The Web is a great tool for research but one does have to be a bit careful about what one uses. Here are some research notes for you to ponder.

STRATEGIES FOR WEB RESEARCH

1. Search Englines. You can use a search engine like Google to find material - this can be invaluable but do not limit yourself to random Web searches.

2. Specific Sites. Try to also use material at authoritative sites like the EPC (http://writing.upenn.edu/epc) and UBU Web (http://www.ubu.com). Another good source for basic information is about.com.

3. Online Reference Material. No research would be complete without consulting the Literature Resource Center, which offers full text articles from crucial resources such as Contemporary Authors and the Dictionary of Literary Biography. As opposed to the Web where one sometimes has to hunt for hours to find something as simple as the birth year of an author, these sources give you a solid amount of critically important information in one compact article: you simply read and decide what's relevant to your own presentation. So don't pass up this valuable resource. You can get to it by going to: http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/subject.html then pick "English & American Lit" (it contains more than just English & American lit) then "Literature Resource Center" (if you scroll down a bit you will find it on the right under "Subject Databases"). The best type of search is an author search, which you can get to from the "Home" button of LRC.