ENG 1020:  The Annotated Bibliography

This assignment is crucial; it allows you to explore various positions on your topic and prepare some research before you dive into your investigating/explaining paper.  After selecting your controversial topic and developing a research question, you should begin the search for sources that present varying viewpoints and positions of the topi. Remember to select articles and references carefully and to be suspicious when deciding which articles to use (is the source credible?).  Remember to include those articles that cover many different perspectives on the topic.

To begin the process of research, we will discuss library databases and the research process  in class.  During our discussion be sure to pay very close attention, ask lots of questions, and take notes.   

To begin the annotated bibliography assignment you will be asked to locate SEVEN journal, articles or book chapters on your own using the library's electronic database.

To access the library's electronic databases see the link below:

http://library.jwu.edu/research/databases/az.htm

You may also use books.  You may access the library's catalog here:

http://131.128.70.2/

Once you have decided on your seven sources, you will have to read and analyze them and take extensive notes.  

IN ORDER TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER, YOU MUST CAREFULLY READ ALL RESEARCH MATERIALS.

Always look at the table of contents, the chapter headings, and the index or bibliography in the back.  You can learn a lot about a book from doing these things before you read it at length.  You will then go back and read carefully the parts that are relevant to your paper.

Next, you should 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.  Then, you should write the article's annotation.


To complete each annoation, first write the MLA citation for the article (Most databases will provide the MLA citation for you). Your annotation should be typed, double-spaced, 12 pt., and Times New Roman font, using MLA style.  

List the sources alphabetically by author’s last name, using MLA style, and then write an eight-to-ten sentence blurb summarizing each of your seven sources.  Make sure to identify the author’s thesis in your summary and other important points made in the article.  You should also include an evaluation of the source's ethos/credibility.  Finally, indicate in a sentence how you might use the source in your paper.  Here is an example: 

Renoir, Pierre-August. Authors By themselves. Ed. Rachel Barnes. 1st ed. USA: Alfred A. 

Knopf, 1990. 

In this book, Rachel Barnes writes an introduction talking about Renoir and includes

small unknown details about his life. She also quotes Renoir when he says, “I think I’m at last

beginning to understand something about it” in reference to his life’s passion. She claims that

Renoir is one of the best known and loved of all painters. The author's thesis is that Renoir's 

work is reproduced ubiquitously and his effortless charm, his sunbathed vision of human life, 

ever joyful and optimistic, have appealed over time to connoisseurs and the more casual 

observer alike. She also talks about how Renoir was inspired by Fragonard and Boucher who 

are Rococco painters. There is also mention of Renoir’s earlier jobs and how he developed his 

technique for painting. Rachel Barnes mentions the friendships Renoir had with Alfred Sisley, 

Jean Frederic Bazille and Claude Monet as well as the deepening friendship he had with 

Monet.  Renoir himself about his works and his reactions to public opinion of his paintings.  

Barnes is a credible source that has written several books about the topic, and she is a 

respected professor at an Ivy League university. This source could prove useful in my paper 

through Renoir’s personal opinion on his work, and being able to contrast it to those of art 

analyst and critics in a time after Renoir’s own.


For an additional example, click the link below:

http://www.englishcomposition.homestead.com/exampleannotatedbibliography.html


•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.
•Use direct quotation of key words, phrases, or sentences.  (“According to Hattemer” or “as Hattemer explains”) to remind the reader that you are summarizing the author and the text, not giving your own ideas.  NOTE:  Instead of repeating “Hattemer says,” choose verbs that more accurately represent the purpose or tone of the original passage:  “Hattemer argues,” "Hattemer explains,” "Hattemer warns,” “Hattemer asks,” “Hattemer advises”  (These are referred to as author tags).
•Avoid summarizing specific examples or data unless they help illustrate the thesis or main idea of the text.
•Report the main ideas as objectively as possible.  Represent the author and text as accurately and faithfully as possible.   Do not include your own personal reactions to the author's information.
•  Lastly, in one sentence explain how you might use the source in your research paper.