Annotated Bibliography (Total Value 10%)

 

Due Date: 10/16/08

 

To make these guidelines easy to understand, I am going to use six sections, as follows:

1.    I explain why this project is important to the Bibliographical Analysis Essay and the Argumentative Research Paper.

2.    I tell you what an annotated bibliography is.

3.    I provide an example of an entry.

4.    The criteria to determine a valid source.

5.    The grading criteria.

6.    A checklist for your final turn-in.

Section 1:  Why is this project so important to the Bibliographical Analysis Essay and the Argumentative Research Paper?

Because all the research you do for this project must be used again in the Bibliographical Analysis Essay and The Argumentative Research Paper.  Whatever topic you research and write about for your annotated bibliography is your topic for the rest of the semester.  If you decide to write about a different topic in the Bibliographical Analysis Essay or The Argumentative Research Paper, then you must do all the work of an entirely new annotated bibliography over again on the new topic.  I really do advise against anyone doing that.

Section 2: What is an annotated bibliography?

It is made up of 10 entries, and each entry has 2 parts:

A) An MLA style citation an annotation.

B) An annotation

Basically, you research 10 scholarly sources, meaning books and articles, all on the same topic, and then you write an entry for each one.

Section 3: An example of an entry:

FIRST OF ALL, WHAT IS A CITATION?

A citation provides the publishing information on your source.  It cites where the source was published, who wrote it and a few other things you will learn about during class, and by working closely with your Rasmussen book.


WHAT IS AN ANNOTATION?

(the ones you write must be 100-150 words, not including the words in the citation)

An annotation is a short summary of your source, and it is also a critique of it. Simply put, your annotations do two things:
1) Explain, or summarize, what the source is about, and the source’s thesis is summarized somewhere in your annotation.
2) Evaluate why the source is a worthwhile one to read.

Your objective here is that anyone who reads your final work will understand the argument at stake in each of your sources.  They will also know the problems or solutions, if any, that the source proposes.  Finally, they will understand from your evaluation whether the source is of a superior nature, or if they should go look for a different scholarly source on this subject.

 

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF AN ENTRY:
 

Cohen, Marc A., Nanda Kumar, and Stanley S. Wallack. “New Perspective on the Affordability of Long-term Care Insurance and Potential Market Size.”  The Gerontologist 33.1 (1993): 105-13.

There are a variety of ways in which the elderly and their family pay for long-term health care. The cost of long-term care is high, but the majority of individuals who are without long-term care say that the cost does not play a role in their decision not to purchase it. However, more individuals from an educated, wealthier background purchased a policy than any other group. Still, one-third of policy buyers come from a middle class background (109). In order to help solve the problem, individuals believe a government plan rather than an individual private plan would make them more likely to purchase long-term care. Although this article may be useful to individuals with more knowledge on the topic, it was not written for people new to the subject.   

 

·         The above example of an entry is contributed, with permission, by one of my former students, Cory Else.

·         Notice that Cory’s example entry begins with the citation, the first line of which is flush to the left margin. However, the second line of the citation is formatted with a hanging indent. In MS Word you can click on “Format,” then “Paragraph,” and finally “Special” and change the option there from “none” to “hanging.”

·         The second part of the example entry is the annotation, and the word count is 129, which does not include the words in the citation. The entire annotation is flush to the left margin.

·         Your annotations must be 100 to 150 words for each annotation, which does not include the words in the citation.

Section 4: The criteria to determine what constitutes a valid source:

Your 10 sources MUST consist of the following:

·         8 articles from peer-reviewed scholarly journals

·         2 books from the OSU library shelves

Do not vary from the above criteria or one or more of your sources may be invalid; for each invalid source you will lose 10%.

You cannot use newspapers, magazines, websites, or any web-related material that can be reached with just an Internet connection. In other words, you must use the OSU library interface to use databases to which the OSU library subscribes. If you live off campus you can access the materials by using EZ Proxy. Call 744-HELP (4357) if you need login assistance.

I suggest that you use JStor, ProQuest, EBSCO, or any of the many library subscription services located at http://www.library.okstate.edu/database/index.htm

Your 8 articles from peer-reviewed scholarly journals must have the equivalent of a works cited section at the end, which might also be titled as one of the following: references, bibliography, sources cited, and so on. Alternatively, there may be no such section at the end, but the article might be footnoted throughout, which is also acceptable if the footnotes give the publication information that is typically found in a works cited citation.

The upshot is that the sources you choose must engage sources from other scholars, and they should be documented as such.

The articles you choose must be at least five pages in length, or they will be considered invalid.

Section 5: Grading Criteria:

·        You must have 10 entries.

·        Each entry is worth 10 points, making the entire project worth 100 points.

·        The citation portion of each entry is worth five points, and the annotation portion of each entry is worth five points.

·        For each citation error you will lose one point.

·         Points may be deducted from the annotation for typos, poor phrasing, sentence level errors, and so on.

·         Remember to include a sentence in your annotation that evaluates the scholarly source you are writing about; if there is no evaluation you will lose two points.

·         Remember to give your essay a two part title, separated by a colon.

·         Just like a works cited page, the entries are organized alphabetically, by the authors’ last names.

·         DO NOT USE ANY SOURCES FROM AN ANONYMOUS AUTHOR. THEY ARE INVALID AND YOU WILL RECEIVE NO POINTS FOR THAT ENTRY.

Citation Tips:

When doing your research you will enter a query and then view a results list from which you will choose an article by clicking on a link. Do not be so quick to click on the title of the article. If you have the option, click on the PDF link under the title of the article. PDF simply means that you will view the scanned pages from the actual journal; citing these types of articles is much easier. It is acceptable to click on “Full Text,” but these appear in HTML form and are more problematic to cite.

Here are the citations you should use from your Rasmussen book to cite journal articles:

For PDF article links:

If the journal uses both volume and issue numbers: p.33, example 29.

If the journal uses only volume numbers: p.33, example 28.

For Full Text or HTML links:

p. 41, example 57 (there are two examples under #57, so use the Stewart citation as a guide).

 

Section 6: Here is your checklist:
 


____     I am turning in 10 entries.


 
____     I don't start a new page for each entry.

 

____     None of my sources are from anonymous authors. 

 

 

____     All of my articles are at least five pages, and I realize that if they are less than five pages they will be invalid, which means that I will lose 10% of this project’s grade. 



____     None of my sources are from our textbooks, or any other
            readings associated with this course. 

 

____     ____     I got eight of my entries from peer-reviewed journals (see section 4 above).


 
____     I got two of my entries from books from the OSU library shelves.

 

____     None of my entries are from magazines, newspapers, or from publications with advertisements in them.


 
____     None of my entries are based on book reviews.
           


 
____     I am turning in copies of all ten of my sources, which means the entire source,
            with my annotated bibliography (see the next checklist point for copying books).


 
____     For the two books I used to write entries about, I am turning in a minimum of 20 copied pages from each book, PLUS the title page, the publication information page, and the table of contents.




 
____     I individually stapled each article, rather than handing in loose pages or one big 
            mass of papers. Also, I turned in my project in a pocket folder, not a binder.


 
____     I wrote my name on the front page of each individual article.


 
____     I stapled the annotated bibliography together.


         


 
____     Each annotation I wrote is a minimum of 100 words to a maximum of 150 words, 
            which doesn't include the words in the citation.


 
____     I realize that for each copy of an article that I do not hand in, my grade on this project will be reduced by 10 points, even if I have written an entry for that article.


 
____     I realize that for each entry that I do not write, or if it is incomplete, my grade
            on this project will be reduced by 10 points.


 
____     I realize that once I turn in this project, no matter whether I turn it in on time
            or late, additional turn-ins of articles, entries, or any materials won't be accepted. 


 
____     I am using MLA style in accordance with class lectures and course materials.

 

 
____     I will also turn in an electronic copy of my annotated bibliography to turnitin.com prior to class on the due date, and it will be the same exact version as the paper copy I turn in for final grading. To be on the safe side, I will review section 14 of the syllabus under the subject heading “How to Turn in Assignments.”

 

How to turn in this essay: a paper copy is due during class on the due date. Additionally, an electronic copy is due, prior to the beginning of class, on the due date, and it must be turned in to TurnItIn.com as a MS Word doc or docx file. Use the TurnItIn.com “file upload” method on the submit screen. You will be instructed during class about how to create a TurnItIn.com account, and how to turn in your work. Your essays will be considered late until both the paper copy and the electronic copies are turned in. All other rules for late work, as delineated in section six of the course syllabus, also apply. Moreover, your electronic turn-in must be an exact duplicate of the paper copy. In other words, no further corrections or revisions will be accepted. Also, if the electronic and paper copies do not match up it will have a negative impact on the assignment’s grade.

 

Due Date: 10/16/08