “the tree’s branches”). There are, however, several exceptions to this rule: time’s delay, ship’s mast, earth’s surface, tree’s fruit, etc.

Copyright © 2012 Thomas Fasano.
Your English Class™ trademark is the property of Thomas Fasano.

Use abbreviations primarily in the list of works cited. In the text of your paper, you’ll rarely use abbreviations (except with parenthetical citations). When using abbreviations, be sure to follow the recommended forms listed below.

The MLA Handbook allows for abbreviations without periods or spaces between them. Abbreviations made up of all capital letters are generally not followed by periods; those that end in lowercase letters are usually followed by periods.

app. = appendix
bk. = book
cf. = compare (does not mean “see”)
ch., chap. = chapter
col. = column
comp. = compiler, compiled by
cond. = conductor, conducted by
conf. = conference
dir. = director, directed by
diss. = dissertation
doc. = document
ed. = editor, edition, edited by
et al. = and others
etc. = and so forth
fac. = faculty
facsim. = facsimile
fig. = figure
illus. = illustrator, illustration, illustrated by
misc. = miscellaneous
MS, MSS = manuscript, manuscripts
n, nn = note, notes (used after page numbers: “126n”)
narr. = narrator, narrated by
n.d. = no date of publication
no. = number
n.p. = no publisher or place of publication indicated
n. pag. = no pagination
P = Press
p., pp. = page, pages (use only if needed for clarity)
par. = paragraph
perf. = performer, performed by
proc. = proceedings
prod. = producer, produced by
pseud. = pseudonym
pt. = part
qtd. = quoted
rept. = report, reported by
rev. = review, reviewed by
sc. = scene
sec. = section
ser. = series
st. = stanza
trans., tr. = translator, translated by
TS, TSS = typescript, typescripts
U = University (part of a publisher’s name)
univ. = university
var. = variant
vers. = version
vs., v. = versus, v. for legal cases

Words representing units of time are spelled out in the text but abbreviated in the list of works cited. Abbreviate the months of the year, except May, June, and July. Some time designations are used only as abbreviations (a.m., p.m., AD, BC).

AD = after the birth of Christ, Latin anno Domini
BC = before Christ
a.m. = before noon, Latin ante meridiem
p.m. = after noon, Latin post meridiem
hr. = hour
Jan. = January
Feb. = February
Mar. = March
Apr. = April
Aug. = August
Sept. = September
Oct. = October
Nov. = November
Dec. = December
Sat. = Saturday
Sun. = Sunday
Mon. = Monday
Tues. = Tuesday
Wed. = Wednesday
Thurs. = Thursday
Fri. = Friday

Abbreviations are commonly used in the list of works cited for publishers’ names. If the publisher’s name includes the name of one person (Alfred A. Knopf), cite the surname only (Knopf). Should the publisher’s name include more than one person’s name (Harper and Row), use only the first one (Harper).

Abrams = Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Allyn = Allyn and Bacon, Inc.
Basic = Basic Books
Cambridge UP = Cambridge University Press
Dodd = Dodd, Mead and Co.
Doubleday = Doubleday and Co., Inc.
Farrar = Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Inc.
Gale = Gale Research, Inc.
GPO = Government Printing Office
Harcourt = Harcourt Brace
Harper = HarperCollins
Harvard UP = Harvard University Press
Holt = Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
Houghton = Houghton Mifflin Co.
Knopf = Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Lippincott = J. B. Lippincott Co.
Little = Little, Brown and Company, Inc.
Macmillan = Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
McGraw = McGraw-Hill, Inc.
MIT P = The MIT Press
Norton = W. W. Norton and Co., Inc.
Oxford UP = Oxford University Press
Princeton UP = Princeton University Press
Random = Random House, Inc.
St. Martin’s = St. Martin’s Press, Inc.
Scribner’s = Charles Scribner’s Sons
Simon = Simon and Schuster, Inc.
St. Martin’s = St. Martin’s Press, Inc.
UMI = University Microfilms International
U of Chicago P = University of Chicago Press
UP of Mississippi = University Press of Mississippi
U of California P = University of California Press
Viking = The Viking Press, Inc.
Yale UP = Yale University Press

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Plagiarism is stealing. It is passing someone else’s writing and ideas off as your own without giving appropriate credit. Whether you do this intentionally or unintentionally, it is a serious offense, a breach of academic honesty, and can earn you an F in your course—or even worse. To help you avoid plagiarizing, the following suggestions should prove helpful:

1. Accurately document your sources whenever you use the following:

• A direct quote
• A summary or paraphrase of someone else’s words

2. Take notes as carefully and accurately as you can. Whether you use notecards, store research files on a computer, or print everything out, be sure to identify the source of every passage in your notes.

3. Use your sources as support for your ideas, logic, and writing, rather than as a substitute for them. Don’t just parrot the thinking of others.

The following excerpt is from Mary Beth Norton’s In the Devil’s Snare, an account of the Salem witchcraft hysteria of 1692. The first two examples (Versions A and B) illustrate how a student committed plagiarism either by repeating the author’s words and ideas or borrowing an entire passage from the original. The last example (Version C) demonstrates how the student avoided plagiarism by properly citing and documenting the source.

Even on the very day of his examination Burroughs did not cease his spectral activity. He pinched Goody Vibber’s arm as she was en route to the Village for the examination; never having met him before, she could not identify his apparition until she saw him in person later.

On the same day of his examination Burroughs failed to stop his spectral activity. The townsfolk noticed that he pinched Goody Vibber’s arm as she was headed toward the Village for the examination. She had never met him before, and she could not identify his apparition until she saw him in person later.

Version A is plagiarism. The writer has tried to pass off the words and ideas of another as her own and has failed to indicate that they belong to Mary Beth Norton. The writer has stolen these words and ideas.

Mary Beth Norton points out that even on the very day of his examination Burroughs did not cease his spectral activity. He pinched Goody Vibber’s arm as she was en route to the Village for the examination; never having met him before, she could not identify his apparition until she saw him in person later (151).

Version B is also plagiarism. Even though the writer cites her source and includes a parenthetical citation, she has borrowed an entire passage from the original and failed to use quotation marks to indicate the extent of her borrowing. Her readers will think she wrote this.

Mary Beth Norton argues that on the day Salem’s former minister, the Rev. George Burroughs, was examined by the court, some in the town believed that his specter was active in the township: “He pinched Goody Vibber’s arm as she was en route to the Village for the examination; never having met him before, she could not identify his apparition until she saw him in person later” (151).

Version C avoids plagiarism by using the source material properly. The writer has identified her source, thereby letting the reader know from whom she quoted. She explains the importance of the passage in her own words, then quotes from the original. She ends by providing a parenthetical citation.

Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. New York: Vintage-Random, 2003. Print.

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Summarizing and paraphrasing are two of the most powerful tools of research. Often these two terms are used interchangeably to mean a restatement of someone else’s words, but they actually designate two different skills. To summarize is to condense the content of a long passage, that is, to capture its meaning in as few words as possible. In other words a summary is an accurate recasting of the original source’s main points, support, and logic. A paraphrase is a restatement of the original passage, phrase by phrase, in your own words, and is much longer than a summary. These two skills will benefit you greatly in your research.

Remember, all summaries and paraphrases you write are yours, and because you own them you do not have to enclose them in quotation marks. However, since the ideas you are restating are someone else’s, you need to cite the source in your research paper.

What follows are two common methods of integrating summaries and paraphrases into your paper:

Include the author’s name in the body of your sentence and enclose the page number(s) in parentheses, thereby informing your reader that you are summarizing someone else’s writing.

Award-winning writer William Gass argues that the social climate of Vienna made it not a coincidence that many of the intellectuals and writers Wittgenstein admired the most committed suicide (146).

Paraphrasing is an effective method of establishing the authority of the author if you have previously quoted from the source. In addition it helps you avoid cluttering your paper with too many quotations. Simply enclose the author’s name and page number(s) in parentheses at the end of the sentence.

Music provided the color of Viennese society, but suicide turned it pale. The news of the day was often aflutter with sensationally untimely deaths. (Gass 146).

Gass, William. “At Death’s Door: Wittgenstein.” Finding a Form. New York: Knopf, 1997.

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Quotations must be used selectively, or they lose their impact. Use only quotations that stand out and are interesting in some vivid and relevant way. Also, aim for brevity with quotations. Long quotations and the overuse of them will bore your readers and peg you as a sloppy scholar or lazy thinker—or both.

When omitting words from the middle of a sentence, use ellipses (three spaced periods) with a space before and after each period.

To make your text flow smoothly, use one of the following methods of integrating quotations:

Gass points out that three of Wittgenstein’s older brothers were suicides and “an early death must have seemed the inherited fate of the family” (148).

People who knew him have tried to reconcile the brilliant mind with the stubborn, arrogant attitude: “I am inclined to believe it was not Wittgenstein’s brilliance by itself that impressed Moore, Russell, Keynes . . . but the fact that he did indeed burn with a bright, gemlike flame” (Gass 151).

This method is used for long quotations of four or more lines. Double-space the quotation and indent it one inch from the left margin. There is no need to use quotation marks. Notice that the final period goes before the parenthetical citation instead of after it. There should be a single space after the period. If the quotation extends to more than one paragraph, the first line of each paragraph should have an additional indent of a quarter inch.

William Gass, in “At Death’s Door: Wittgenstein,” explains how the high rate of suicide in Vienna shaped the overall mind-set of the young philosopher:

In those days, if music appeared to be the rosy flush of Vienna’s fame, suicide seemed its fever. The newsworthy surface of society was regularly ruffled by someone’s dramatically premature demise. There was Otto Weininger, whose crackpot book Sex and Character Wittgenstein, in his early years, admired; Ludwig Boltzmann, important for his work in statistical dynamics, and one with whom, equally early, Wittgenstein wished to study in Vienna; the poet Georg Trakl; notables like the architect of the Imperial Opera House, Eduard van der Null; aristocrats of a rank as elevated as the Baron Franz von Uchatius, including actual imperialities such as the Crown Prince Rudolf himself—each a distinguished suicide. (146)

Use quotation marks to set off two or three lines of verse, with a slash and a space on either side ( / ) to separate them.

Robert Frost points out an ironic reversal between nature and time when he writes, “The woods are lovely, dark and deep. / But I have promises to keep, / And miles to go before I sleep” (86).

If quoting verse of more than three lines, begin the quote on a new line and indent the passage one inch from the left margin. Place a parenthetical citation at the end of the last line.

Milton’s “Lycidas” opens with the swain (shepherd) grieving for the death of his friend:

Yet once more, O ye Laurels, and once more

Ye Myrtles brown, with Ivy never-sear

I com to pluck your Berries harsh and crude,

And with forc’d fingers rude,

Shatter your leaves before the mellowing year. (651)

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In today’s world the computer is the writing instrument of choice, but many researchers still use index cards to record all information acquired during their research—bibliographic data on one side and quotations, summaries, paraphrases on the other. The cards are handy and provide all the information needed to compile a list of works cited.

If doing things in this old-fashioned way is not for you, try creating separate word-processed files to keep track of all bibliographic information and content notes. You might also try writing notes and marginalia on photocopies and printouts of your sources. But no matter how you gather and store your information, your collection of cards, files, and printouts will be essential to keeping track of your research. Eventually, you will compile a provisional works-cited list, without which a successful paper will be almost impossible.

It is imperative that this provisional list be in place before you begin the actual writing of your paper. You will no doubt expand and refine your list as you proceed in your writing, but without this provisional list you will have no clue as to your sources or how to document those sources. You will be lost.

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Most scholarly work published in print format has gone through a rigorous peer-review process. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about other types of sources. Therefore, researchers need to determine the reliability of the information they collect from their research. If a source cannot be substantiated, you will need to verify the original or find an additional source to substitute for it. The MLA Handbook recommends that researchers concentrate on the authority, accuracy, and currency of their sources in order to judge their reliability.

1. A source should be authoritative. Researchers must ask themselves if a source has been “peer reviewed.” Scholarly journals and academic book publishers engage in peer review, a process by which publishers consult with experts about a piece before publishing it. Also, the author’s credentials lend credibility to the work. Does the author have the requisite education and training in the field or relevant experience to give the work credence? You can reasonably judge the authority of a book since most are reviewed by experts in newspapers and professional journals as well as commented upon online. Look to see what others have said about the book before making up your mind. For Web sites check the “About the Author” or “About Us” links. If no author is listed (a bad sign) look for information about any sponsoring organization. Most Web sites associated with academic institutions post material that’s been read by experts or vetted by an editor. Unfortunately, numerous Web sites are maintained by individuals whose expertise is doubtful. Keep in mind that most of the information on individual sites is never edited, verified, or fact checked.
2. A source should be accurate. Check to see if the work’s sources are listed. The titles and authors in the list of works cited will tell you about the breadth of the author’s research and about any possible bias. Web publications almost always provide hyperlinks to their sources as a means for readers to verify their claims. Be leery of Web sites whose links are mostly broken or cite individual pages and not academic or scholarly sites.
3. A source should be current. Good researchers rely on the most current work in their respective fields. Keep in mind that many Web sites are not updated frequently and may be out of date. To determine currency, look for either publication and copyright dates or dates of last update or revision. Print publications have copyright dates printed on the copyright page, and online sources usually list the date of last update at the bottom of the front page. Checking the dates of any listed and/or linked sources can also help determine how current a Web site is. Note, too, that most reputable sites will give an e-mail address or comment box for you to contact the author or sponsoring organization with any questions you might have.

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1. Scholarly books and articles. Written by scholars and rigorously peer reviewed, they take time to produce and may not represent the most current thinking in their respective fields.
2. Serious books and articles. Written by experts and professional writers and reviewed by publishers’ editors, they are usually more current than scholarly books and articles but may prove less rigorous in their scholarship.
3. Popular magazines. Written by professional writers and journalists, they are most often current but may not be the most in depth.
4. Newspapers. Written by journalists and reviewed by editors, they are very current but may not be thorough.
5. Sponsored Web sites. Information is reviewed by the sponsor (preferably an academic institution) to ensure its accuracy and suitability.
6. Individual Web sites. Written by almost anyone, they range in subject matter, and their authority varies widely.
7. Listservs and newsgroups. Listservs use a mailing list software application to send emails to a virtual community of users—students, laypersons, or experts. Content may or may not be moderated. Newsgroups are essentially discussion forums and, unlike listservs, allow anyone to post. The reliability of information varies.
8. Blogs and wikis. Written by anyone from individuals to experts to scholars, they may be reviewed, commented upon, or updated by subsequent readers, and their source information might be documented or linked. Like individual Web sites, their authority varies.
9. Online databases. Written mainly by scholars, they carry the same weight as printed scholarly books and articles. Most libraries subscribe to one or more such databases.

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