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Montgomery College Libraries > Course Related Pages > RD099 College Reading Skills II

As we discussed in the library instruction session, here are some reminders about how to locate the articles you need for your assignment.

Here are a few databases (collections of digitized articles) that will contain general articles on a wide range of topics:

Academic Search Premier

Enter search expression in "Find" field and put checkmark in "Full Text" box. Results can be limited to Magazines or Newspapers from the bar at the top.

National Newspapers

Enter search expression in "Basic Search" field.

SIRS Knowledge Source

Two choices: (1) Use "Leading Issues" directory, or (2) Select "Keyword/Natural Language" for search expression. Results from either option can be sorted by Lexile Score; a rating between 800-1200 is equivalent to the reading level range for the average American high school student.

Opposing Viewpoints

Use blue Subject Headings on opening page to search by topic. Contains information on current topics and controversial issues. Access persuasive essays, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and articles.

Montgomery Gazette

The Gazette is an excellent source for articles on topics of local interest, such as low cost housing in Montgomery County, or minimum wage legislation in Maryland.

Remember to use the print button inside the database screen, and that results from any of these searches may be sorted by date (most recent first) or relevance (highest occurrence of keywords). Here are some sample searches using keywords (they tend to be nouns) and Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT):

sports AND gambling

favre AND biography

france AND riots

poverty and "United States"

NBA and rule and changes

violence AND (television OR tv) AND children

"peer pressure"

steroids AND (teens OR youth)

hiv AND africa

teen* AND (drinking OR alcohol) AND driving

This library handout will help you correctly format your citations in MLA style.

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Send your feedback and suggestions to beth.thoms@montgomerycollege.edu.

©2006 Montgomery College Libraries Last Revised: 2008 March 7, egt