General Education Common Graded Assignment:

Western Civilization I: Ancient and Medieval History

Annotated Bibliography

HIST 101 - Western Civilization I: Ancient and Medieval History is a general education course designed to assist students in the development of critical life skills. One of the goals of this assignment is to assess student competence for each of these objectives:

I. Written and Oral Communication- analyze the role of institutions, individuals, ideas and inventions in shaping the economic, social and political structure of the regions and times covered by the course.

II. Critical Analysis and Reasoning- interpret the way individual and cultural values infuse inquiry, and examine historical concepts through identification of objective facts.

III. Information Literacy- locate, evaluate, use and cite both primary and secondary informational sources related to historical topics.

IV. Logical Reasoning - assess the role and value of various academic resources in historical research and analysis.

V. Personal and Professional Ethics - construct historical arguments based on ethical and local presentation of specific historical evidence.

In addition to the above general education objectives, this assignment assesses students' understanding and application of the following skills and knowledge specific to Western Civilization

I. Demonstrate the ability to think critically about Western Civilization.

II. Explain how the sources you identify in your bibliography would be used ina research paper.

III. Synthesize information from sources to construct a historical argument that is based on the logical presentation of specific historical facts and that analyzes the causal factors of a historical event or process.

IV. Assess the relevance and credibility of your sources to evaluate whether they should be included in your bibliography.

V. Reflect on what you have learned by doing the assignment in the context of professional ethics.

ASSIGNMENT:

For this assignment you will research an assigned topic using the World Wide Web and CCBC library databases, construct an annotated bibliography (with thesis statement) of sources for the topic, and reflect on your learning process. An annotated bibliography is a list of citations (from books, articles, documents and web sites) which contain an evaluative description of each source. Constructing an annotated bibliography requires more than just typing in a search phrase and copying the results. You must think about the topic and what you want to learn, evaluate and compare sources, and consider whether the source is appropriate and how it will support the paper's thesis. The annotations for each source should summarize the key points and ideas raised by that author and explain that author's overall thesis or argument. Your annotations should also contain an assessment of the usefulness and reliabilityof each source and point out any viewpoints or biases that shape and inform each work. Your bibliography must include at least two academically reliable secondary source web sites which have at least two pages on the topic, at least two articles of appropriate scope and academic level from the CCBC databases, and one primary source which can be found via either method. Once you have found, read, and annotated your sources, construct a preliminary thesis. Your thesis should be the answer to a question and should sum up what you have concluded about the topic.

Your annotations should conform to standard rules of grammar and should be logically organized. Each source must be in correct Chicago format and annotated with a paragraph which explains:

1. How you found the source.

2. How the site/article is appropriate in scope and level of information.

3. What makes the site/article academically reliable?

4. How the source will help you defend your thesis.

After constructing the bibliography and thesis, you should write a self-reflective paragraph that considers the following:

1. How you did your research. What steps did you follow and why?

2. What did you find that defied your expectations? What viewpoints were different than you expected?

3. How open you were to new information.

4. How you reconciled conflicting information or viewpoints in your sources.

Help sites for instructors and students:

• Reading Scholarly Articles (Predatory Reading)

o https://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/predatory%20reading.htm

• Thesis Statements:

o http://www.english.upenn.edu/graduate/resources/teachweb/scthesis.html

o http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/01/

• Web Site Reliability Tutorial

o http://liblearn.osu.edu/tutor/les1/index.html

• Citing:

o http://www.easybib.com/

• Annotated Bibliographies:

o http://lib.skidmore.edu/library/index.php/li371-annotated-bib

o http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/annotated-bibliography

• Research Strategies:

o http://libraryguides.ccbcmd.edu/casey_research_challenge

• Avoiding Plagiarism:

o http://lib-php.usc.edu/libraries/about/reference/tutorials/avoiding-plagiarism/story.html

• Professional Ethics:

o https://www.historians.org/jobs-and-professional-development/statements-and-standards-of-the-profession/statement-on-standards-of-professional-conduct

Sample bibliographic entry for (for a topic on natural disasters in the ancient near east):

Fekri, Hassan. "The Fall of the Egyptian Old Kingdom."

This web site will support my thesis by providing data on environmental disasters in ancient Egypt. It is a secondary source. I found this web site by using Google and searching for the terms Ancient Egypt, and drought. I know it is reliable because it is published by a known institution (the BBC), which has an educational mission, and the author, Hassan Fekri, is a professor at the University College of London. It also has a bibliography of print books for those who want to learn more about the topic. While it is on a popular web site, it is written at a level for adults, not children and has a lot of detail. The site explains the effects of drought on Ancient Egypt and supports its thesis with both archaeological evidence and primary sources. The author concludes that a great drought caused the collapse of the Egyptian state and much poverty and suffering among the people. I will use it to explain what was happening in Egypt (and how we know) in my paper on natural disasters in the ancient middle east. This will complement other sources on Mesopotamia.

ASSIGNMENT SPECIFICATIONS:

• Minimum three pages typed in Times New Roman 12-pt font, double-spaced with 1" margins.

• Chicago style format .

• Minimum of twoacademically reliable secondary source web sites which have at least two pages on the topic, at least two articles of appropriate scope and academic level from the CCBC databases, and one primary source which can be found via either method.

• Utilize library databases to locate appropriate sources.

• Thesis statement

• Reflective statement

GRADING:

• This assignment will account for 10% of the total course grade.

• See attached rubric for details about how your essay will be graded

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

• Please submit TWO copies. One copy should include your student ID, course number and section; it should omit student and faculty names.

Written and Oral Communication Annotations should conform to standard rules of grammar and should be logically organized.

Your thesis should be the answer to a question and should sum up what you have concluded about the topic. Annotations are exceptionally well-written - they are free of all significant errors in usage/mechanics, paragraphs are extremely well-organized, sentences flow logically from one point to the next, and sentence structure is varied. Student articulates a clear and convincing thesis that presents a unified central idea and employs sophisticated vocabulary. Annotation are clearly written with very few errors in usage/mechanics, paragraphs are clearly organized and easy to follow. Student has a clear thesis that presents a unified central idea and uses appropriate, college-level vocabulary. Writing contains some significant errors in usage/mechanics which impede meaning. Some paragraphs may not be clearly organized and may be hard to follow, vocabulary may be overly colloquial, or there may be some improper word usage. Student's thesis is vaguely or unclearly stated. Writing contains numerous, significant errors in usage/ mechanics which greatly impede meaning. Paragraphs are poorly organized and lack logical focus and progression of ideas, there is improper word usage and vocabulary is not college-level. Student lacks a clear thesis.

Critical Analysis and Reasoning Annotations should summarize the key points and ideas raised by that author and explain that author's overall thesis or argument.

They should also contain an assessment of the usefulness and reliability of each source and point out any viewpoints or biases that shape and inform each work. All sources are exceptionally well analyzed - the student provides a very clear and cogent summary of the most salient points raised by each author as well as a synopsis of their main argument. Student demonstrates strong evidence of critical thinking in their analysis of the assumptions, viewpoints or biases that may inform each source. All sources are adequately analyzed - the student provides a clear and accurate statement of each author's argument and main points and provides some assessment of their viewpoint and potential biases. Some sources are not adequately analyzed - the student may have neglected to fully or accurately identify one or more author's main argument or key points, or their summaries may be overly brief or vague. There is little attempt to assess the viewpoint or potential bias of authors.

Most or all sources are inadequately analyzed - the student provides consistently brief, vague or inaccurate summaries of each author's argument, fails to identify key points and makes no real effort to assess any viewpoints or biases embedded in their sources.

Information Literacy Research an assigned topic using the World Wide Web and CCBC library databases. Include at least two academically reliable secondary source web sites which have at least two pages on the topic, at least two articles of appropriate scope and academic level from the CCBC databases, and one primary source which can be found via either method. Student does an outstanding job of locating, identifying, evaluating and assessing all required categories of sources -the sources used are all exceptionally well-suited to the student's topic, representing the most significant, authoritative, and up-to-date works in the field, rather than the first to appear in a search result.

Meets Chicago format without errors. Student locates and identifies appropriate sources that are relevant to their chosen topic, correctly distinguishing between primary and secondary sources. Student adequately assesses the relevance and reliability of each source, choosing sources that are important and trustworthy if not always the most up-to-date or authoritative in the field. Meets Chicago format with only very minor errors. Some of the sources used may be inappropriate, they might not truly be scholarly sources or they may be only marginally connected the student's chosen topic. The student might fail to locate and incorporate recent scholarship and may sometimes confuse primary and secondary sources. Meets Chicago format with limited major errors. Most or all of the sources used are inappropriate in that they either do not fulfill the category requirements or do not relate directly to the student's topic. Student shows no real understanding of the difference between a primary and secondary source and is unable to properly evaluate the reliability of sources. Meets Chicago format with numerous major errors.

Logical Reasoning The student must think about the topic and what they want to learn, evaluate and compare sources, consider whether the source is appropriate and how it will support the paper's thesis. There is very strong evidence of logical reasoning. Student provides an exceptionally clear, explicit and compelling explanation as to why each source was included in the bibliography, demonstrating how it relates to the other sources that were chosen and how it helps support the student's overall thesis.
Student provides a clear and logical explanation as to why each source was included in the bibliography and connects each entry to their thesis. Student fails to adequately explain why some of their sources were included in the bibliography and/or does not establish a logical connection between those sources and their overall thesis. Student fails to explain why most or all of their sources were included in the bibliography. There is no, or very little, evidence of logical reasoning in terms of the selection of sources which appears random and haphazard, and there is no logical explanation as to how the chosen sources relate to the student's topic or thesis

Personal and Professional Ethics The student must show a clear trail of evidence and preserve the integrity of the records in not fabricating results. Through the reflective statement, the student must explain their research and demonstrate their process and evidence. They also must discuss conflicting views in the sources and awareness of their own preconceptions and biases (see link above for the AHA ethics statement from which these factors are taken). Student clearly meets all of the ethical standards, specifically doing original work, respecting the integrity of the records, respecting the work and views of other authors, and being aware of their own biases. Student clearly meets most of the ethical standards, (doing original work, respecting the integrity of the records, respecting the work and views of other authors, and being aware of their own biases). Any failures to meet a standard are not violations of academic integrity (original work, clear trail of evidence, or avoiding plagiarism). The student does original work, but does not meet multiple ethical standards, (such as respecting the integrity of the records, respecting the work and views of other authors, and being aware of their own biases). Student fails to show how their work meets the ethical standards, including doing original work, respecting the integrity of the records, respecting the work and views of other authors, and being aware of their own biases.