Description
Assignment Directions: As part of your Applied History Project, the second assignment requirement expects students to complete an Annotated Bibliography.
But first, what is an Annotated Bibliography? An annotated bibliography is a list of bibliographic entries of books, articles, and documents. Each entry is followed by a brief paragraph called the “annotation.” The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.
There are two types of annotated bibliographies. The “descriptive” annotated bibliography summarizes a source, describes why it is useful for researching a particular topic or question, and describes the author’s main arguments and conclusions. The “analytical” annotated bibliography includes the same elements, but it also analyzes what is written or argued. It critically examines the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s argument and conclusions.
This assignment will require you to research and write an analytical annotated bibliography.Your annotated bibliography will include bibliographic entries AND a narrative explanation of the source and how it will be used to further your policy research.
Assignment Requirements: For this assignment, students will conduct research on their topic and compose a properly formatted, detailed annotated bibliography consisting of six academic sources to be used in their final submission. The sources must consist of three scholarly secondary sources and three primary sources. Each entry should include a properly formatted Chicago Style Citation and a 250-to-300-word analysis. The analysis should include the following:
A brief description of the author’s topic, thesis, and methodology. In other words, in what academic discipline does the work fall in (history, literature, social science, women’s studies, cultural studies, etc.)? What kind of evidence does the author draw upon?
A concise explanation of the main points in the text.
A statement about the author’s goals and his/her intended audience. Are there any clear biases?
MOST IMPORTANTLY–Your critical evaluation of the text’s usefulness for the investigation of your topic. What are the strengths of the source? What are the deficiencies or limitations of the source?
Did the article help you to further understand the topic? If so, explain how. If not, explain what information might have been helpful.
Explain how each of your sources compares to the others. Are there any general trends you see in your selected books and articles?
