Annotated Bibliography Total Value 10% Project Overview Or Getting Started

What is an annotated bibliography? To make these guidelines easy to understand, I am going to use four simple sections, as follows: 1) How this project affects your grades on essays 2, 3, and 4. 2) I tell you what an annotated bibliography is. 3) I give you an example of an entry. 4) I provide a checklist of everything that should be included.

Section 1: Why is this project so important to essay 2 and essay 3? Because all the research you do for this project must be used again in essays 2, 3, and 4. Whatever topic you research and write about for your annotated bibliography is your topic for the rest of the semester. If you decide to write about a different topic in essay 2, 3, or 4, then you must do all the work of an entirely new annotated bibliography over again on the new topic. I really do advise against this.

Section 2: What is an annotated bibliography? It's made up of 10 entries, and each entry has 2 parts: an MLA style citation; an annotation. Basically, you research 10 scholarly articles, all on the same topic, and then you write a citation/annotation for each one.

Section 3: An example of an entry First of all, we should define a citation. A citation provides the publishing information on your scholarly article. It says where the article was published, who wrote it, and a few other things we'll learn about in class. I’ll show you an example shortly.

Now lets define an annotation. An annotation is a short summary of the scholarly article, and it's also a critique of it. Simply put, your annotations do two things: 1) explain, or summarize, what the article is about, and the article's thesis should be summarized in your first sentence. 2) evaluate why the article is a worthwhile one to read.

You wrote a good annotation if… anyone who reads your final work understands the scholarly article's argument. They should also know the problems or solutions, if any, that the article proposes. Finally, they will know whether the article is of a superior nature, or if they should go look for a different scholarly article on this subject.

Here is an example of an entry: (Make the font BIGGER by right clicking your mouse and choosing Full Screen) Miller, Brian, Gerado Ceballos, and Richard Reading. “The Prairie Dog and Biotic Diversity.” Conservation Biology 8.3 (1994): Since the turn of this century, prairie dog populations have declined up to 98% throughout North America, largely due to prairie dog eradication programs. The prairie dog is a keystone species that plays an important role in maintaining the biotic integrity of the western grasslands from southern Canada to northern Mexico. Prairie dog depopulation has degraded diversity on those prairies, and several species depending on prairie dogs now have listing status under the Endangered Species Act. Some form of legal protection for prairie dogs is needed. Positive incentives for ranchers to watch over the interests of both livestock and wildlife will enhance the attitude change necessary for grassland conservation. These incentives hinge critically on an end to U.S. government subsidies for prairie dog eradication programs. The subsidies are financially and ecologically unsound, and contribute to the prevailing misconceptions about the role of the prairie dog on the grasslands.

Your Checklist ____ I am turning in 10 entries ____ I don't start a new page for each entry. ____ None of my entries are from our textbooks, readings on reserve, or any other readings associated with this course. ____ One of my entries is from an appropriate website. ____ I got seven of my entries from journals from the OSU library shelves or stacks. ____ I got two of my entries from books from the OSU library shelves. ____ No more than eight of the articles I am handing in were printed off a computer.

Your Checklist (continued) ____ I am turning in copies of all ten of my articles, which means the entire article, with my annotated bibliography ____ None of my entries are from magazines or from publications with advertisements in them. ____ For the two books I used to write entries about, I am turning in a minimum of 10 copied pages from each book. ____ I individually stapled each article, rather than handing in loose pages or one big mass of papers. ____ I wrote my name on the front page of each individual article. ____ I stapled the annotated bibliography together.

Your Checklist (continued) ____ Each annotation I wrote is a minimum of 100 words to a maximum of 150 words, which doesn't include the words in the citation. ____ I realize that for each copy of an article that I don't hand in my grade on this project will be reduced by 10%, even if I have written an entry for that article. ____ I realize that for each entry that I don't write, or if it is incomplete, my grade on this project will be reduced by 10%. ____ I realize that once I turn in this project, no matter whether I turn it in on time or late, additional turn-ins of articles won't be accepted. ____ I am using MLA style in accordance with class lectures, overhead presentations, etc.

Quick Recap I recommend printing out these guideline and the checklist from the starting page of my website. Go to the secondary course materials drop down menu and choose the annotated bibliography guidelines. That’s all for now, but view the next power point presentation on the list too. Use your browser’s back button to end the show, or right click your mouse and choose end show