Research Argument: An Annotated Bibliography
Objectives:
The main goal of this assignment is to help you:
- Use library databases and the Internet to find reliable research materials
- Demonstrate your ability to summarize, synthesize, and evaluate research materials
- Prepare you/jump start writing your research argument paper
- Cite sources in APA or MLA format (your discipline’s format)
- Employ appropriate mechanics, usage, grammar, and spelling conventions
Description:
Create an annotated bibliography on the topic you chose for your Research Argument Paper. You must include the following information:
- A one full page “introduction” that explains your topic choice and provides a brief description of the context for that topic, formatted in APA or MLA style
- Be sure your one full page ends with a thesis statement (so I know exactly what you plan to argue
For each secondary source, you must include:
- Publication information, formatted in APA or MLA style
- A brief summary (2-3 sentences) of the main argument
- A brief description of the kind of evidence included to support the main argument (2-3 sentences)
- A brief evaluation (1-2 sentences) of the sources. This evaluation should address questions of reliability, effectiveness of evidence, and audience.
Your Annotated Bibliography will contain only secondary source material. You must choose your secondary sources from the following list, making sure you vary the types of scholarship discovered and potentially planned to be utilized. For example, you cannot use only websites or only books, etc. Also, you can certainly list works we have or will be using for this class (books, articles, documentaries), but I must see NEW research represented on this Annotated Bibliography as well.
Your AB should have no less than 6-8 secondary sources and you may choose from the following:
- Books
- Documentaries
- Scholarly Journal articles
- Reputable, highly respected magazine articles
- Reputable, highly respected newspaper articles
- Reputable and substantive websites
Note that you do not have to use all of these sources in your final paper, but you save yourself time if you spend enough effort right now figuring out what you do think is useful for your Research Argument. Moreover, you may choose to refer to law decisions, conduct your own interviews, surveys, polls, etc (all primary sources), but those will be additional research later.