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Informative Speech

In an informative speech you are telling a group of people about something you find interesting. Most of what you will be covering will be "facts" that are generally accepted to be true by those familiar with the topic. However, you cannot presume that your audience knows anything about your topic, so you will want to provide a solid background and include definitions of important terms so that your listeners will be able to understand what you are talking about.

Because you are giving an overview of the topic, what you will need to do is background research. Most background research sources are found in the Reference area of the Library. All, or nearly all, of what you will need to know for your speech can be found in encyclopedias, the basic "background" reference tool.

Background sources:
  • dictionary--definitions of terms
  • general encyclopedias
  • if available, subject encyclopedias
The following are some recommended resources to consult for your speech:

English language dictionaries are in the call number range PE 1625 to PE 1628
  • Oxford English Dictionary (OED). (PE 1025 .O87 1989) is the largest dictionary of the English language. It has the history of each word, and examples of its use throughout its history. Note: the OED is a British publication, so some words will be found under different spellings than American English.
General Encyclopedias (free online encyclopedias--scroll down on page to see them)
  • Academic American Encyclopedia. 21 vols. AE .A23 1998 Reference
  • Collier's Encyclopedia. 24 vols. AE 5 .C683 1996 Reference
  • Encyclopaedia Britannica. 32 vols. AE 5 .E 363 2005 Reference
  • Encyclopedia Americana. 30 vols. AE 5 .E 333 2001 Reference
  • Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia. 9 vols. AE 5 .O94 1985 Reference
    • Volumes entitled: The Physical World, The Natural World, World History from Earliest Times to 1800, World History from 1800 to the Present Day, Invention and Technology, Peoples and Cultures, The Universe, Index and Ready Reference.
  • World Book Encyclopedia. 22 vols. AE 5 .W55 2003 Reference--Current favorite.

The following is a selected list of subject encyclopedias owned by CSU. As you can see, many large subjects have their own specialized encyclopedias. Most of these will have signed articles on specific topics--and a bibliography. CSU affiliates have access to the Gale Virtual Reference Library, which has well over one hundred subject encyclopedias in full text online. Search it directly from here:

There are also around twenty Oxford (publisher) encyclopedias and dictionaries available via the "Research Databases" page "O."

Notice the wide variety of topics (these are just a sample!):

image of music CD with notesmusic image of piano artsimage of artist's palette with four paint colors and brush image of laboratory vials science & inventions animated gif of ice skater (a drawing) sport image of drawing of soccer players

image of gardenplants image of rose

image of our solar system in correct planet order from sun, but not as arranged in the skyastronomy

 image of medieval manuscript wtih womanhistory image of beer in glass mugfood and drink image of graduation cap with tassleeducation image of teacher with two students

If you do not find a title in the main Reference section, check Reference South (ask for directions at the Information Desk).

  • Contemporary Artists. 2 vols. N 6490 .C6567 2002 Reference
  • Countries and Their Cultures. 4 vols. GN 307 . C68 2001 Reference
  • The Cowboy Encyclopedia. E 20 .S56 1994 Reference
  • Dictionary of American History. 7 + 3 vols. E 174 .A43 1976 Reference
  • Dictionary of Art. 34 vols. N 31 .D5 1996 Reference Also online as Art Online
  • Dictionary of the Middle Ages. 13 vols. D 114 .D5 1982 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. 5 vols. E 185 .E54 1996 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Archaeology: History and Discoveries. 3 vols. CC 100 .E54 2001 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Architectural and Engineering Feats. NA 200 .L32 2001 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 4 vols. QB 14 .E534 2001 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Beer. TP 568 .E53 1995 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Bioethics. 5 vols. QH 332 .E52 1995 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (Kirk-Othmer). 25+ vols. TP 9 .E685 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Communication and Information. 3 vols. P 87.5 E53 2002 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Computer Science. QA 76.15 .E48 2000 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Ecotourism. G 156.5 .E26 E53 2001 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Energy, Technology, and the Environment. 4 vols. TJ 163.235 .E53 1995 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Ethics. 3 vols. BJ 63 .E45 2001 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Gardens. 3 vols. SB 465 .E63 2001 Reference
  • The Encyclopedia of Higher Education. 4 vols. LB 15 .E 49 1992 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Movie Special Effects. TR 858 .N48 2000 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Psychology. 8 vols. BF 31 .E52 2000 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Religion. 16 vols. BL 31 .E46 1987 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Small Business. 2 vols. HD 62.7 .H553 1998 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Sociology. 5 vols. HM 425 .E5 2000 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Sport Science. 2 vols. GV 558 .E53 1997 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages. 2 vols. D 114 .E53 2000 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. 6 vols. CB 361 .E52 1999 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of the Solar System. QB 501 .E53 1999 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of Underwater and Maritime Archaeology. CC 77 .U5 E53 1998 Reference
  • Encyclopedia of World Cultures. 10 vols. GN 307 .E53 1991 Reference
    • Volumes entitled: North America, Oceania, South Asia, Europe, East and Southeast Asia, Russia and Eurasia/China, South American, Middle East, Index.
  • Gadgets and Necessities: An Encyclopedia of Household Inventions. TX 298 .W43 2000 Reference
  • Historic World Leaders. 5 vols. D 412 .H57 Reference
    • Volumes entitled: Africa, Middle East, Asia, Pacific; Europe A-Z; Europe L-Z, North & South America A-L; North and South America M-Z.
  • International Encyclopedia of Communications. 4 vols. P 87.5 .I5 1989 Reference
  • International Encyclopedia of Dance. 6 vols. GV 1585 .I586 1998 Reference
  • International Military and Defence Encyclopedia. 6 vols. U 24 .E 58 1993 Reference
  • Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects. 4 vols. NA 40 .M25 1982 Reference
  • McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. 20 vols. Q 121 .M 3 2002 Reference
  • New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 29 vols. ML 100 .N48 2001 Reference
  • The Photography Encyclopedia. TR 9 .M39 1999 Reference
  • St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 5 vols. E 169.1 .S764 2000 Reference
  • Storey's Horse-Lover's Encyclopedia. SF 278 .S76 2001 Reference
  • Wiley Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Technology. 4 vols. TP 368.2 .E62 2000 Reference
  • World Education Encyclopedia: A Survey of Educational Systems Worldwide. 3 vols. LB 15 .W87 2001 Reference
  • World of Invention: History's Most Significant Inventions and the People behind Them. T15 .W82 1999 Reference
  • (For additional titles [a few are duplicates] click here)

To identify additional encyclopedias owned by CSU, do Subject or Keyword searches in the library catalog Sage. Consider the broader subject area that your topic is a part of before doing your search, because there are no subject encyclopedias for narrow topics.

Subject search:

If you do a Subject search be sure to use a Library of Congress Subject Heading (LCSH) term, and to do two separate searches. Type in the subject area of your topic and add the word "dictionaries" to your search. Look at the items you found, writing down the call numbers of useful sources, and then do the search again, only the second time add the word "encyclopedias" instead of "dictionaries." Write down the call numbers and locations for useful sources and then go find them.

Keyword search:

Type in the subject area of your topic and add "and (encyclopedias or dictionaries)" to your search. For example:

Keyword music and (encyclopedias or dictionaries)

Topic example:

To find information about homelessness, you will need to look under sociology or social work. Therefore, do the following searches to find encyclopedias that would be likely to have articles on that topic:

Subject sociology encyclopedias

Subject sociology dictionaries

Subject social work encyclopedias

Subject social work dictionaries

or,

Keyword sociology and (encyclopedias or dictionaries)

Keyword social work and (encyclopedias or dictionaries)

Two of the encyclopedias you would find would be the Encyclopedia of Sociology and the Encyclopedia of Social Work, both of which have lengthy articles on "homelessness."

The Subject search may look more cumbersome, but it can be adventageous to do a search using "official" subject headings.

SPCC200 ||| How to do Library Research

Content: Naomi Lederer