Bibliography

Apr 8

Annotated Bibliography

Due in time for class, Thursday, Apr 8

What can you learn about the history of your political issue (or other topic) from scholars who have studied it? Find sources and report your findings in a format that will help others who are interested in the same topic.

  1. Sources
    • Number required: 4.
    • Sources should meet quality standards of college-level research: no encyclopedia articles; no “informative” websites. Articles in book collections count individually—but don’t include more than 2 or 3 articles from any given collection.
    • List sources using Chicago style Bibliographical citations (details at the bottom of this page)
    • This bibliography should focus on secondary sources (scholars, authorities) rather than on primary sources (historical documents, evidence). Ideally, one book source and one article source (whether a journal article or a chapter from a scholarly anthology).
  2. Annotations: 100-200 words (3-7 sentences), phrased to present the source author as the main character of the annotation. While you can collaborate in crafting bibliographic entries, your annotations should be written independently from the other people in your group. Read/skim each source, assess its topic, thesis and body of evidence, and then write a brief summary. Your annotation should answer some or all of the following:
    • What is the author trying to do?
      • What topic does the source address?
      • What prior understanding does it take as starting point?
      • What new understanding does it argue as thesis?
      • What kind(s) of evidence does the author reference?
    • How is it different/the same as other sources in your list?
      • Consider differences of method, of opinion, etc.
      • Make note if one source gets referenced as an authority by other sources, even if those others disagree with it: that’s a sign of respect, of a source worth disagreeing with.
  3. Turning in your Annotated Bibliography
      • Format: PDF
      • Filename: your name + ‘Bib’ followed by the appropriate extension (.pdf).
        • Make sure that there are no periods in the name other than the one in “.pdf”
      • Website Location:
        • The class 11.2 HW page appropriate for your section: D4 | D5 | D6.
        • Type your topic into a comment and mark it in boldface.
        • Upload your completed bibliography as an attachment to that comment.

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