ENG 101 - Brian Kaufman
Critical Lens Essay
QVCC Library
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860.932.4007
Internet & Library resources for reviews, features and articles about current television programs.
Internet Movie Database includes plot summaries, episode synopses, cast and production
information for major television programs. http://www.imdb.com/ Like Wikipedia, this site accepts
contributions and edits from one and all. IMDB is owned by Amazon.
Rotton Tomatoes https://www.rottentomatoes.com/top-tv/ is an online aggregator of film and
television reviews, owned by Fandango. Check out the “tomatometer” (professional critics) and the
popcorn bucket (audience ratings). View selected quotes and follow links to read full articles.
Newspaper Reviews from six popular national and state papers can be searched simultaneously
using the library’s ProQuest Newspaper Database.** In the search box, enter the title of the
television show you are researching along with the words “television” and “review.” To narrow
down the results list, use the filters on the left side of the screen, e.g. choose a publication daterange.
Magazine & Academic Journal Reviews and Commentary can be searched in several library
databases at once, using Gale Power Search.** Search results include articles from many popular
and trade magazines, some newspapers and academic journals. Publications include, for example,
the Hollywood Reporter, the Journal of Popular Film and Television, and Critical Studies in Television,
among others.
** When accessing library databases from off-campus, you will be prompted to login to your
MyCommnet account.
Cite your Sources!
For information from library databases, use the citation tools provided to copy and paste the suggested
citation in MLA format. Check the citation and correct formatting as necessary.
For websites, gather the components needed for the MLA citation:
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Author or creator of the article or review, if identified
Title of the article or review
Name of the website
Publisher or sponsor of the website
Date the article was published or last updated
URL
Use an online citation generator (we recommend KnightCite) or use the citation management software
in Microsoft Word or Office 365 to format citations according to MLA guidelines. Check the generated
citations for proper formatting. To see a summary of the guidelines and citation examples, view the
library guide.