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ENG 4 - The Fault in Our Stars and 1984: Websites

Sources for writing a research paper exploring the philosophical perspectives in "The Fault in Our Stars" or the contemporary issues raised in Orwell's "1984."

Sample Searches

Also look at your research paper assignment for more search terms:

  • "civil liberties"
  • "bulk surveillance"
  • "mass surveillance"
  • "attacks on the press"
  • "domestic eavesdropping"
  • "Big Brother" AND NSA
  • "homeland security" AND NSA
  • "Patriot Act" AND "Section 215"
  • privacy AND security 

Note Google assumes an "AND" for searches. The "AND" is included here only for illustrative purposes.

Search Engines

Google Advanced Search - Information on educational and governmental websites tend to have more reliable information.  In the advance search, along with your search terms, enter .edu or .gov in the box labeled "Search within a site or domain:". 

Google Scholar - Google Scholar tends to cover more articles in the sciences but you might find some useful information.

Web Resources

Finding literary criticism online is not that easy but IPL2 offers this Online Literary Criticism Guide.

For an overview of literary theory and various schools of critical thought, see Purdue's Online Writing Lab.

PLEASE ask a librarian if you need help. We have many free resources available to you through the LPC library.

REMEMBER to verify the information you find using other sources!

Some Sample Sources to Get You Started

Additional Resources from Your Instructor

"Politics and the English Language," by George Orwell, is an insightful writing lesson about common writing errors.

Big Brother Awards are given by Privacy International to highlight actions that threaten privacy.

Links to articles that reflect 1984 in our present world broken down by theme.

A very funny satiric site, Students for an Orwellian Society, claims to promote the values of Ingsoc while actually pointing out the use of such strategies already in our society.

Orwell's "Notes on Nationalism" presents his views on the dangers of wishing to gain power for one's nation or "unit." This relates to the totalitarian vision in 1984, for which he sees a precursor in his contemporary world.

The 1956 movie of 1984

"Why Orwell Matters" features Christopher Hitchens discussing his work on the use of language about Iraq.

Evaluating Websites

The quality of the information you find on the Web varies tremendously so it is always a good idea to check the information against another source. As with all information resources, whether in print or on the Internet, you evaluate its quality based on the following criteria:

  • Accuracy (Is it free from mistakes and errors?)
  • Authority (What are the qualifications of the author?)
  • Objectivity (Is there any strong bias?)
  • Currency (Is the information up to date?)
  • Coverage (To what extent is the topic explored?)

That's just the basics.  Learn more!

Criteria to Evaluate the Credibility of  WWW Resources

Evaluating Information - Applying the CRAAP Test (CSU Chico Library)