ENGL 197: Ghosts and War in Asian America: Annotated Bibliography

Assignment:

You will explore your proposed project topic in greater depth by gathering a list of scholarly and creative sources that inform your understanding of the project. You will then develop an annotated bibliography containing at least 6 sources for your research/creative projects. For all the projects, at least 4 of these sources should be scholarly (peer reviewed). 2 of your sources may be course texts.

What is an annotated bibliography?

A bibliography is a list of citations to sources (books, articles, films, websites, etc.) that you’ve consulted when researching a topic. An annotated bibliography includes a summary and evaluation of each source. For research projects, the annotated bibliography helps you organize your sources to learn about your topic and to formulate a thesis in conversation with existing scholarship. For creative/anthology projects, the annotated bibliography is a tool to see connections and common themes across your primary/creative texts. It also helps you identify key questions and concepts that frame your scholarly and creative interventions.

The annotations should include:

1. A brief summary of the key arguments or themes of the source.
2. Any connections you see between the source and other sources you’re consulting. Does the source expand on or challenge the ideas of another text?  
3. Any shortcomings you notice about the source.
4. The source’s relevance/value to your topic.

How do I get started?

By now, you will have a rough idea of your topic of interest for the final project. As you develop your list of sources, you’ll probably tweak your topic to incorporate ideas and themes from your texts.

1. Narrow down your sources to the most relevant/helpful texts that either frame your scholarly intervention or fit into the themes of your anthology.
2. Read and annotate your sources. For novels that we have not read in class, you may choose to focus on an excerpt to include in the anthology project.
3. Write a brief introduction to your topic that clearly and succinctly summarizes your research question, anthology topic, or creative intervention. You may rework this introduction in your future abstract/project summary, which you will be submitting separately (150-200 words). 
4. Briefly discuss the research and selection process that led you to choose these sources for annotation. How did you find these sources? Why did you select these sources rather than others? (200 words)
5. Put together the annotated bibliography (100-200 words per source).
6. A discussion of what you learned from your sources. The discussion should draw directly from the annotations and summarize key themes and common ideas across the sources. (200-300 words).

Format:

1. Brief introduction
2. Research and selection process summary
3. Annotations
4. Discussion
5. Group members’ contribution explanation (if working in a group)

All annotations must be cited using MLA format. The assignment should be submitted as a MS Word .doc file to Canvas and should be proofread carefully for clarity, organization, spelling, and grammar.