Susan Gaskin-Noel, MLS Mercy College Libraries ©2010/2011

 A good topic should be:  A current event  An issue of interest to your peers  One aspect of that issue  Something you feel strongly about  Something not too controversial Choosing a Persuasive Speech Topic Video

 Good Topics  Cell Phone Use  Fashion Trends  Reality TV  Smoking (schools)  Tuition Rate Hikes  Not So Good topics  Death Penalty  Global Warming  Legalizing Drugs  Religion (schools)  Terrorism

 Books and Media Catalog Books and Media Catalog  Go to the “Advanced Search” screen  Type in your topic  Also try “opposing viewpoints”  Limit to Books (optional)  Select “Dobbs Ferry” from Location and Availability  Write down the location Ask for help finding the items on the shelf

Topic Type Campus

M ul ti pl e c o pi e s

 Current Events ▪ CQ Researcher CQ Researcher Provides in-depth reporting and analysis on issues and provides historical background on the topic, outside commentary, pro/con arguments, chronological information, etc. ▪ Issues and Controversies Issues and Controversies Issues and Controversies provides background information, explanations of opposing points of view, and factual analysis of current events and issues. More Databases for Current Events

General ▪ ProQuest ProQuest Articles from journals, magazines and newspapers in a wide range of subject areas – full text ▪ Wilson Wilson Articles from journals and magazines in most subject areas – full text

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Other Search Options

 The Journal Locator is a browseable and searchable database for finding periodicals owned or linked to by Mercy libraries.  Periodicals include:  Newspapers  Magazines  Journals Do Not Use to Search for a Specific Article

Click LinkClick Link

 Include the word “statistics” in your keyword searching of the databases  Click on “By the Numbers” in Issues and Controversies

 Books and Media Catalog bin/koha/opac-search.pl  Google Images  You Tube

 Web searching should only be done after you have exhausted your libraries’ resources Why?  Millions of choices  The web has no quality control  Often difficult to determine credibility

 If you must use the web, check for:  Domain -.edu,.org,.net  Author/Authority  Publishing body  Currency  Bias  Evaluating Internet Sources aluating/index.html

 APA Guidelines - Mercy College Libraries (PDF) Guidelines and examples of APA (6th edition) provided by Mercy College Librarians. APA Guidelines - Mercy College Libraries (PDF)  APA Guidelines - Purdue OWL Purdue University Online Writing Lab - citing APA style. APA Guidelines - Purdue OWL  APA Sample Paper - Purdue OWL (PDF) Example of how to structure an APA research paper, from Purdue Online Writing Lab. APA Sample Paper - Purdue OWL (PDF)

 MLA Guidelines - Mercy College Libraries (PDF) Guidelines and examples of MLA (7th edition) provided by Mercy College Librarians. MLA Guidelines - Mercy College Libraries (PDF)  MLA Guidelines - Purdue OWL Purdue University Online Writing lab - citing MLA style. MLA Guidelines - Purdue OWL  MLA Sample Paper - Purdue OWL (PDF) Example of how to structure a MLA research paper, from Purdue Online Writing Lab. MLA Sample Paper - Purdue OWL (PDF)

 Go to the libraries’ website  Under Resources ▪ Select Course and Subject Guides ▪ Select Speech from the drop-down menu, click Go ▪ Select Speech Persuasive (PowerPoint)  Direct URL: