For the third major assignment in this course, you will research a current (within the past two years) controversy of your choice in any area of gender, race, and/or ethnicity in American identity. You will blend primary and secondary research on your chosen controversy to create an Annotated Bibliography. This assignment is your opportunity to explore the argument you plan to make in your final project.
Headnote and Annotations
Your bibliography will consist of a headnote with six annotations from the genres listed below to get a variety of viewpoints. The headnote accomplishes two objectives:
Synthesizes the research findings for the assignment in 250-350 words, and
Proposes an argument you anticipate making in your final essay for the course.
Each annotation will be a formal entry of 150-250 words to help the reader understand the significance, relevance and importance of the source.
Genres and Currency of Sources
To ensure your research represents a wide range of perspectives and supports a strong final argument, you will collect six different sources across genres on the topic of your choice.
Use the following list to guide your search, and be sure to note that some of these have specific timeline requirements:
One peer-reviewed journal article published within the past ten years
One non-fiction book no more than ten years old (e-books are permitted—see UT libraries database for extensive selections)
Two editorials that agree with your position published within the past two years
One credible editorial that disagrees with your position published within the past two years
One contextualizing document appropriate for your topic such as a law case or a statistics report, (for example, if your bibliography studies the rhetoric of interracial marriage you might want to include the final decision from Loving v. Virginia). This source does not have a date requirement, but rather should be chosen based on its relevance to understanding the topic.
Optional—You may include an annotation for an image, video or other textual object in addition to the six required entries.
Be sure to attribute all materials. See the syllabus for grading policy details. To sum up, plagiarism results in a zero (0).
Format Requirements
The headnote should appear at the top of the essay after an MLA header.
The annotations will follow the headnote.
Each annotation should begin with an MLA- style citation for the source being described, and annotations should be ordered alphabetically.
Tips
As you search for sources, don’t just pick the first things you find on Google—your project needs to go deeper! Look at many items in order to narrow down your research to the best group of sources.
Stasis Theory will make it easier for you to determine where your sources converge and where they diverge. Revisit Module 2 of the College course if you need a refresher.
If you have questions about structuring your bibliography, take another look at the model Annotated Bibliography in the course.
