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ESL 325 (Gerber)

ESL 325 (Gerber)

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Writing Assignment - Annotated Bibliography

Overview of the Steps

As with the argumentative essay, we complete the bibliography a piece at a time. Therefore, it is important that you keep up with each week's assignments. Each week, you will complete one of these steps in a discussion. 

Step 1. Select the Topic for Your Annotated Bibliography

This is the first step in the annotated bibliography, where you chose to research a career path or another area of interest. Choose your topic very carefully because you will not have the time to change your topic. Choose a topic in one of these three areas:

  • A major or career pathway - If you haven't chosen a major yet, it's a good idea to start by looking at one or more of these resources:
  • An area of interest – If you are not interested in a career, you can choose an area of interest. This can be a topic that you would like to learn more about. For instance, if you like art, you should choose a specific type of art, such as Afghanistan's Gandharan art, or a specific artist, such as Chinese artist Ai Weiwei or Vietnamese painter Nguyen Gia Tri.
  • A hobby – This is similar to #2, but it is more specific to something you do for fun. Do you like to play video games in your free time? Then that would be your topic. Video game design based on manga or anime is an example of an acceptable topic.

Step 2. Find Four Sources

Use the library databases to find a total of four different sources. You need to include at least one video, one article, and one website. The fourth choice is up to you. It can be an interview, a book, an infographic, or anything you find reliable and informative about the topic. Be careful when choosing these four sources. They must have been published in 2021 or later. If you have difficulty finding material this new, then attend my office hours to get help. Once you have found something that matches your topic and is recently published, skim the information first. Be sure that you can actually understand it for the most part. If the material is so difficult that you cannot figure it out, then do not use it. Select something different.

Step 3. Save Your Selections

Once you feel confident about a source, copy the citation provided on the library page in a file entitled 'My Bibliography Sources' or another name that is easy to recognize. Download articles to a folder on your desktop. Save links to videos. If you complete the discussions each week, then you will be able to complete one or two entries per week. 

Step 4. Write Your Annotated Bibliography

The summary and evaluation paragraph for each of the four sources must be written in your own words. Each paragraph should be 150-200 words. Do not use book reviews or cut and paste sentences and summaries from the database or other internet websites (Amazon, for instance). Remember: if you can find something online, so can I.

Use the MLA format to format the bibliography before you submit it on the due date. If you are dissatisfied with your grade, you can revise and edit your bibliography and then submit it again. Keep in mind, however, that revising your work does not mean you will automatically receive 100% on it. While I can give you advice, I cannot rewrite your bibliography for you; ultimately, the grade will depend on your ability to read, summarize, analyze, and write.

Tips on Searching for Sources Using OneSearch (SCC Library Website)

  • Based on your keywords, OneSearch will scan all of the Los Rios Libraries' resources, including books, ebooks, and articles from all of our individual databases.
  • Use "quotation marks" to keep your keywords side-by-side as an exact phrase, for example, "career choices"
  • Use the *asterisk as a wild card to give you the same stem with any ending, for example, therap* will give you the words therapy, therapies, therapist, therapeutic and any other word that has the root therap.
  • Use (parentheses) to nest, or combine similar keywords with the connectors OR, AND, NOT, for example, (career* or employment* or job*)
  • An example would be: (career* or employment*) and therap*