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PART THREE
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Page 180
A Strategy
BACKGROUND ON THE ISSUE Think of several general headings under which the issue might be classified. For example, if the issue concerns criminal investigation, the headings might be “crime,” “criminology,” “police,” and one or more specific kinds of crime, such as “burglary.” Then look up those headings in the index volume of a good general encyclopedia, such as Encyclopedia Americana or Encyclopaedia Britannica. (Americana has a separate index volume. Britannica is divided into two sets of books: the macropaedia set, which contains detailed articles on a limited number of subjects, and the micropaedia set, which contains brief articles and cross-references on a large number of subjects.) The articles you will find there have been written by authorities in the various fields. At the end of each article is a list of books and other articles you can consult for a fuller or more specialized treatment of the issue. In addition to the general encyclopedias, there are numerous specific encyclopedias of art, business, history, literature, philosophy, music, science, education, social science, and many other areas. Most of these contain not only historical background but also titles of other books and articles you might find helpful.* FACTS AND STATISTICS Almanacs, published yearly, are treasuries of information on myriad subjects. World Almanac is available from the 1868 edition. Information Please Almanac, The New York Times Encyclopedic Almanac, and Reader’s Digest Almanac are more recent publications. Because any almanac is arranged very compactly for efficient use, it is important to study the index before using it. INFORMATION ABOUT PEOPLE A number of biographical dictionaries and encyclopedias are available. Two of the most helpful ones are Current Biography: Who’s News and Why and Webster’s Biographical Dictionary. INFORMATION ABOUT THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE Many reference books are available, including the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Webster’s New Dictionary of Synonyms, and Eric Partridge’s Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English.
*Remember that background reading, though a helpful start toward analyzing an issue, is never an acceptable substitute for analysis. Your instructor will expect more from you than simply background information.