Resource Web Sites for Interpretative Speech

The Internet is a wonderful research tool by which to locate selections, as well as information about authors for
documentation purposes. By all means, use this realm. A word of caution though: prose and poetry selections
found only on the Internet and not published in print form are not considered to meet the category requirement
of “published.” Students should check categories to determine which ones require “published in hard copy.”
The Internet is also an easy way to locate required documentation for the categories.

Quality of Documentation on the Internet
Setting standards is essential: The Internet makes available web pages from fourth grade students right alongside
those from world-class experts. Just as in the print medium, one must make a distinction between the New
York Times and the National Enquirer.

Following are standards set forth for UIL documentation.
• NO use of web pages that come from discussion groups or chat rooms
• NO use of comments posted on blogs
• NO use of web pages where the author is a student in grade school, high school or college
• NO use of Wikipedia

Preferred web pages sponsored by one of the following:
• The author’s official copyrighted website
• A government institution
• A major educational institution, with pages maintained by faculty and departmental personnel, not students
• A recognized book publishing company
• A reputable journalistic organization (CNN, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, etc)
• An online library maintained by government agencies, colleges, universities (Library of Congress)
• A recognized online encyclopedia (not Wikipedia)

Determining Credibility – Examining the Site
• What is the site?
• Who sponsors the site and where does their data come from?
• Click on “About Us” and read their background.

Determining Credibility – Things to Avoid and Sites Not Appropriate
• Don’t simply “google” for biographical data and other facts.
• Don’t just assume the site is legitimate.
• Do not use Wikipedia, although you may evaluate the web pages linked within the Wikipedia entry as
possible legitimate resources.
• Do not use: IMDb.com, Goodread.com, Freebase.com, TrueKnowledge.com
• Do not use unauthorized Encylopedias.
• Do not use social media sites.
See Evaluating Internet Sources for Documentation for further discussion of problematic sites.

Try Searching these online sites for information
• Library of Congress Home Page - http://lcweb.loc.gov
• World Cat - http://worldcat.org
• University of Illinois library webpage - www.library.illinois.edu/infosci/research/guides/dewey/
• www.Booksinprint.com - Provides an advanced search for fiction and non-fiction.
• The On-Line Books Page
Includes original fiction, reviews, author interviews and thousands of annotated links to book-related
sites.

• A Celebration of Women Writers
http://www.digital.library.upenn.edu/women
This site provides a more in-depth biographical information about women writers and their books. The
site is arranged A to Z by the authors last name and in some cases gives a full text version of some of the
books or poems they have written. Most sites on the individual pages have pictures on the authors as well
as the biography.
• Poetry Foundation - www.poetryfoundation.org
Includes poetry, poet biographies, and a listing of other online resources.
• Poetry International - www. poetryinternational.org/pi/home
Includes poetry and poet biographies searchable by content or country as well as publication information
below each poem appearing on the website.

Try searching these online bookstores for information.
• Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com)
• BarnesandNoble.com (http://www.barnesandnoble.com)
• The New York Public Library Online (http://www.nypl.org)
(The New York Public Library also has an online bookstore on its site.

Library Resources
• Contemporary Poets, Dramatists, Essayists, and Novelists of the South: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook,
edited by Robert Bain and Joseph M. Flora
• Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 248: Antebellum Writers in the South. (also known as the DLB
series)

A Tip on Managing Internet Research
When looking for literature online for categories that permit it, limiting your searches is often
more useful than simply typing your search terms into Google. Try finding a few handy websites
you frequent when looking online for literature and creating a Google Custom Search.
When you create your own search engine, you can control what websites Google searches and
increase the likelihood that what you find could be useful.