ENG 1027: The Annotated Bibliography (for Media Analysis)
This assignment is crucial; it allows you to explore various perspectives on your topic in U.S. news that you committed to for your Media Analysis Essay and allows you to gain an understanding of it before you begin to analyze the rhetorical situation of your two news reports of the event.YOU CANNOT USE SOURCES FROM THE WORLD WIDE WEB! You must use sources from the library's databases or other sources from a library . Specifically, we are looking for news articles from major U.S. News outlets (newspapers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, etc.; Audio and Video files from major U.S. news outlets can be used; major news magazines are okay too : U.S. News and World Report, Time, Newsweek, etc.).
Remember to select articles and references carefully and to be suspicious when deciding which articles to use (consider ethos/credibility). For this annotated bibliography, it's okay to include articles that cover many different perspectives on the topic; however, the two that you use an analyze for your media analysis must focus on the same aspect of the subject.
Why should I write an annotated bibliography?
To learn about your topic: writing an annotated bibliography is excellent preparation for a research project. Just collecting sources for a bibliography is useful, but when you have to write annotations for each source, you're forced to read each source more carefully. You begin to read more critically instead of just collecting information. At the professional level, annotated bibliographies allow you to see what has been done in the literature and where your own research or scholarship can fit.
To help you formulate a thesis: Every good research paper is an argument. The purpose of research is to state and support a thesis. So a very important part of research is developing a thesis/claims that is debatable, interesting, and current. Writing an annotated bibliography can help you gain a good perspective on what is being said about your topic. By reading and responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you'll start to see what the issues are, what people are arguing about, and you'll then be able to develop your own point of view.
To help other researchers: Extensive and scholarly annotated bibliographies are sometimes published. They provide a comprehensive overview of everything important that has been and is being said about that topic. You may not ever get your annotated bibliography published, but as a researcher, you might want to look for one that has been published about your topic. If your topic is somewhat new, you likely will not find a published annotated bibliography like this yet because there hasn't been time to compile and publish one.
The annotated bibliography assignment requires you locate SIX to EIGHT news articles relevant to your research topic on your own using the library's electronic database (or any other library).
To access the library's electronic databases, click here.
Access the library's homepage here.
Steps for Completely the Annotations:
1) Once you have decided on your six sources, you will have to read and analyze them and take extensive notes. Carefully read each article, underlining any ideas that you feel are important and/or those that elicit a strong personal response. As you are reading, record your own personal responses in the margins of the article (ask questions, make connections between sources you've read, connect to other things you already know, etc.). Then, you should write the article's annotation.
2) To complete each annotation, first write the MLA citation for the article Most databases will provide these for you. If they do not, go to www.easybib.com to learn the correct format.
Your annotation should be typed, double-spaced, 12 pt., and Times New Roman font, using MLA style.
3) Summarize the author's main ideas in a minimum of 8-10 sentences. When you summarize, be sure you use signal phrases (Smith states that, Smith notes, Smith argues, Smith claims, Smith explains, Smith relates, Smith points out, etc.). Do not record your own personal reactions to the info. Report the main ideas as objectively as possible. Represent the author and text as accurately and faithfully as possible. Remember that the purpose of an annotation is to give a reader a condensed and objective account of the main ides and features of a text. Indicate the main ideas of the text. Accurately representing the main ideas (while omitting the less important details) should be your major goal.
4) In one sentence, explain how you plan to use the source in your paper. The sentence should begin, "I will use this source to..." or something similar.
5) List the six to eight sources alphabetically by author’s last name.
A completed annotations should look like this:
Pitts, Leonard. “Parents’ Influence is Limited.” The Dallas Morning News. 2 February 2002, 27A.
In this editorial, Pitts first claims that people are too quick to blame a child’s parents if the
child does something wrong. In fact, he says, parents might even enjoy pointing the finger at
other parents who have a child in trouble. However, he tell us, once he had his own children, he
became more humble and realized that no matter how “good” parents are, children will still do
things that are “bad” and against the “rules” that guided how they were raised. This leads him to
an example: a song by Marvin Gaye, suggesting that parents should stop trying to mold children
“like their own piece of clay.” Finally, he argues that parents should keep offering wisdom,
guidance, and love, but stop thinking that they are the ultimate influence on their children’s lives.
He also explains that parents are not the only sources of influence upon children. He claims
that the media and the video game industry are growing increasingly influential. I will use this
article to illustrate the perspective of those that believe when a child does something bad, the
blame is too easily placed on parents.
For an additional example, click the link below:
Grading Scale:
27-30 A
24-26 B
21-23 C
18-20 D
0-17 F
