Three Annotated
Bibliographies Assignment
In this assignment, you choose
three topics. Get three sources for each, for a total of 9 sources. Please put
them all into one document and write a brief statement before each topic
telling me what you researched specifically or keywords you used. You will
eventually choose one of these three topics as your final research project. You
may also get some feedback from me to help make your final decision.
This assignment can be either very
difficult or very easy depending on how well you are prepared. You should have
a firm grasp on how to judge a source’s validity, how to summarize, and how to
effectively gather appropriate research. Each source should in some way address
your research question. Each source should be credible. And each source should
be documented properly. You also must
read each source and understand it. If
your source is a book, you can get by with reading just that section that is
helpful.
Cite each source according to the
MLA style guide. There is one in the book, though I feel it is poorly designed.
Use the Purdue OWL http://owl.english.purdue.edu/. The sources you choose must
be credible. Credibility exists on a spectrum, and we should only use the best
of the best. Internet searches often lead to trouble for students, so I suggest
that you stick to EBSCO HOST/Academic
Search Premier or seek a librarian’s help to be safe. Credibility is a gray
area, and it is so difficult to determine that we employ these experts to
maintain a collection of credible material, not only from academic presses. If you cite a source that is not credible, it
will not count, and will cause extra unneeded work. If you choose not to access
the library website at all, you will probably not pass this course.
Summarize your source first, using
your own words. It is easy to plagiarize here, since much of the preexisting
language in a source has no synonyms and is therefore impossible to put into
your own words. A small amount of this is alright in a summary, but language,
sentence structure, and style should strive to be very different from the
original text. Do not simply reword an abstract using a thesaurus. To avoid
this problem, gain a solid understanding by reading the source article before
you summarize it.
After each summary, reflect on how
the source affected your research. Since research is a process, a source can do
many things to your research question. It can inform it. It can problematize
it. It can undermine it. It can even help you narrow things down. For instance,
if your question was “Since the dawn of the internet, can we really still rely
on the FCC to keep our children safe from explicit music?” and you find a
source that already answers the same exact question, then you know your
research question needs to change. This does not mean you failed, or that your
work was for nothing. It just means that the research guided you in a different
direction. It happens to everyone. Just be honest and expect this. You can
simply say something like “It looks like this 300+ page book has already
tackled my research question, so now I must either find a completely new topic
or revise or narrow it somehow.” The remaining two sources on that topic can
then be summarized and annotated separately, and they will all be acceptable
for the assignment. Also, maybe your source helped narrow your topic. For
instance, maybe you found an article that briefly explores different methods
and safeguards against explicit digital downloads. You could say something
like, “This article is helpful because, if I choose to write about this topic,
I can focus my paper on alternatives to advisory labels. I could maybe title my
paper something like “Safeguarding our Children in the 21st century.” Maybe
your source would work well in a certain section of your paper. For instance,
maybe you find a source that talks about the market of digital downloads, and
has a small review about the history of such technologies. You could use this
information in your paper. Then your reflection could be something like, “I
could use this early in my paper. I could talk about the history of digital
downloads and give dates and statistics. This could help give my readers some
good background information.”
The easiest way to find credible sources is to
use Academic Search Premier through the Helmke Online Library. You can
find this link at library.pfw.edu, under “quick links.” Try to experiment with
different keywords if your results are thin. Another trick is to break the
keywords up between the different fields. The search engine does not work like
Google. You have to disperse the keywords amongst the fields. Another trick is
to click “choose databases” at the very top left side of the screen and then
selecting more databases. You can also contact a Helmke librarian. They are
very good at finding materials if you have trouble. I shouldn’t say “good.”
They are more “magical” or “shocking” when it comes to finding things. Books
are fine, so long as their authors are credible. Book credibility can vary
depending on the subject you are researching.
Please be aware that some of the
sources you find will be easier to understand than others. It is important that
you fully understand the source before you try to annotate it, so you sometimes
have to trade usability for readability. If you have problems finding
materials, I can also help you. Just email me [email protected]
.
The assignment will be graded on length,
source credibility, adherence to MLA conventions, your comprehension of the
source (the summary) and your comprehension of how the source informed or
shaped your research (reflection). The length should be about 4-6 pages. Three
sources for each topic—nine sources total. Nine annotations. MLA format
again—double space, Times, 12 pt font.
Below is an example annotated
bibliography.
Andrew Johnson
Professor X
W131
11/11/2111
My first topic I wanted to research
is how people teach creative writing. I don’t have any idea yet, and it seems
like it would be pretty difficult.
Annotated
Bibliography
Berry, R.M. “Theory, Creative Writing, and the
Impertinence of History.” Colors of a Different Horse: Rethinking Creative
Writing Theory and Pedagogy. Ed. Wendy Bishop and Hans Ostrom. Urbana:
National Council of Teachers of English, 1994.[h1]
Older literature and literary conventions have been regarded as problematic
when it comes to creative writing. Today we view literary tradition as bondage,
and modern creativity as defined, in part, by breaking the conventions of the
past. This notion has backfired because poetry has lost its place in time.
Poetry has for centuries been a steady evolution, each new convention built
with reverence and some imitation of the past. The author argues that we should
always look to the past in reverence and emrbrace some methods of imitation.[h2] I can use this in my “poetry” section of my paper[b3] .
Bishop, Wendy. “Suddenly Sexy: Creative Nonfiction
Rear-Ends Composition.” College English 65 (2003): 257-275.[h4]
Here Wendy Bishop examines the new trend in composition classrooms—to
include creative nonfiction. She believes that many students write poorly
because of a lack of interest, and need to be given choices that relate to
their lives. If a student is given the opportunity to express herself using her
own life experiences, prose will become more confident and interesting.[h5] I am not sure where I will use this source in my
paper yet, but I feel a lot more confident and informed about the subject now.
I think I will narrow my thesis statement down and look at how creative writing
is influenced by culture.[b6]
Cain, Mary Ann. Personal interview. 2 Nov.
2007.
In this interview pedagogical methods were explained in the context of
creative writing. Some methods include peer reviews, multiple draft
methodology, and final portfolio grading procedures. This interview also
adresses the topic of subjectivity in creative writing evaluation. This is a
way that creative writing can be approached in the writing center. Instead of
focusing on the written piece, I can try to focus on the writer, and perhaps
try to foster writer growth. This helped me better understand the nature of
creative writing pedagogy and evaluation. I now feel more confident in writing
about my subject.