Project 3
writing and research
engl 298 section 3 ericsson
spring 2007

The purpose of the annotated bibliography is two-part:
1. to collect sources on the topic you'll be writing your longer research about, and
2. to read each source and provide an annotation of it

A typical bibliography looks like this example; an annotated bibliography looks like this example (with a slight difference in paragraph formatting).

For this assignment, you must put together a 12 entry annotated bibliography on the subject you are going to research for your final project. The final project must relate the reading and discussions from this class to your personal interests or your major. You must be able to write a persuasive project, not just a report, on this subject. You must be able to find mutliple perspectives on this subject and be willing to consider those perspectives. Even though you may start the project with a position on the subject, you must be open to other ideas on it and willing to consider other positions.

Your annotated bibliography must include a mix of journal articles, book chapters, and other peer-reviewed sources. You may not use encyclopedias (either print or online) or dictionaries. Since many journals and books are now available online, it is not practical to eliminate online sources. But an unreviewed article that is not written by a specialist is probably not scholarly enough. Some articles by corporate entities are somewhat scholarly, but care must be taken to sort fact and well-supported research from company propaganda. You should also make sure that your sources are timely. The example below by Jolly might be acceptable if part of your research involved reviewing what researchers were writing about TV watching a few decades ago. It certainly would not be acceptable for a current project on the subject.

The form of an annotated bibliography is identical to that of a regular bibliography followed by these details of the source:
1. the main purpose of the piece
2. a brief description of the contents
3. possible audiences for the piece
4. any special features
5. warnings of any defects, weaknesses, or suspected bias
The annotation should provide enough information in about three sentences for a reader to have a fairly clear image of the work's purpose, contents, and special value.

EXAMPLE
Jolly, Frank. "Helping Children Lean About TV." Journal of Communication 30.3 (1980): 84-93.
In this article, Jolly expresses dismay about the time consumed by television, especially when children watch "inselectively." He admits that programming does bring language into the home and does affect the growing child in positive ways as far as language is concerned. The article is written for an audience of language teachers. A bar graph indicating time spent watching TV by children at different socio-economic levels is particularly interesting.

A draft of the Annotated Bibliography is due on March 6; the final draft is due March 8.

For more information on Annotated Bibliographies see the following
General Information on the Annotated Bibliography
A Sample Annotated Bibliography
MLA Style