Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography writing. 750 words for Monday 11/05. Please see attachment. Thanks!
Annotated Bibliography Instructions
Task:
- Use the NU Library databases to locate five SUBSTANTIAL, high-quality sources related to your topic.
- All sources for this assignment must be accessed through the NU Library.
- Include the name of the database from which each source was retrieved, as in the example below (except for print sources).
- Also include the access date, as in the example below.
- All sources should be academic OR high-quality, substantial journalistic sources. Have at least two of each; the fifth source can be either academic or journalistic. (Remember, academic journal articles are NOT journalistic sources.)
- Read the sources carefully. I suggest taking notes and marking important ideas.
- Write an annotation of 100-150 words for each source (for a total of 500-750 words). Include word count for annotations, as in the example below.
- Make an alphabetical list of the sources in proper APA or MLA format. Pay close attention to the details of the bibliographic form, including punctuation, capitalization, italics, abbreviations and the sequence of elements. (If you use a citation generator, double check the citation carefully. They are machine generated and very often contain errors.)
- Each source should be followed by your annotation.
- Indicate clearly at the top of the first page which format (APA or MLA) you are using.
- Include your policy claim, or identify your topic if you don’t have a policy claim yet. Put this before the first reference.
Purpose:
- To familiarize you (or demonstrate your familiarity) with the resources provided by the National University Library, especially the electronic resources.
- To familiarize you, if you are not already, with peer-reviewed academic journal articles.
- To help you begin to develop a strong working knowledge of your topic, including major points of controversy.
- To show that you can effectively summarize and evaluate a piece of writing in a single paragraph.
EVALUATION:
I will grade your Annotated Bibliography based on:
- The quality of your sources and their usefulness for your topic.
- How thorough and informative your annotations are.
- The number and seriousness of errors in your references. (For example, missing information is a bigger problem than using a comma where a period is called for.)
- Your ability to follow the instructions on this sheet. Seriously.
ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS:
Your annotations should be both descriptive and critical. This means that you need to tell someone reading your bibliography not only what the article is about but also how good or useful you judge it to be. Here are some questions to help focus your comments:
- What is the author’s purpose in writing the piece?
- What are the most important points or claims that the author makes?
- Is the information in the article up-to-date?
- Is the piece a response to a specific event?
- Is the author responding to someone else’s work or opinions?
- What kind of evidence does the author use?
- Who is the intended audience for the piece?
- Where was the piece published? Can this information help you evaluate the piece?
- What are the author’s credentials or expertise?
- Does the author seem reasonable and trustworthy?
- Do you see any significant weaknesses or omissions in the piece?
- How do you think the piece will help you in your Policy Proposal?
Don’t feel that you need to answer all these questions. Part of the assignment is to pick out the most significant, interesting, or controversial aspects of the articles and discuss those points in a few concise sentences.
SAMPLE REFERENCE WITH ANNOTATION (APA):
Schlosser, E. (2002, September 16). Bad meat: The scandal of our food safety system. The Nation,
275, 6-7. Academic OneFile. Accessed 28 February 2018.
Schlosser writes in response to a major outbreak of foodborne illness caused by contaminated ground beef in the summer of 2002. He argues that the federal government needs to create a new governmental agency to oversee food safety and points out that the USDA, which currently bears that responsibility, has a “dual and conflicting mandate” that undermines its efforts to ensure food safety. Schlosser also points out the excessive influence of the meatpacking industry on government officials. As a well-known investigative journalist who writes frequently about the food industry, Schlosser is highly credible. His article provides valuable information on the food system as it existed in 2002 and presents a forceful critique of the meatpacking industry and the USDA. [119 words]
