Unit 2: Research 

Prof. Ruth Garcia

English 1101, Spring 2020

Unit 2: Annotated Bibliography (1000-word minimum)

Due: ?/?/2020

Assignment

At this point, you have brainstormed issues that are deeply important to you and you have narrowed those down to one in particular. Over the last couple of weeks, you have also worked to develop a question related to the topic you want to investigate.

Now, for this assignment you will do research and put together a 1000-word annotated bibliography of three sources that help you answer your question.

Here is a useful site explaining what an annotated bibliography is and how to do one: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography

Your particular annotated bibliography should include the following:

• Your research question at the top of the page.
• An opening statement (a paragraph) explaining why this topic is important to you, what you know about it, and what you expect to find.
• Three sources that are properly formatted in MLA style.
  • Note that each of your sources should be a different kind of genre. Examples of genres you might include are: newspaper articles, TED talks, personal essays, magazine article, scholarly article, organizations website.
  • You can find more on how to do MLA citations at the link below and throughout the Purdue OWL site: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html
  • You can also use Purdue OWL, Easy Bib, or Citation aNchine to do your citations—you can google for the second two sites and the first is at the link above.
  • Make sure your citations are in alphabetical order by author’s last name.
• After each MLA style citation, put a summary of the source that tells what the piece is about.
• Following each summary, you should also include
  • a few sentences that explain the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece.
  • one or two sentences evaluating the usefulness of each source.
  • An important and useful quotation from your source.
• A concluding statement (a paragraph) reflecting on what you have learned about your topic and who would benefit from this information and how.

Note: Below–after “How will this be graded” I have included a template for your annotated bibliography. This is to show you how to organize and format your annotated bibliography.

How will this be graded?

• Your annotated bibliography should be at least 1000 words.
• Your annotated bibliography should be on time.
• Your annotated bibliography should have all the components listed above and be formatted in the way indicated by the template below.
• You should proofread.

The template for this assignment begins on the next page.

Your Name Here

Prof. Garcia

ENG 1101

Date Here

Research Question: Insert your research question here in place of this red text. Then make the text black/automatic when you are done.

Introduction:

In place of this blue text, insert your Opening statement saying what you expected to find before you began your research—this should be about at least a paragraph. Make sure to return the text to black/automatic.

Insert your first source here in place of all this black text and make sure your citation is in MLA style and alphabetized by author’s last name. Notice that the first line of a citation is all the way to the left and other lines of the citation are indented.

In place of this green text, you should insert your summary. In your summary you should make sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. Also, make sure to return your text to black/automatic.

In place of this purple text, you should insert your evaluation of the source and return the text to black/automatic.

In place of this orange text, insert an important or useful quotation from your source and return the text to black/automatic.

Insert your second source here in place of all this black text and make sure your citation is in MLA style and alphabetized by author’s last name. Notice that the first line of a citation is all the way to the left and other lines of the citation are indented.

In place of this green text, you should insert your summary. In your summary you should make sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. Also, make sure to return your text to black/automatic.

In place of this purple text, you should insert your evaluation of the source and return the text to black/automatic.

In place of this orange text, insert an important or useful quotation from your source and return the text to black/automatic.

Insert your third source here in place of all this black text and make sure your citation is in MLA style and alphabetized by author’s last name. Notice that the first line of a citation is all the way to the left and other lines of the citation are indented.

In place of this green text, you should insert your summary. In your summary you should make sure to mention the genre, audience, and purpose of the piece. Also, make sure to return your text to black/automatic.

In place of this purple text, you should insert your evaluation of the source and return the text to black/automatic.

In place of this orange text, insert an important or useful quotation from your source and return the text to black/automatic.

Conclusions:

In place of this blue text, insert your concluding statement saying what you learned about your topic, who you think would benefit from this information, and why and how they would benefit from this information—this should be about a paragraph. Make sure to return the text to black/automatic.

 

Unit 3: Genre

Prof. Garcia

ENG 1101

Spring 2020

Unit 3: Writing in a Genre Assignment

Due: ?/?/20

Assignment

Think about the research you conducted for your annotated bibliography and decide which audience you think would benefit from this information, why they would benefit, and what would be the best way to convey this information to them. You have already started to do some of this thinking in the conclusion of your annotated bibliography, but now you need to pick a specific group with whom to share your research, come up with a plan for how you will share the information you found, and write the proposed document for your intended audience.

Note: This is a two-part assignment.

Part One: Reflection and Genre Analysis

Write a 2-3-page reflection on how to best use the information you gathered and the knowledge you gained with your annotated bibliography.

In your reflection address the following:

• Who do you think would benefit from this information? Why?
• Tell me about your one specific audience—a brief description so I understand who they are, why you chose them, and how this research relates to them.
• Explain why you chose this audience. Give 2-3 well-developed reasons why you think this information is useful for this particular audience. Also, explain what you want to accomplish for this audience. In other words, are you trying to inform them, persuade them, and/or something else?
• How do you think it would be best to reach this audience in a way that accomplishes what you want to have happen by sharing the information with this group? In other words, what genre would you choose for reaching this audience?

(Examples of genres you might consider are: news report, pamphlet, article in a particular kind of magazine or newspaper, YouTube video, podcast, song lyrics, speech, Wikipedia entry, letter to a particular political figure—these are just examples but the point is to pick a genre that would reach and appeal to your audience).

• Why would this be your choice of genre for this group?
• Tell me about this genre. Find three examples of your genre, step back and look them over carefully. Then, answer the following questions based on what you see as common among all three pieces:
  • Where is your genre found? What kind of place/publication?
  • Who creates/authors this type of work? For what audience?
  • Why does this genre appeal to your chosen audience? Or why do you think it does?
  • What is the purpose of this genre? (to Persuade, to Entertain, or to Inform, something else?) Note that there might be more than one purpose to your genre. For example, some types of musicians or poets work to inform through their work but that does not make their music any less entertaining.
  • Finally, what do you see as the main elements or features of this genre, including the length, tone, format, organization, desired effect on the audience, and other key features? Make a list and describe each element in a few sentences.

Part II: Writing in a genre

Now take your research and draft a document for your chosen community in the genre you have chosen and analyzed.

Use the work you did in the reflective writing and the understanding you developed about the genre to write your piece.

Your goal is to share your research and share it with your chosen community to accomplish your desired goal, which you identified in your reflection.

Note: There is no particular word count for this portion of the assignment as the length will be determined by the genre you chose to work in.

How will this be graded?

• Length: Your reflection and genre analysis should be at least 1000 words.
• Careful and thorough thinking:
  • Your reflection should have all the components listed above
  • Your genre analysis should be accurate and detailed.
  • Your genre should make sense for the audience you have chosen to address.
• Genre Execution:
  • The genre piece you produce should be similar to other pieces in the genre you chose to work with.
  • The genre piece accomplishes your goal (to inform, persuade, something else—whatever you said in your reflective piece.)
• Repurposing: The genre piece you produce should use the research from your annotated bibliography and be related to your research question.
• Timeliness: Your project should be on time.
• Proofreading: You should proofread for clarity.