Annotated Bibliography Assignment

ENGL 102. Annotated Bibliography Assignment Requirements: Research a topic, write summaries, use MLA format. Written Length: 3 bibliographic references, including annotations (150-250 words each) Due Date: see the course outline An annotated bibliography is a list of research sources that includes a short summary. There are detailed instructions and examples in Module 6. This assignment is intended to help you prepare for the research essay and to increase your familiarity with MLA format. Please title your summary “An Annotated Bibliography on . This way I know what topic you are addressing. You need to read and critically assess three sources and provide a short annotation for each one. The sources must be cited in correct MLA citation and the whole document should conform to MLA format. The annotations should not rely upon quotation, but should be developed through paraphrasing. You may also address how you will use the source in your essay. This assignment is closely connected with the Research Essay assignment: the annotated bibliography is the result of your research on the topic of your Research Paper that is due at the end of the course. Your research essay will be a literary-critical analysis of Margaret Laurence’s short story “Horses of the Night” (in eReserves: A Bird in the House, “Horses of the Night” (A Bird in the House here is the collection of stories from which “Horses of the Night” is taken). For the three sources you are going to annotate, choose scholarly journal articles or book chapters (not student essays or synopses). You must select a topic and write it at the beginning of the Annotated Bibliography (without the topic, the relevance of the sources that you have found cannot be evaluated). Some possible topics are listed below: • The coherence of the narrative voice in “Horses of the Night” • The character of an outsider and its function in “Horses of the Night” • The theme of the Great Depression in “Horses of the Night” • The theme of death in “Horses of the Night” • The conflict of generations in “Horses of the Night” • Vanessa MacLeod: the development of aesthetic mind in “Horses of the Night” • Vanessa MacLeod: the growth of consciousness in “Horses of the Night” • Vanessa MacLeod’s attitude toward religion and God in “Horses of the Night” • The role of the father in Vanessa’s life in “Horses of the Night” • The conflict of fantasy and reality in “A Bird in the House” or “Horses of the Night” In your research essay (and annotated bibliography), you are allowed to pursue either a purely literary-critical analysis (such as “The Coherence of the Narrative Voice”) or a psychological research (the conflict of generations, the development of consciousness etc.) or a philosophical inquiry (any of the above topics), and your sources should reflect your choice. Typically, one cannot argue a scientific point (for example, psychological) based on a work of fiction, but this research can be an exception allowed for educational purposes. If you are writing on a purely literary-critical topic, one of your secondary sources can be Laurence’s essay “Time and the Narrative Voice” (available in eReserves). PLEASE NOTE: you are writing an academic paper, so you need to minimize any bias or “gutreaction” you might have to these topics. Remember to use sophisticated, scholarly and/or professional sources. You will submit an annotated bibliography in the combination style. This style combines (a) a short summary with (b) a short evaluation of the utility of the resource to your project. Now that you have most of the resources you will need to make your argument, you should review them again not only to make sure that they are relevant to your topic but also to provide you with the information you need to support your argument. If you are convinced that the sources you found are of value, you can now write your annotated bibliography following these general guidelines for the first and second part of your summary: Guidelines for the first part of the summary (sometimes the first paragraph): 1. Just as with the summary, write your annotation from an objective third-person point of view. 2. Be brief in your summary. Remember that you do not have to provide the fine details of the argument, such as a restatement of the evidence, but you do need to give the main thesis, the claims, and the conclusions. 3. Your summary should indicate the ethos of the author (his or her authority) and the viewpoint he or she takes. General guidelines for the second part of the summary (sometimes the second paragraph): 1. Provide an evaluation of the overall merits of the source: its strengths and weaknesses. 2. State why you think this work is suitable for your topic. What information does it provide that will help you forward your argument? Remember that this, too, should not contain any “I” statements. For example, rather than writing, “I feel this article is good because…,” you should write, “This is article is particularly useful because it focuses on the social aspects of drug use.” When complete, save the file as FirstName Last Name in WORD format, then use the Attach File option and the Browse My Computer button to upload your work into Blackboard. Annotated Bibliography Rubric A B C D F Keyword Excellent Good Satisfactory Minimal Pass Fail Content and format The summaries and assessments are clear, concise and include all relevant details in a very coherent fashion. All information is presented logically and objectively. The relevance of the sources to the topic is evident; the source are scholarly (the two sources that you found yourself). MLA citations and overall format are immaculate. The summaries and assessments and concise; include relevant content in a coherent fashion. Information is presented logically and objectively. The sources are relevant to the topic and scholarly. MLA citations and overall format are good but may contain minor errors. The summaries and assessments are clear, focused but miss some points, are not concise, or onesided. The sources may not be exactly relevant to the topic or their scholarly status may be doubtful. MLA citations and format contain a few errors. The summaries and assessments are focused on the text but are too long or too short, miss important points or lack a vital structural feature. The sources may not be exactly relevant to the topic or scholarly. MLA citations and format contain multiple errors. The summaries and assessments do not focus on the text. Vital structural parts are missing. The sources are not relevant and/or scholarly. MLA format Is not observed. Writing/ Style Uses wellwritten, grammatically correct sentences effectively; Easy to understand and engaging to read; Make very few and very minor technical errors. Strong prose, with few errors; They may be problems in diction or syntax; Minor or isolated errors in sentences and punctuation. Frequent problems in diction (wordiness, obtuseness); problems in sentence structure or reliance on passive language; Only a few major errors and shows proofing has been done. Several errors especially clear proofreading faults like misspelling or subject-verb agreements; Language may make excessive use of clichés or be inexact. Numerous errors; clarity of text is seriously compromised.