we will create a shared resource: A Collaborative Annotated Bibliography. This activity will create important building blocks for your research papers in two significant ways:
First, it will allow you a space to compile information about U.S. History that you are gaining from our course readings and the additional research you will conduct for your papers.
Second, it will allow you to share what you are gathering with other scholars – specifically, your classmates. This sharing process will allow all of you to exchange ideas and materials in a collegial way.
The Purdue University Online Writing Lab’s page on Annotated Bibliographies notes that an annotation is “a summary and/or evaluation.” A bibliography is a list of research sources such as books, articles, interviews, and oral histories, among other things. Hence, an annotated bibliography is a summary and/or evaluation of each source. Bibliographies usually are organized in alphabetical order, beginning with the author’s last name. Annotated bibliographies are sometimes organized by subject matter or by theme; however, in this class, we will stick with using authors’ last names organized in alphabetical order for simplicity.
Here’s what you are expected to do:
You can choose from the documents and essays in our course text as well as the additional research materials you gather to complete the written assignments and other learning activities for this course. Try to find secondary sources written by historians– this will help you to understand how historians build their arguments.
Contribute additional sources when asked to do so. For instance, in Module 2, you will be asked to find some credible news media sources to develop your written assignment. Please create annotations for those sources in addition to the three required scholarly entries for that module.
Please observe the following guidelines in preparing your annotations:
Summarize. What are the main points of this source? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say?
Assess. How reliable is the information in this source? Is it a peer-reviewed source? If not, what kind of publication or format does it appear in? How useful is it for scholars of U.S. History?
Reflect. How does this source fit into your research? What other research topics might it be useful for? How does it help shape your argument? How does it cause you to think differently about your topic?
Format. As you write your annotations, think short and sweet. The annotation should be 200 words or less, including the author’s name, title, publication, and date. Use the Chicago Style in preparing your annotation. See the sample annotation below as well as the Purdue Online Writing Lab’s sample for a Chicago Style entry. Please also include a web link when applicable.
