ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
DEMONSTRATING RESEARCH AND SYNTHESIS OF IDEAS
Now that you have successfully engaged in the analysis of an authors implicit claim in order to develop a new claimyour claimit is time for you to seek out and listen to what others are saying about that topic. Ideas never exist in a vacuum, meaning that we dont come to our understanding of the world without first engaging with the ideas of those who came before us. In this way, compiling good and credible research and synthesizing a variety of perspectives will be an important and necessary part of developing your college reading/writing skills. For this assignment, you will be tasked with entering a conversation that has been going on long before you arrived on the scene and one that will continue long after you depart.
The purpose of an annotated bibliography is to provide a useful summary and evaluation of related sources on a chosen research topic. Over the course of the semester, we have discussed many aspects of literacy, society, and selfthe classs content focusand this is a chance for you to explore research questions of your own and deepen your knowledge of one specific subject. Regardless of your chosen research topic, you should be able to connect it to the literacy, society, and self content focus in some way.
THE ASSIGNMENT
For this assignment, you will need to annotate a minimum three sources related to your topic. In the same way that you would provide an MLA-formatted bibliography (Works Cited page) for a standard academic essay, you will do the same here. However, instead of just listing the bibliographic information for your sources, you will write annotations, or entries, beneath each of them. These annotations will allow you to reflect on the process of your research while at the same time compelling you to synthesize your research.
You are welcome to annotate one of the sources I have assigned in class, such as Rosina Lippi-Greens Language Subordination. However, the other two sources will need to be new and unique to your chosen topic. In addition, at least one of your sources will need to be a secondary source. That is, it should be scholarly and peer-reviewed. You may also choose to evaluate a primary sourcespeeches, literary texts, social media posts, personal essays. A primary source should illuminate or connect directly to your chosen secondary source. There is a range of relationships between primary and secondary sources, so be creative in how you connect them!
The annotations you write for each of these sources should be at least 3-4 hearty paragraphs (one paragraph is approx. 7-9 lines in length, Times New Roman, 12-point font), and they need to be relatively detailed. The individual annotations should meet the following criteria:
Annotations should feature a full citation (MLA format).
They should summarize the main idea/argument of the source. Such a summary should primarily be written in your own words, but you can also pull in especially important and illustrative quotes as necessary. Summaries will usually be about 5-6 sentences (too much of a summary inhibits your own ideas and your own voice, so try not to have your summaries exceed 6 sentences).
Furthermore, your annotations should assess the value of the source. How valuable is the argument? Why is it of value? What are its potential applications and implications? What are the limitations of the argument? What might the argument be forgetting, misinterpreting, underestimating, etc? How effective is its method of investigation? Why is it effective or ineffective? Would you draw the same conclusions from the evidence provided? How does the sources information fit in with what you already know, or had assumed, about your topic?
Finally, your annotations should evaluate the relevance of the source. Is this source relevant to your topic/claim? Why or why not? How does this source contribute to the research on your topic overall? Does it connect to the other sources you annotated? Does it agree with your other sources? (If it doesnt agree, discuss how and why.) And what further research, if any, could or should be done?
FORMATTING
Because this project is research-heavy, it is especially important that you abide by MLA formatting standards. Your Annotated Bibliography should include formal, focused language, good summary, good analysis, all in a double-spaced document with 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and a full heading or cover page.
Unlike the Implicit Claims Analysis, there is not a page-count for this assignment. Instead, I will be expecting you to satisfy the annotation for each of your three+ sources, however long that may be. Basically, I will be looking for an effective summary and a detailed, substantive analysis for each source provided.
