
St Andrew's Cathedral School Library
Pathfinder for English Standard - Physical Journeys

Year 12 Advanced English

Area of Study: The Journey

Focus: Physical Journeys

Under construction!!

This pathfinder will help you in your reading of Away and exploration of texts that depict physical journeys. It suggests specific titles from different genres and media, which you can use to build your collection of suitable materials for your assessment task. It also suggests search strategies at regular points to help extend your understanding of how best to make the available resources answer your information needs.

Coleridge

Definitions

Search Terms

Suggested texts

Useful Support Material

Further Suggestions

Suggested texts

Away

Resources on this text held in the library

[Call numbers given within square brackets]:

· Reference (available for use in library only):

· Books (available for loan):

· Articles (in Vertical Files*):

Also search the online encyclopaedias (see relevant links on the library website) for relevant short articles.

*Please see library staff for help with Vertical Files.

Definitions

It is always a good idea to clarify your understanding of basic terms. Use a print or an online dictionary (see links on library website) to look up the meanings of the words “physical” and “journey”.

You could also brainstorm on synonyms and related words for these key terms. Use a thesaurus (print or online) to help you. These synonyms can then become your search terms.

Search Terms

Using the Library Catalogue:

You can conduct a keyword search by typing in one or more of the key terms identified in your brainstorm (see ‘Definitions’ section) in the ‘Keyword’ field.

If you simply type in “imaginative journey” as a keyword search term, you will find some relevant titles.

You can also conduct a subject search, which requires you to type in specific terms, unlike the keyword search. New titles which are obviously useful for the Journeys area of study have been given the heading “Journeys – [Area of Study]”, but older texts which may also be relevant for your purpose, may have other, related subject headings.

Some suggested subject search terms for your topic:

· Voyages and travels (a broad term for travel narratives. Related terms are Adventure and adventurers, and Discovery and exploration)

To narrow your search to fiction titles, add the term “Fiction”. e.g. Voyages and travels – Fiction. You can also try searching for fiction about specific topics this way. e.g. Ghosts – Fiction

To focus your search on literary criticism use the term “History and criticism”. e.g. Science Fiction – History and criticism. “Study and teaching” can be used the same way. e.g. English literature – Study and teaching. If you combine such subject search terms with one of your synonyms as a keyword search term, you will narrow the hits to a manageable number.

Suggested Texts

The following suggestions, organised according to the text types outlined in your task sheet, are interesting starting points. Where a call number is provided within square brackets [ ], they are held by SACS library. If you require help with locating items, do not hesitate to approach library staff.

1. Pre-Twentieth Century print text

Prose (Fiction):

Play:

Try doing a title search for some of the above items. Scan some of the hits for their subject headings. Click on these headings to access more related titles.

2. Visual text

Painting:

Type your selected keyword into the “Text” field, and click the “Search” button.

Don’t forget the library has an excellent collection of art books. Check the 700s shelves.

Picture book:

You can narrow your literature search on the library catalogue to picture books by selecting “Junior Picture Book” in the “Location” field, in addition to your other search terms.

Because of the visual nature of picture books, it can be rewarding to browse in the collection (arranged in book tubs in the primary area of the library). You should also talk to the librarians, who know and love the collection.

3. Twentieth or Twenty-first century print text

Prose (Fiction):

Prose (Non-fiction):

“VF” in the call number signifies that the item is in the vertical files. VF items can be searched on the catalogue. See library staff for assistance.

4. Electronic text

Webpage:

Film:

Have you tried using search engines other than Google? Check out the links to search engines on the library website. Also try Dogpile and KartOO (the latter builds a concept-map with your search terms).

Experiment with a combination of search terms. Don’t forget to include the medium you wish to access (painting, film, or music, etc.) as a search term.

Click on Searching the Internet on the library homepage for tips on effective searching, including the use of Boolean operators.

Useful Support Material

Online resources:

NSW Department of Education and Training & Charles Sturt University. (2004). New HSC online : English.

http://hsc.csu.edu.au/english/area_of_study/

This offers exercises on writing about intertextuality between your text and the items in the prescribed stimulus booklet. Additional related material are suggested, and guidelines on preparing an essay framework are given. Sample questions are also provided. There is also useful information on the other prescribed text options for Physical Journeys.

English Teachers Association NSW. (2004). How to do English.

http://www.englishteacher.com.au/students/howToDoEnglish.html

This website explains key concepts in literature study and offers useful tips on text analysis and essay writing, including a section on The Journey. Parents and teachers will also find useful information directed at them. Unfortunately not all materials on this website is free.

More support material may be found by searching on databases like ProQuest and Austguide. Click on Libraries Online on the library homepage and follow the relevant links for tips on using these resources. Also see librarians for assistance.

Remember you can use the school library catalogue, your public library catalogue, and the online databases (mentioned above) from home, as long as you have internet access. See library staff for relevant passwords to the subscribed databases. Library catalogues do not require a password.

The library is in the process of identifying and gathering more resources to support your Physical Journeys area of study. Ask library staff for information on new resources.

If you discover excellent resources for studying Physical Journeys, or for any other HSC topic, which are not held by the library, do provide library staff with the relevant details, and we will try our best to obtain them for the library. This will have long-term benefit for the school community.

Further Suggestions

Here is a list for those who feel they need more suggestions to help them in their search for works with the theme “Physical Journeys”. To find more information on the following items, look up the individual works on the library catalogue or bookshop websites.

Novels

Picture Books

Films

You can also conduct an author search to check out other titles by the same author.

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