WHAT IS AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY?
As we have discussed in class, an annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words, not more than 2 paragraphs) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited. Annotations are useful in the research process because they can serve as a guide in directing the researcher toward specific sources. You may want to include a quote in your annotation. You may also include a brief statement about how a particular source relates to other sources in your annotated bibliography and / or your larger project.
WHAT SHOULD THE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY REQUIRED FOR THIS CLASS INCLUDE?
At least 5 sources, (not more than 7) listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name.
At least 5 sources that are directly or closely related to your topic
The bibliographical information for each source in MLA format
CAN AN EXAMPLE BE PROVIDED? Yes.
Waite, Linda J., Frances Kobrin Goldscheider, and Christina Witsberger. "Nonfamily Living and the Erosion of Traditional Family Orientations Among Young Adults."
American Sociological Review 51 (1986): 541-554.
The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living. This study will be useful in explaining my focus on females. It will also provide first-hand data that can be analyzed alongside the data I collect in Puerto Rico.
WHEN IS IT DUE?
It is due on Thursday, March 27th in class.
MORE HELP?
Visit:
http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill28.htm#appraiseAnother example of an annotation:Richardson, Elaine. African American Literacies. New York: Routledge, 2003.
(book titles should be underlined - I cannot underline on this blog @ the moment!)
This book offers a critical account of the language and literacy practices of African American students. It shows that current pedagogical theory and institutionalized practices consistently fall short of valuing and fully understanding the cultural and historical experience of African Americans. Thispredicament, argues the author, has led to unethical educational practices and student underachievement. Responding to this crisis, she calls for changes in literacy education. Her analysis pulls from research in sociolinguistics, communication studies, and education.
This is an enjoyable book that offers a fresh perspective on questions about African American literacies. One of the most impressive sections is the second chapter, entitled, ''The literacies of African American-centered rhetoric and composition: freestylin' or 'lookin' for a style that's free','' maps the development of African American literacies and rhetorical practices. The chapter's scope is expansive, covering the periods of slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power Movement, and the contemporary era of Hip Hop.Richardson includes many personal anecdotes and successfully weaves these into discussions of the topics mentioned above. Unlike other sources on this topic, her text can be seen as an example of 'reflexive scholarship' (Bourdieu 1980/1980) and as invitation for linguists and others interested in language to engage in this sort of work.
How to Write An Abstract
Abstracts are written for many purposes. Sometimes they are used to provide summaries of an article or essay. In other cases they are used to determine whether a given presentation will be accepted for an academic conference. Many abstracts are rejected or less useful than they could be because they omit crucial information rather than because of errors in what they include. These suggestions for abstracts have been modified from guidelines provided by the Linguistics Society of America:
1. Choose a title that clearly indicates the topic of the paper and is not more than one 7-inch typed line.
2. State the problem or research question raised by prior work, with specific reference to relevant prior research. How does your proposed project relate to previous scholarship and general knowledge about the topic?
3. State the main point or argument of the proposed project or presentation.
4. Regardless of the discipline or subfield, cite sufficient data or evidence, and explain why and how they support the main point or argument. Where will your data or evidence come from?
5. If your paper presents the results of interviews, archival research, or fieldwork, but collection of results is not yet complete, then report what results you've already obtained in sufficient detail so that your abstract may be evaluated. Also indicate explicitly the nature of the project’s methodological design and the specific hypothesis tested.
6. State the relevance of your ideas to past work. Describe analyses and methodology in as much detail as possible. Avoid saying in effect "a solution to this problem will be presented." If you are taking a stand on a controversial issue, summarize the arguments that lead you to your position.
7. State the contribution to linguistic research made by the analysis.
8. While citation in the text of the relevant literature is essential, a separate list of references at the end of the abstract is generally unnecessary. [However, for the purposes of this class, you must include your references, on a separate page from the abstract (could be on the back of the page — save a tree!) More information on references to follow.]
More general advice / guidelines• Be specific in determining your topic and its scope! • Organize your abstract in paragraphs.
• Make sure the introductory paragraph makes the reader want to continue to the following one. Provide a hook to make the reader say “Hmmm this is good and interesting” after reading just a few sentences.
•Avoid future tense when possible (e.g., This paper will discuss… vs. This paper discusses…).
• Identify a central question your research will answer or contribute to answering (or even reformulating).
• Give examples.
• Cite specific work related to your topic.
• Include key terms related to your topic, using them accurately.
• Don’t assume reader has prior knowledge of topic. Explain abbreviations at their first occurrence.
• Avoid sweeping claims and obnoxious tones. Be humble.
• Make the abstract easy to follow. Don’t present a complicated message or verbose sentences.• Center the most interesting and important idea. Don’t bury it.
• In the concluding paragraph sum up the proposal and touch upon a larger theoretical question.
