ENGL 101, and College 101 Learning Community (LC 1): Davison, C. & Hunt, B. (Fall 2025): Start Here

ENGL 101, and College 101 Learning Community 

This guide provides links to the most useful databases and resources for your work in LC1. Use the tabs above to navigate the guide.

"With Famine Crisis, Thousands of Somalis Flee to Ethiopia Refugee Camps" by United Nations Photo is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The following excerpts are taken from your Final Project Overview description (your librarian has highlighted the portions that pertain specifically to your research requirements). You can find the complete assignment description in your Canvas course.

From Final Project Overview

1. Choose a “burning” issue – a critical issue – related to people and their places or environments. This issue may be a global issue, an environmental issue, a social or humanitarian issue, or some combination of these (you’ll find that many issues fall under several of these umbrellas at once). You will likely choose a broad issue to start and narrow your focus as you research your topic. For example, you may choose climate change as a global issue but then focus your research on how climate change is affecting the Pacific Northwest in particular. You can let your research guide you (i.e. see what articles you discover) or you can come at this project with a particular focus in mind, searching for articles that support that more focused perspective. We’ll provide you with lots of resources to help you choose a topic and to help you conduct academic research. We’ll also talk about what kinds of articles and sources best support your argument or research question and how to determine whether a source is credible or legitimate.
2. Once you find sources you’d like to use [NOTE: you will need to find three credible sources], you’ll complete research journals and, ultimately, compile at least one of these sources into an annotated bibliography entry [be sure to use MLA format]. Don’t worry - we’ll talk at length about research journals and annotated bibliographies, what they look like, and how to write them.
3. Finally, you will submit a product that synthesizes your research questions, ideas, and academic research AND present that project to the class. You have the freedom to choose how you present this product. You may choose to submit an essay, video, podcast, presentation, blog, infographic, website, image, spoken word or poetry video or presentation… the possibilities are endless.

Have a question? Need help researching? Not sure where to find what you need? 

Contact Your Librarians

• Visit us in person at the Research Desk (Bldg 7)
• Email us at library@tacomacc.edu
• Call us at 253-566-5134
• Or use our 24/7 chat feature, linked below, to chat with a (human) librarian who can help you navigate the library's resources

Announcement: With proposed cuts to the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) by the current federal Administration, the research Chat service we have been able to provide since 2020 may be discontinued.