Home
Project 3 Guidelines (Total Value 250 points)
  • Project 3 has two parts:
      1) Annotated Bibliography (100 points) -- Due date: 10/14/05
      2) Bibliographic Analysis Essay (150 points) -- Due date: 11/4/05

    Part One: Annotated Bibliography Project (Total Value: 100 points):

    Due date: 10/14/05
    To make these guidelines easy to understand, I am going to use five simple sections, as follows:

    1) Why this project is important to the Bibliographical Analysis Essay, the Moveable Bridge Essay, and Essay 4.
    2) I tell you what an annotated bibliography is.
    3) I provide an example of an entry.
    4) I provide a checklist of everything that should be included.
    5) I provide the guidelines for the Bibliographic Analysis Essay.

    Section 1: Why is this project so important to the Bibliographical Analysis Essay, the Moveable Bridge Essay, and Essay 4?

    Because all the research you do for this project must be used again in the Bibliographical Analysis Essay, the Moveable Bridge Essay, and Essay 4.  Whatever topic you research and write about for your annotated bibliography is your topic for the rest of the semester.  If you decide to write about a different topic in the Bibliographical Analysis Essay, the Moveable Bridge Essay, or Essay 4, then you must do all the work of an entirely new Project 3 over again on the new topic.  I really do advise against anyone doing that.

    Section 2: What is an annotated bibliography?

    It's made up of 10 entries, and each entry has 2 parts: an MLA style citation; an annotation.

    Basically, you research 10 scholarly articles, all on the same topic, and then you write an entry for each one.

    Section 3: An example of an entry:

    First of all, what is a citation?

    A citation provides the publishing information on your scholarly article.  It says where the article was published, who wrote it, and a few other things we'll learn about in class.





    What is an annotation?

    An annotation is a short summary of the scholarly article, and it's also a critique of it. Simply put, your annotations do two things:
    1) explain, or summarize, what the article is about, and the article's thesis is summarized in your first sentence.
    2) evaluate why the article is a worthwhile one to read.

    Your objective here is that anyone who reads your final work will know what each scholarly article's argument is.  They will also know the problems or solutions, if any, that the article proposes.  Finally, they will know whether the article is of a superior nature, or if they should go look for a different scholarly on this subject.

    Here is an example of an entry:
      

    Miller, Brian, Gerado Ceballos, and Richard Reading.  “The Prairie Dog and Biotic
         Diversity.” Conservation Biology 8.3 (1994): 677-81.  Since the turn of this
         century, prairie dog populations have declined up to 98% throughout North
         America, largely due to prairie dog eradication programs. The prairie dog is a 
         keystone species that plays an important role in maintaining the biotic 
         integrity of the western grasslands from southern Canada to northern Mexico.
         Prairie dog depopulation has degraded diversity on those prairies, and 
         several species depending on prairie dogs now have listing status under the
         Endangered Species Act. Some form of legal protection for prairie dogs is
         needed. Positive incentives for ranchers to watch over the interests of both
         livestock and wildlife will enhance the attitude change necessary for grassland
         conservation. These incentives hinge critically on an end to U.S. government
         subsidies for prairie dog eradication programs. The subsidies are financially
         and ecologically unsound, and contribute to the prevailing misconceptions 
         about the role of the prairie dog on the grasslands.
     

    Section 4: Here is your checklist:
     


    ____     I am turning in 10 entries.

     

    ____     I don't start a new page for each entry.

     

    ____     None of my entries are from our textbooks, readings on reserve, or any other
                readings associated with this course. 

     

    ____     One of my entries is from an appropriate website.

     

    ____     I got seven of my entries from peer-reviewed journals.

     

    ____     I got two of my entries from books from the OSU library shelves.

     

    ____     No more than eight of the articles I am handing in were printed off a computer.

     

    ____     None of my entries are from magazines or from publications with advertisements
                in them.

     

    ____     None of my entries are based on book reviews.
               

     

    ____     I am turning in copies of all ten of my articles, which means the entire article,
                with my annotated bibliography

     

    ____     For the two books I used to write entries about, I am turning in a minimum of 10
                copied pages from each book, plus the title page with the publication information.

     

    ____     I individually stapled each article, rather than handing in loose pages or one big 
                mass of papers.

     

    ____     I wrote my name on the front page of each individual article.

     

    ____     I stapled the annotated bibliography together.

     

    ____     I am handing in two copies of my annotated bibliography.
                 

     

    ____     Each annotation I wrote is a minimum of 100 words to a maximum of 150 words, 
                which doesn't include the words in the citation.

     

    ____     I realize that for each copy of an article that I don't hand in my grade on this
                project will be reduced by 10 points, even if I have written an entry for that article.

     

    ____     I realize that for each entry that I don't write, or if it is incomplete, my grade
                on this project will be reduced by 10 points.

     

    ____     I realize that once I turn in this project, no matter whether I turn it in on time
                or late, additional turn-ins of articles and/or entries won't be accepted. 

     

    ____     I am using MLA style in accordance with class lectures, overhead presentations,
                etc. 
  • Of course, during class there will be much direct instruction from me regarding your approach to this project. I will also assist you during peer revisions and am available for questions via E-mail, office hours, and gladly by appointment.

    •  

    Part Two: Bibliographic Analysis Essay (Total Value: 150 points):

    Due date: 11/4/05

    General Guidelines:

    • Page count: 6 full pages minimum to 7 full pages maximum, plus a works cited page.
    • Hand in all drafts that have led up to this essay, both in-class and out-of-class writings.
    • Hand in copies of all books/articles cited in this essay. (For articles, hand in the entire article. For each book, turn in a minimum of 10 copied pages, making certain to copy all the pages from which you have quoted or paraphrased, plus the title page with the publication information.)
    • Use MLA style in accordance with class lectures.
    • Use the formatting guidelines on the course syllabus.
    • Make certain that the essay has a clear function-statement, which frames the topic and issue that will be examined. Below I discuss the fundamentals of function-statements.
    • Remember to include a colon in the essay's title.


    Prompt:

    This is NOT an argumentative essay.
    This essay does NOT have a thesis, but rather a function statement.
    Although we will discuss function statements at length during class, here is the definition: states that the purpose of the paper is to explain and analyze a select group of scholarly publications on your topic.

    Here is an example of a function statement: "The purpose of this paper is to examine recent scholarship on the controversial issue of euthanasia."

    Essentially, the function-statement establishes for your readers the fact that the essay is not of an argumentative nature, but rather the business of your paper is to summarize each of your sources.
    • This essay comes from the research done for your annotated bibliography.
    • You must cite a minimum of 8 sources from your annotative bibliography, which means both in-text and works cited page citations.


    • You have 3 main criteria over which you will be graded:
      1) Have a clear function-statement.
      2) Explain each article, meaning its thesis and key points.
      3) Make many connections between the articles, which means that you constanly refer back to articles you have previously analyzed. Explain, for example, the points over which the authors agree or disagree. You must make clear the connections between the respective arguments. You might go about this by using some of the following phrases:
      "Smith responds by ..."
      "Smith's view is similar to Jones' insofar as ..."
      "Smith's view is similar to Jones' and Brown's insofar as ..."
      While Smith's view differs from Jones' and Brown's insofar as _______, Smith appears to agree with Brown on the notion of ..."


    • Above all, do remember that you are NOT writing an argumentative essay, but rather an analysis of selected articles that makes clear their connections, similarities and differences.


    • You may use additional new sources beyond the 8 if you wish.


    • Very Important: This is not a cut and paste version of your annotated bibliography presented in essay form. This is a new project for which you have weeks to draft and revise, and it should demonstrate that you have given much thought to describing your sources differently than you did in previous writings. It would be a serious error in judgment to use any of the writing from your annotated bibliography. Neither should you reword the prose from your annotated bibliography. Failing to successfully negotiate these aspects of this project could result in a grade as low as zero on this essay.


    • Of course, during class there will be much direct instruction from me regarding your approach to this essay. I will also assist you during peer revisions and am available for questions via E-mail and office hours. I am always willing to discuss various approaches to your assignments, or read a draft of your work in progress.
    Due Date:  11/4/05