Suitable for students taking English literature courses, this textbook guides the reader through the rudiments of literary investigation: collecting materials, evaluating evidence, drawing conclusions, taking notes in a scholarly manner and composing one's own prose. For this fourth edition, the authors take into account the widespread use of computers (word processors and databanks) in literary research. They have integrated the newest developments in theory and criticism with their historically organized approach to literary scholarship, to assist in the never-ending effort of scholars to shed new light on "old" texts.