Instructions for the Annotated Bibliography
WRD XXXXXXXXXX
Due Date and Logistics
This assignment is due by 05:59 pm on Tuesday, January 26th.
It needs to be submitted as a .pdf (not as a doc/x file, not as a .pages file, not as a .zip file).
It should be submitted by going to our class’s D2L page--Submissions--Major Writing and
Research Assignments--Annotated Bibliography OR by going to our class’ D2L Page—
Content—Module Three—Annotated Bibliography.
If, for some reason, you cannot upload your .pdf to D2L, then email it to me at
XXXXXXXXXX.
Background
An Annotated Bibliography is made up of two things: a bibliography (a list of sources) and your
annotations (your notes/comments/analysis) on those sources.
There are at least a hundred different ways to make an Annotated Bibliography. Different
professors, departments, schools, and fields of study may vary slightly in their requirements for
formatting and in their requirements for the information they want in the annotations.
While some courses may ask students to focus on summarizing a source, our research course will
equire students to analyze the source.
………………………………………………………...
Requirements for the Sources
You must have at least six sources total (more than six sources is okay).
The sources need to be presented as they would appear as a References page entry at the end of
an APA paper. See your notes from Week Three’s class, Module Three, and the Module labeled
Appointment Maker, Links, Handouts, & Other Resources for help with APA formatting.
What types of sources do you need?
A. At least three of these sources must be peer-reviewed articles from academic journals.
B. At least one of these sources must be a newspaper or magazine article that was published
in 2020 or 2021
online newspaper articles and online magazine articles are okay
mailto: XXXXXXXXXX
news reports are okay; editorials are okay, Letters to the editor are okay
as long as it appears in the physical or virtual covers of a newspaper or magazine, it
counts for this assignment
the publication date of 2020 or 2021 is non-negotiable
C. At least one of these sources should be an encyclopedia article that has been updated in
the last five years
online encyclopedia articles are okay
Wikipedia articles are okay
D. At least one of these sources should be a social media post that was posted in 2020 or
2021
Examples: Facebook posts, Facebook comments, Original Tweets, Grams/photos on
Instagram, Captions or comments on Instagram photos, Reddit posts, Tik Tok videos,
YouTube videos, comments on YouTube videos, etc.
Warning: Make sure you are picking an actual post that was originally made for
social media and not “just” a link. For example, if you go to FOX News’ Facebook
page, they will have a link to their latest published story. That link takes Facebook
users away from Facebook and to FOX News’ website. That link does not count as a
social media post. However, a comment a user makes on the link does count as a
social media post. The trick is to ask yourself if you are dealing with original content
or a link to outside the platform.
the publication date of 2020 or 2021 is non-negotiable
What should your sources be about?
All of your sources should be about your chosen topic. Your topic must be chosen from the list
provided in Module One and/or the list provided in the syllabus (they are the same list). Do not
wo
y if 100% of your sources are not EXACT matches for your topic. For example, you may
not get a ton of peer-reviewed articles in academic journals that are specifically on TikTok, but
you will find a lot ton of peer-reviewed articles in academic journals on the subjects of social
media, government control, sense of community, the role of envy, the effects of short bursts of
music and light on the
ain, the effects of memes
epetition, the role of humor, etc. If you are
having difficulty finding sources, consult our embedded li
arian or make a one-on-one
appointment with me.
Requirements for the Annotations
Your annotations are your notes on the sources. Our class’ annotations are focused on analysis of
sources (rather than summaries of sources).
You can use first or third person while writing the annotations. Your writing style can be as
casual or as formal as you would like. Although this is an assignment for a class, your main
audience for this specific piece of writing is ostensibly yourself. Ostensibly, these are notes you
are making to help you with future essay writing assignments. However, obviously, this is also
an assignment you are turning in to me for a grade. So the writing, though casual, needs to be
clear enough so that I can understand what you mean. Use complete sentences. Do not include
hyperlinks in your answer.
A Note On Tone: As I am the “shadow audience” and the human being assigning a grade for this
assignment, try not to be rude! For example, it may be that some questions don’t perfectly map
onto some of your source or you are confused by the questions. While some slight frustration is
totally understandable, try to answer the questions in a way that doesn’t imply that you believe
that an egregious wrong has been done to you. I posit that audience awareness and tone are
important aspects of all academic and professional writing.
Your annotations should appear directly below the Reference entry for each source.
You can write your annotations in paragraph form or in the form of a numbered list. As long as
you address the questions listed below, I am happy.
For each of the required six sources, you need to answer the following:
1. Who is the author (or authors) of the source? What are you able to find out about the
author’s biography
ackground (this may require some light Googling)? In what ways is
this author credible? In what ways might this author worthy of further scrutiny? If there is
no author, then comment on that.
2. What type of source is this? Is it a lab report? A book review? An opinion article? A
meta-analysis of all the studies available on the efficacy of a drug? How long is this
source? What language is this source in? Note: It is not enough to say a source is “just” a
peer-reviewed article from an academic journal or a newspaper article (though that is a
good start). Be as specific as possible.
3. When was this source published? Note: If you do not know when the source was
published, then comment on that. In what ways is this source relevant in January 2021?
In what ways may the source be dated?
4. Where was this source published? What are you able to find about the publisher’s
ackground, history, goals, etc. (this will require some light Googling)?
5. Why was this source published? What is this source’s goal? Is it trying to report,
summarize, argue, explain, etc.? Who do you think is the intended audience for this
source—is it directed at experts, academics, Americans, middle class readers, etc.? What
evidence do you have that implies this intended audience (obviously, most sources aren’t
labeled as “for experts” or “written with the assumption that the reader is American”)?
6. How did you find this source (did use a li
ary database, Google, or some other method)?
How much time did it take to find this source? How easy was it to find this source?
You do not need provide citations in your analysis. For example, you don’t need to explain
where you got the information on an author’s biography. That said, if you stumble across
something you may want to use later, be sure to save that information.
Things That Are Not Needed For This Particular Assignment
This Annotated Bibliography does not need the following things: a cover page, a unique title, a
header, page numbers, specific margins, a specific kind of font or font size, a thesis sentence,
topic sentences, an introductory paragraph, or a concluding paragraph. It may help to remember
that this is a “research assignment,” and not a full essay. You don’t need to concern yourselves
with the traditional trappings of essay-dom. Also, recall that our specific class’ requirements for
an Annotated Bibliography may be different than the general requirements for an Annotated
Bibliography.
Help
This assignment is not a test. You are allowed to ask for help or for clarification! Remember that
you can email me Tuesday-Friday at XXXXXXXXXX or you can make a one-on-one
appointment to talk with me over Zoom. If you would like to meet one-on-one, please use this
link to set up an appointment: http:
calendly.com/daniela-s-olszewska/wrd XXXXXXXXXXI have
expanded availability this week for meetings.
You can also make an appointment with a tutor at the UCWbL for help with the
annotation/writing part of this assignment. You can receive extra credit for making use of online
tutoring sessions at the University Center for Writing-Based Learning
(http:
condor.depaul.edu/writing). You will receive 100 points extra credit for each online
session you have with a tutor from the UCWbL. You can use the UCWbL as often as they will
allow you to, but you can “only” earn a total of 500 extra credit points for our course. If you
decide to take advantage of this resource, make sure you show your tutor the exact assignment
sheet/instructions for the assignment you are working on. Additionally, make sure to provide
your tutor with my email ( XXXXXXXXXX). After your appointment with the UCWbL,
your tutor will send both you and me an email detailing what you covered during your session.
You may only receive extra credit for our class if you work on WRD 104 work with your tutor.
Late Assignment Policy
Major Research and Writing Assignments can be turned in