how to best promote environmental sustainability in today’s everchanging world.
Project Description/Assignment
You will create an annotated bibliography based on the following requirements:
1. An introductory paragraph providing an overview of your topic or issue (200-250 words) that
1. Summarizes your topic
2. Explains the major concepts
3. Introduces the historical context and
4. States your research question
2. Six bibliographic entries of 200 words each on your chosen topic or issue accompanied by an appropriate MLA citation. Three of your
sources must be published between 2000-2010 and three of your sources must be published between 2011-2017. Each entry will include an analysis
of the article’s rhetorical situation, succinct summary of the ideas contained in the source, and discussion of each article’s historical
context. Each entry should consist of two paragraphs:
• One paragraph summarizing the source
• One paragraph that connects the source to the research question and discusses the credibility of the source
3. Possible topics to include: you may choose your own. This is only a list of some that have been used in the past.
• Concussions in youth sports
• Legalization of Marijuana
• PTSD
• Racial Profiling
• Military Recruitment
• Nuclear Radiation
• GMOs
• Real Estate and the Economy
• Poverty
• Education Disparity
• Drug/alcohol abuse
• Obesity
• Bullying
• Impact of technology
• Immigration
• Student Debt
• Recycling
• Environmental Sustainability
Purpose
In Project 1, you will develop a research process, learn that academic conversations occur within a historical and rhetorical context, and learn
how to trace these conversations over time. Your audience for this paper is an audience of academic peers who is less knowledgeable about the
subject or issue.
Sample Format
Student
Instructor
Class
Date
Title
Intro paragraph (200-250 words)
Summarize topic or issue
Explain major concepts
Introduce historical context
States research question
Source 1 (MLA Citation Format)–Two paragraphs; 200 words combined
Summary paragraph (What the article is about)
Context paragraph (Connects source to research Q; Discusses credibility)
Source 2 (MLA Citation Format)–Two paragraphs; 200 words combined
Summary paragraph (What the article is about)
Context paragraph (Connects source to research Q; Discusses credibility)
Sources 3-6 (Repeat the process)
Assessment and Peer Review
This project will be evaluated by your instructor and peers using the Project 1 Annotated Bibliography Rubric and guidelines listed above.
Using MyReviewers, you will provide feedback via peer review. The peer review process allows you to respond to your peers’ drafts as fellow
writers working toward the common goal of producing properly formatted, useful and insightful annotated bibliographies based on the Project 1
Rubric. Both you and your peers will be using each other’s comments and recommendations to improve your work. Thus, your individual commitment
to peer review has a real impact on the success of the entire class.
Terms You Should Know
• Annotated Bibliography: A list of sources that contains a bibliographic entry, summary, and analysis for each source
• Synthesis: The merging of various articles’ arguments and concepts in order to develop a wider understanding of a topic or issue and
their historical context
• Analysis: A breakdown of an article’s arguments, concepts, and historical context
• Peer-Reviewed Source: An article written by an expert in a given field that is assessed by other experts in the same field to ensure the
article’s quality. The article is then published in an academic journal.
• Historical Context: Facts or writings that surround an event, situation, or topic
• Research Question: The question that guides the research you are conducting. The purpose of researching is to answer a proposed research
question.
• Rhetorical Situation: The way a text functions as described by the relationship between the writer, audience, and topic
Additional Resources:
• Purdue OWL–Annotated Bibliography (Links to an external site.)
