Annotated Bibliography Assignment Sheet

Approximately 7 varied sources (sections from books, articles, videos, blogs, interviews, primary research, etc)
that relate to your inquiry question. Include at least two academic articles.
What am I doing? Where the previous assignment, the inquiry proposal, invited you to explore some possible
questions and do some preliminary reading among various kinds of sources, the annotated bibs ask you to
brainstorm, read, think, and write in more depth about your chosen inquiry question.
1) List of key words: List keywords you are using for your question. What keywords are working for you?
Would broader or narrower words work better? Keep a record of your results. As you are researching, look
for conversations, ie. See if you can find some top players in the discussion, whether this be in peerreviewed publications or more popular media. Consider checking to see if writers have Twitter accounts.
Check their Bibliographies to look for interesting texts and leads. Check Youtube, always using your
critical thinking skills.
2) Seven Summaries: One approximately one to two page entry for each source. Each annotation should
include the following:
a.

An MLA-style Works Cited citation (so others can find your source and read it too). If you use a
citation machine like EasyBib, proof it carefully!

b.

A summary of the main ideas (large paragraph or two). This section should be fairly objective.
*Describe the rhetorical situation, the ongoing conversation, of the source: the who, what,
where, when, and why of the publication. Include the title of the publication/webpage/other in
the paragraph and your best speculation about the target audience.
*What lends the author credibility? (education/experience/publications/awards?)
Use an appositive to incorporate this appropriately. Ex. Jane Doe, editor for Edutech, claims .
*Each summary should be a condensed version of the material, in your own words and sentence
patterns. Include the writers thesis and their conclusions if applicable.
*Incorporate at least one interesting direct quote per entry, using an appropriate signal
phrase. Ie. Vary your signal phrases. Refer to They Say, I Say, p. 39-40, 46 for templates.
After you integrate at least one quote, bullet 3-4 other quotes you find interesting (this may vary
according to the source). You may want to incorporate these in your thesis paper.

c.

Your analysis of the text (if its a difficult read, medium, easy), how applicable it is to your
question, and how it might help other people pursuing similar questions. This section is addressed
to classmates and perhaps students in my other sections. It can be more informal.

d.

Reflect as you go along. Keep a commentary going at the top of your file. What has worked?
What hasnt? What feedback have you received? What have you learned in terms of writing?
(ex. Using signal phrases, etc) What will you look for next?

If you find interesting images/video as you inquire, save them for or in your eportfolio.
How is it going to be evaluated? Summaries will be graded based on content: thoroughness (ie. Fulfilling the
requirements above), creativity, higher level thinking (80%), grammar (10%), and reflection (10%).
First one due_______________ First draft. Bring hardcopies for group members. (Participation grade)
Next 2 due _____________. Total of three. Bring 3 hardcopies of each to small group conference.
(participation grade)
All Seven uploaded before class______________.