Annotated Bibliography Assignment s1

English 101 Annotated Bibliography Assignment

Assignment You are to select a topic of interest to you and compile an annotated bibliography of sources that will help you think and write about that topic later in the semester. You will use these sources in Essay 3 (the exploratory essay) and, perhaps, in Essay 4 (the policy essay).

Guidelines  Your AB must include at least eight sources but no more than ten.  At least half of your sources must be from books, magazines, or journals available through Thomas Cooper Library and its databases (much of this material is available online through the library’s homepage: www.sc.edu/library. This means that no more than half of the sources can be from Web-only sites that aren’t affiliated with the library site.  Your citations must follow MLA formatting guidelines (See EA pp. 66-69 for an example of a descriptive annotated bibliography and SFH Chapter 50 for sample citations).  Your annotations must be descriptive and evaluative (see the other side of this sheet). Remember four steps: 1. Position the text: Is the source objective? What are the author’s biases? Whose interests does the article represent? To what audience is it directed? 2. Summarize the text: What are the main ideas? What is the author’s point? What conclusions does the author come to? 3. Respond to the text: What did you learn from the article? Did the article alter your viewpoint? Why did you agree or disagree with the author’s claims. 4. Evaluate the text as a source: How will it be useful in your project.

Choosing Your Topic As I mentioned above, you’ll be using this research in your next essay. So, as you think about a topic, you need to look ahead a bit. In Essay 3, you’ll be writing an exploratory paper in which you describe several perspectives on a single issue.

For now, think about an issue or problem that interests and/or affects you – an issue about which you would like to learn more. You may wish to do some preliminary research before you settle on your topic.