For this assignment, keep in mind the following distinctions:
- A works cited list is a list of only the sources (works) you actually cite in your paper-that is, only sources that you specifically reference, summarize, paraphrase, or directly quote in your paper.
- A bibliography is a list of all the works you consulted in the course of conducting research for your paper-whether or not you refer to, summarize, paraphrase or directly quote them specifically in your paper.
- An annotated bibliography is a bibliography with annotations-usually short descriptions that "note" certain aspects of sources-inserted directly after basic publication information for those sources. For our purposes, annotations are to be single paragraph descriptions of the sources.
Purposes:
- To look fairly closely at a wide variety of sources
- To organize and record details of source material for possible future use
- To develop skills for finding and retrieving source material efficiently and effectively
- To complete part of work for the final position paper in advance
Research Requirements:
- List of at least 8 annotated sources, at least four of which should be scholarly and from at least two different disciplines, employing the 2016 MLA style. List of sources should represent:
o Sources supporting and sources refuting your position.
o Sources from two or more disciplines-for example, from literature studies and philosophy.
o A variety of types of sources-not only popular and scholarly, but also articles and books, online publications and print/electronic publications.
None of the above will work well if you cut and paste annotations from other sources, and that action constitutes plagiarism.
Most importantly, include in an annotation any information about a source that will be useful to you, but do so in complete, grammatically correct sentences. Information that may ultimately be useful to you includes:
- What the work is about
- Author's credentials and biases
- Publisher's credentials and biases
- Any surrounding history/controversy
- Level of diction
- Whether/where/how you can use the source in your paper
Example (note punctuation and tabs):
Brown, Robert. Last Stand for the Big Guys: The Dilemma of Big Business in a Socialist World. New York: Harcourt, Brace,
Jovanovich, 1998. Print. In this book, Brown-professor emeritus at University of North Carolina-discusses the position of Big Business in America. A former oil company executive, Brown shows an obvious bias in his book. He barely looks at the issues of minimum wage or outsourcing, but spends much time investigating government interference in big business. From Brown's perspective, big business and a social conscience don't-and shouldn't-mix. Brown is knowledgeable, but doesn't care for the average worker.