1-Hour Writer

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT

· See Blackboard for due date

· Annotate 10 articles/resources that you have found while researching your topic

· Typed/double spaced

· Times New Roman 10 font

· Correct APA format

· Remember to include page numbers and your name

· An annotated bibliography should also have a title

· Write in third person point of view (No first or second person pronouns)

· This is a HIGH STAKES WRITING ASSIGNMENT

· Use Your Penguin book to help you with APA format and citations

Research is a process. It requires that we dig and read and examine different perspectives on the same issue and that we look at those resources critically. The annotated bibliography helps us to organize our research and our thoughts about that research.

You can find more information regarding annotated bibliographies at the Purdue Online Writing Lab at this link: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/

To compile an annotated bibliography, first, collect the 10 articles that you feel are most helpful in understanding and exploring your topic. Try to pick articles and resources from a variety of places. You may also include videos, movies, blogs, etc. However, you also want to balance those resources with credible research and articles from journals and other databases. For each resource, first type the APA reference list citation.

Then, write a paragraph about the article. The paragraph should describe the article’s point of view and the point that the author is trying to make. It should be a specific summary but shouldn’t try to restate every point in the entire article. The paragraph should also include several sentences about your assessment of the article/resource. What does it bring to your particular understanding of your topic? Are there any places where the article fails to make its point? Does the article leave you with more questions about the subject? This paragraph will help you when you begin writing longer papers as you’ll be able to return to the annotated bibliography and quickly flip through the references instead of re-reading them all. Think of the annotated bibliography as a tool for you to use as the researcher. It helps you organize your research. It may also help you to see where you need to conduct more research. If you find that several of your resources leave you with the same questions, then you might want to dig further to find more resources on that part of the topic.

The articles/resources that you choose for your annotated bibliography are not the ONLY articles/resources you’ll be allowed to use. They are only a stepping stone. If, as you begin to write other papers, you find that you need to add more resources or trade one resource for another, you can absolutely do that.

Below is a sample annotation found at the OWL website. You’ll notice that this author chose to separate the annotation (notes/paragraph) into 3 paragraphs. I am only asking you to write one paragraph, but you should include all elements showing a brief summary, your analysis of the article, and your explanation of the article’s use of your academic purpose.

Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Anchor Books, 1995. Print.

Lamott's book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing life, complete with its insecurities and failures. Taking a humorous approach to the realities of being a writer, the chapters in Lamott's book are wry and anecdotal and offer advice on everything from plot development to jealousy, from perfectionism to struggling with one's own internal critic. In the process, Lamott includes writing exercises designed to be both productive and fun.

Lamott offers sane advice for those struggling with the anxieties of writing, but her main project seems to be offering the reader a reality check regarding writing, publishing, and struggling with one's own imperfect humanity in the process. Rather than a practical handbook to producing and/or publishing, this text is indispensable because of its honest perspective, its down-to-earth humor, and its encouraging approach.

Chapters in this text could easily be included in the curriculum for a writing class. Several of the chapters in Part 1 address the writing process and would serve to generate discussion on students' own drafting and revising processes. Some of the writing exercises would also be appropriate for generating classroom writing exercises. Students should find Lamott's style both engaging and enjoyable.