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The second major assignment for English 102, the Annotated Bibliography and Proposal, lays the groundwork for a research project you will be working on for the rest of the semester. You will research a current issue, create an annotated bibliography that explains your research, and compose a proposal for your research paper.
Due date for assignment: Sunday, June 30
Selecting a Topic
The first step of this assignment is selecting a topic for your research project. A strong research topic is timely (a topic writers and scholars are actively discussing), debatable (a topic that people have different perspectives on), and researchable (a topic that can be addressed through research). Since you will be working on this project for the rest of the semester, you should also choose a topic that you are interested in.
After you have selected a topic, develop a research question related to it. Strong research questions are open-ended and invite multiple perspectives. Here are some possible research questions you might adapt for your project:
What is the purpose of a college degree?
How should we fix the student debt crisis?
Is technology biased against women and/or people of color?
How should colleges respond to intolerant speech?
How involved should parents be in their children’s lives?
Is the genetic modification of human beings acceptable?
Is the criminal justice system broken?
How should we reform the police in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement?
How has social media changed human relationships?
How should society change in response to the #metoo movement?
Talk to your instructor before developing a research question based on a different topic. Many topics may not be a good fit for this project.
Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography is a list of citations of articles, books, or other sources. Each citations is followed by a brief summary and evaluation of the source (these summaries are called an “annotations”). Researchers often create annotated bibliographies as a way of preparing for their own research paper.
You will need 5-7 credible sources for your Annotated Bibliography. Choose sources that will help you answer your research question and that present a variety of perspectives on your topic, not just sources by authors who agree with each other. You are welcome to use sources assigned for class and the article you analyzed for your Rhetorical Analysis essay, if they are relevant for the assignment and your topic. Reference works, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias, do not count towards the required number of sources.
After you have selected your sources, carefully read them. Pay particular attention to the author’s main point or conclusions as well as the arguments, evidence, and/or research they present in support of their main point or conclusions. The content of your annotation will depend on what type of source you are discussing. However, each annotation should include the following:
A summary of the author’s main point(s). For argumentative sources, this will be the author’s central claim (e.g. their thesis). For informational sources, this will be the conclusions the author drew from their research.
A summary of the author’s arguments and/or evidence. For argumentative sources, this includes examples and data the author presents as well as argumenta that support their thesis. For informational sources, this includes any research the author discusses, such as such interviews with experts, surveys, or research studies.
An assessment of the source’s credibility. Explain why you believe the source is credible. Or, if you don’t think the source is credible, explain why you are still including it in your annotated bibliography. Remember to draw on what you’ve learned about evaluating the credibility of sources in this class.
An explanation of how you will use the source. Explain how this source fits into the argument you are developing. Does it offer arguments or evidence that supports your thesis? Does it present a counterargument that you need to address?
The length of your annotations will vary depending on the length and complexity of the source. However, most annotations that accomplish these goals will be 150-250 words each.
Proposal
There are two parts to the proposal: an overview paragraph and a tentative outline of your research paper.
Your overview paragraph should achieve two things:
Synthesize your research for someone who has not read your Annotated Bibliography. What positions do your sources take on your topic? How have they answered your research question?
Present a tentative thesis for your research paper. Based on what you have learned, what is your position on your topic? What are your primary reasons for your position?
Your tentative outline should list the specific points and sub-points you want to discuss in your research paper in an organized fashion. Remember to show where you might provide background information and address counter-arguments in your essay in addition to showing how you plan to support your position.
Since your research paper will be 6-8 pages, most successful outlines will include a minimum of 8 points and sub-points.
Assignment Requirements
The overall format of the Annotated Bibliography and Proposal is similar to the format of the essay you have already submitted.
One-inch margins on top, bottom, and sides of each page
Double-spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman or Garamond font
A heading in the upper left corner of the first page that includes
your name
your instructor’s name
the specific assignment (e.g. Proposal and Annotated Bibliography)
the date
MLA-style parenthetical citations for quotations or paraphrases
Saved as one Word document.
The Annotated Bibliography has additional formatting requirements:
Place the bibliographic information(the MLA-style citation for the source) at the top of each entry.
Place the annotation (the paragraph summarizing and evaluating the source) under the bibliographic information.
List the entries in alphabetical order, according to the authors’ last names.
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