In the research process, an annotated bibliography is an instrument to help students formulate a clear thesis, a strong argument.
Each annotation should include in one paragraph: a summary, an evaluation of the text (which includes the intended audience), and a reflection on its applicability to his/her own research.
Recommended Length: 4-6 pages. APA Format.
Purpose: To develop a working collection of valuable, credible sources related to your topic.
Audience: An academic audience that includes the authors of the readings and other interested in the issue upon which you are focusing.
Questions for Consideration and Topic Exploration: Carefully select and annotate a minimum of ten sources related to the key global challenge you identified for your research paper.
These should include a combination of scholarly journals (three minimum), newspaper articles, applicable websites, as well as other relevant, scholarly sources.
The Research Paper:
Ideally, the beginnings of this final research strand will occur in the earlier essays. Instructors may wish to insist on a certain component of library research, and they may wish to specify exactly what that should entail (i.e., current journals, periodicals, newspaper accounts), but at least some component of the project should be drawn from theoretical concerns delineated in their reader, and at least some portion should include interviews or field notes of some kind.
Some of the activities in this part of the semester should involve posing a research question, gathering materials (designing interview questions, observing and taking notes, designing questionnaires) focusing the study, shaping the argument, framing the materials in relation to the larger themes developed in the course.
It is often helpful if the class can function with long-term writing groups for this part of the semester, so a group of three or four students might periodically check with one another about the progress of their research and receive feedback from a group familiar with their materials about how persuasive the presentation is, what pieces of information are needed to bolster the argument, what other kind of framing material might heighten the significance of the research.
Recommended Length: 6 – 8 pages. APA Format.
Purpose: To develop an argument on a specific topic and provide persuasive support for your thesis using strong reasons and clear evidence.
Audience: An academic audience that includes the authors of the readings and other interested in the issue upon which you are focusing.
