Annotated Biography

Purpose: Practice analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing sources in preparation for your Synthesis Essay, both in writing and via a short oral/video presentation. 

• In Discussion 4.2, you located two sources (one of which was required to be scholarly) to help you verify or refute your selected text from the Student-Selected Scholarly Articles list. Note your professors previous comments and seek help (from one of the online librarians or your professor) with locating sources, particularly if you are struggling to locate an additional scholarly source.

• Now, you will write an individual annotated bibliographic entry for all three texts (the article that inspired your research from the Student-Selected Scholarly Articles list and the two texts that you located). For each source that you have selected, complete the following:

  • Begin with the MLA works cited entry for the text. Note that EbscoHost (in Galileo) will provide you with the MLA citation if you click Cite on the right-hand panel, making sure you choose MLA formatting for the citation. Also, note that the works cited entries for the Student-Selected Scholarly Articles have been provided and are located below each article’s title.

  • Then, write a well-developed paragraph that summarizes, evaluates, and reflects on and/or synthesizes each individual source. Make sure that each paragraph contains specific information about that source, not general observations that could apply to any one of the sources. Note that a single quote (per source) may be included, but the quote must be no more than one line in length as typed in your bibliography.   Take the following steps:

    1. Write two to three sentences that summarize the article/sources main argument and claims. Be specific when summarizing the text and include parenthetical citations when appropriate.

    2. Write two to three sentences that evaluate what evidence and examples the source uses to support its main focus/claims.  Briefly explain the sources merits or deficiencies, in terms of logic, persuasion, credibility, and so on.  Consider whether the author(s) effectively presented her/his/their claimsand how. Also, consider whether the authors information is reliable. Keep in mind that your evaluation does not need to be only positive or negative; the source may be adept in certain areas, but not in others.  

    3. Write two to thre sentences that reflect on how the article/source relates to the other two sources that you have selected. Consider what new information and perspectives the text providesand how it adds to the ongoing conversation (in the other texts) about your topic. It may be helpful to imagine the author meeting the authors of your other sourceswhat would she/he say? On what points would they agree and/or disagree.

• For reference, consult these resources: Color-Coded MLA Annotated Bibliography Example; and Purdue OWLs explanation of an annotated bibliography.

• Use full MLA formatting for your assignment, including a running header and block header, double line spacing, and indentation as required for an annotated bibliography. Please note that indentation is different than what you are used to for an annotated bibliography!

• Finally, practice briefly explaining a few elements of your annotated bibliography. Aim for between one to three minutes. Then record yourself through the assignment tool and submit the recording along with your annotated bibliography document.  Begin your video by clearly showing your student ID (or other government ID) to the camera for a few seconds for identity verification.  During your video, please don’t read your annotations out loud.  Instead, trust that your reader/viewer has already read them, and use the time to discuss what you yourself found compelling based on your research.  For example:

  • what interesting connections – agreements, disagreements – between your texts do you find the most compelling?

  • what do you understand about your topic that you didn’t before you started working on this project?

  • if time were not an issue, what aspects of or questions around this project would you continue to explore?

  • what was the most useful think you learned about academic research or the research process while working on this annotated bibliography?

  • IMPORTANT:  It is recommended that you record your video outside of GoVIEW and save it as an mp4. To submit your video in the assignment tool, click on the “Record Video” button and then select the “upload” option at the top. Please note that if your mp4 is bigger than 1 gb, you will need to use the “Add File” option instead. Alternatively, you can upload your video to YouTube and provide a link for your submission. When using YouTube, be sure to set your video as unlisted which will allow your instructor to view the video but prevent it from displaying publicly in search results. 

Grading Criteria:

• You must incorporate one article from the Student-Selected Scholarly Article list, one additional scholarly article from Galileo, and one additional source that may be popular, professional, or scholarly

• You must follow MLA guidelines and formatting for your citations

• You must have developed paragraphs that engage specific ideas in the texts, not general observations, for the distinct purposes of analysis, evaluation, and synthesis

• Your writing should demonstrate clear, grammatically correct prose

• Your written annotated bibliography and video should show your personal engagement with and reflection on your source