Collateral Reading Assignment/Annotated Bibliography

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a list of texts. The annotated bibliography contains two parts. This first part lists important information about a text, the author, publisher and date (just like in a standard bibliography). This first portion of the annotated bibliography will usually must be in APA format.

The second part of an annotated bibliography contains additional information that separates it from a standard bibliography. This additional information is the annotation – the process of adding notes, summary information about the text, and/or an analysis of the text. What you choose to note and how much you write will depend on the purpose of your research and the length of the text you are annotating.

Assignment Objectives:

To provide the student an opportunity to conduct reading and research outside the prescribed textbook for the course.
To provide the student an opportunity to contextualize course content to his or her specific interest in the field.
To prepare the student to conduct professional research.

Assignment Instructions:

Complete and submit a collateral reading report on the subject matter of the topic and develop additional bibliographical references of at least 12 texts, including at least 2 from peer-reviewed scholarly journals. Include a three paragraph summary of each text; you may also include citations which you intend to use for your final essay.

Each entry should contain the following information:

Title and bibliographic information for the text following the guidelines of APA Style.
A 3-paragraph summary of the text, either evaluative

Why write an Annotated Bibliography?

Annotated bibliographies are usually used in larger research projects and often help students to gather important and detailed information about a variety of texts such as books, journal articles and even Internet materials. When writing an annotated bibliography, students usually read the texts first, and then write summaries or analyses (depending on the assignment and the purpose for writing the annotated bibliography). Annotated bibliographies are usually written for the
following reasons:

To summarize a selection of texts for a research project
As part of a larger research assignment
To be published independently as a resource
To prepare for a thesis or dissertation

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

Indicative – describe what is included in the source
Informative – summarize the main findings or arguments from the source
Evaluative – evaluate the source, assess its strengths and weaknesses
Combination – summarize, evaluate, and describe the source

Annotations must be written in paragraphs, with complete sentences, not phrases.

Some unacceptable examples:

Informative, phrases
Ian, J. (1952). Augustan Satire: Intention and Idiom in English Poetry, 1660-1750. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

A study especially of satiric subgenres and their corresponding dictions in Butler,
Dryden, Pope, and Johnson. Jack's concern is to discover the "kinds" of satiric poetry and their functions; when we learn to read satires according to their proper kinds, he suggests, we recover a great deal of their contemporary meaning and rescue them from accusations of sterility. Contemporary engagement is thereby rescued through formal considerations. [Jack Lynch, Augustan Satire: An Annotated Bibliography, andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Biblio/satirebib.html]

Evaluative, phrases
Cameron, K.W. (1971). Young Emerson’s Transcendental Vision: An Exposition of his World View With an Analysis of the Structure, Backgrounds, and Meaning of Nature (1836). Hartford: Transcendentalist Books.

Everything you always wanted to know about Emerson, and so much more.
Cameron’s knowledge is encyclopedic, and his prose is certainly adequate, if at
times uneven. The biggest plus of this tome is the handy reprinting of works by
other authors (in this case Coleridge) relevant to Emerson’s work. [Bryan
Hileman, Annotations and Reviews of Readings in American Transcendentalism,
www.vcu.edu/engweb/transweb/annotbib.htm]

Indicative, phrases
Andriano, J. (1992). Our Ladies of Darkness: Feminine Daemonology in Male Gothic Fiction. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.

A study of the beautiful and deadly female fiend (esp. supernatural and psychological
frameworks) in 19th Century Gothic fiction. [The Gothic: Materials for Study,
www.engl.virginia.edu/~enec981/Group/biblio.html]

An Acceptable Example:

Combination, paragraph
Chai, L. (1987). The Romantic Foundations of the American Renaissance. Ithaca: Cornell
University Press, 1987.

This lengthy volume discusses the influence of European Romanticism upon the works
of Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Emerson and a smattering of others. Its primary focus, at
least in the sections devoted to Emerson, is upon the philosophical influence of the
Germans (Goethe, Schiller, Schleiermacher, Schelling, the Schlegels, Novalis, Kant,
Hegel etc.) and to a lesser degree the English (Wordsworth, Coleridge Shelley.) This
works wades into some deep philosophical waters. Those looking for a deeper, broader
understanding of transcendentalist philosophy will find it illuminating. Those looking for
facts are advised to seek elsewhere. [Bryan Hileman, Annotations and Reviews of
Readings in American Transcendentalism, www.vcu.edu/engweb/transweb/annotbib.htm]

Example of annotated bibliographies can be found at Purdue University:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_annotatedbib.html

PLEASE BE SURE TO OBTAIN A COPY OF THE APA MANUAL:

American Psychological Association (APA) Style
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. American Psychological
Association. 5th edition (July 2001)

Course Essay Plan

Assignment Objectives:

To provide the student practice in organizing a strong academic essay.
To provide the student with an opportunity to practice organizational strategies used in standard expository writing.
To provide the student with an exercise of editing and revision.
To enable the student to improve critical thinking and reading skills through application and evaluation of course content.
To encourage the students to support ideas with logic, specific details, and material from other texts.

Planning to Write Your Course Essay

Your Essay Plan prepares you to write the final essay for the course. You should prepare your Essay Plan and review it with your Course Mentor, Faculty Member, or Registered Facilitator. You do not need to submit your Essay Plan for the final grade for your course; only the essay itself must be submitted for grading.

I. Planned Title and Introduction

The first section of your Essay Plan should be the proposed title of your essay; this may change. Please also note that you will probably not know the title until you have completed the work for sections II-IV. The Essay Plan is not an essay. There is no need, for example, for the Essay Plan to have a thesis statement. The Essay Plan should clearly and concisely identify the topic of the research essay you are planning.

Your introduction should summarize the central question or historical problem that your research will address, a description of what is expected to be accomplished as a result of the proposed essay, and a narrative acquainting the readers with the topic and at the same time building arguments describing the need for this essay.

II. Proposed Bibliography/Primary and Secondary Sources

Note: A primary source is a source that was produced in the time period under study, usually by a participant in the event or events under study. A secondary source is usually a book or an article written by a journalist or scholar, usually after the period under study.

The first step in choosing a topic is to identify a general area of interest relating to the core topic and objectives of the course. A good way to identify your specific topic of interest is to read or skim the recommended bibliography for the core topic. Once you have identified the specific topic in which you are interested, you need to narrow the topic so that it is suitable for your essay.

A good method for this is to look for secondary sources relating to your topic. For example, if you know that you are interested in the effects of relating "church growth" to "Adult Ministries in the Church", you should conduct an Internet search using those terms to find relevant secondary sources relating to the topic. In narrowing the topic, it can be useful to ask these questions as you examine secondary sources:

What is the scope of the source?
How would you characterize the author's perspective?
Is your perspective different from the author's perspective?
Is there a topic mentioned in the source but not adequately explored?
From what kinds of primary sources did the author draw her or his conclusions?
How did the author analyze these primary sources?
Are there other kinds of primary sources that might be explored?
Are these primary sources accessible to you?

Secondary sources can often lead you to relevant primary sources, but primary sources can also be identified through Internet and library searches (see http://library.vision.edu). You must choose a topic for which there is a primary source (or sources) to analyze and at least one secondary source to which to compare your interpretation.

Before you write your essay Essay Plan, you must examine the primary source(s) you have identified. As you examine each source, keep in mind the following questions:

Who produced the source?
When was it produced?
By whom was it produced?
For whom was it produced?
Why was it produced?
How might the answers to these questions have influenced the content of the source?
What conclusions might you draw from the source?
What does the source reveal about your topic?
What does the source suggest about the practice of Christian Ministry?

After you have examined the secondary and primary source(s), you are ready to begin writing your Essay Plan.

III. Significance

Identify the significance of the topic by answering the following questions:

Why is this topic important in professional ministerial practice?
What will your research suggest or reveal about Christian Ministry?

IV. Historical Background

Discuss historians' and other scholars' interpretations of the topic by answering the following questions:.

How have other scholars addressed this question or problem?
How will your research relates to other scholars' interpretations of the topic.
Are you examining a primary source not discussed in your secondary source(s)?
Are you approaching your source(s) from a perspective that differs from those of other scholars?

V. Conclusion

Your conclusion should summarize your proposed essay research and goals.

Course Essay

Research and Reflection Essay for Master's Level Courses

Using your Essay Plan as a guide, submit your 7-10 page essay according to the following guidelines:

Your essay is not a formal research paper; it is an "attempt", an exercise in writing and thinking. Vision faculty are more concerned about your thinking and communication skills than formatting.
Choose an exciting title that conveys the thesis of your essay.
Introduce your essay by briefly describing its contents and stating a thesis which you will argue. A essay which merely describes a historical event is unacceptable . You must develop and argue a case from an analytical perspective. Craft a daring, but defensible, thesis which hits your topic hard and square. Your thesis is like a shoestring; it will loop through the various points in your essay and tie them together with a tight knot. As you write, never forget your thesis. Your introduction will probably be written or at least refined after the rest of your essay is completed.
Organize your essay in an outline (but do not submit an outline). The structure of your essay should be easily seen as you develop and support your thesis. Your argument should be constructed sequentially. Material which is out of place sticks out like a sore thumb.
Each paragraph develops a bit of your argument. Remember, a paragraph is one idea fully developed. The first sentence of each paragraph should not only introduce what follows, but build from the last line of the preceding paragraph. Transitions between paragraphs should be built to maintain continuity. As a result, paragraphs cannot be one sentence in length. Nor should they run on to great extremes. They vary in length, but must be short enough for the reader to comprehend. Generally, paragraphs run no more than 2/3 of a typed page. In an essay of this size (7-10 pages), it is necessary to divide your essay with headings.
No matter how well you research your topic, if you write poorly, your argument suffers. Your essay will be reviewed for its grammar, syntax, spelling, logic, and organization. Good writing is absolutely essential because "good writing reflects good thinking". Write formally and avoid using contractions, colloquialisms, or incomprehensible jargon. An entertaining, informative, and hard-hitting narrative is the spice of good writing. Use the active voice, third person. Do not use personal pronouns. State your points directly and effectively. Avoid using convoluted, run-on sentences. Often short, simple sentences best get the point across. If necessary, use a thesaurus to vary your word choice. Always use a dictionary; your essay will be penalized severely for misspellings, typographical errors, and sloppy writing. Do not print or type your essay until you have proofread it at least three times.
Your essay should include a persuasive conclusion in which you not only wrap-up your narrative and argument, but give some food for thought to your reader. Keep in mind your thesis as you conclude.
You will receive a failing grade (a zero) and may face expulsion from the program if you plagiarize either another student's essay or published materials. The instructor reserves the right to inspect research work should there be any hint of plagiarism. Keep full records of what you use, what you quote, and what you write.
You should use a notation for material that is either directly quoted or unique in its perspective or articulation. Use direct quotations when an author's statement is so dramatic, precise, or convincing that you cannot paraphrase it. Try to quote directly, but do it in such a way that the drama, controversy, and action are revealed. Use content endnotes when you want to include material that is tangential to your narrative, but adds an important dimension to your argument. Do not cite tertiary source material (textbooks, encyclopedia, and standard reference materials). Use primary and secondary materials for this research.
Your endnotes should be stylistically consistent and include complete author, title, facts of publication, and pagination. Avoid long strings of notations from the same source (over three in succession); integrate your materials so that you weave these sources together. You can group citations together under the same note number and within the same paragraph, as long as your reader is able to determine the material's source.
Any research essay submitted without adequate documentation (citation and/or endnotes) will be considered unacceptable.
Your essay should be typed in a professional manner using Microsoft Word or a compatible word processor. Use double-spacing and either Arial/Helvetica or Times New Roman font at 12-point type. Allow for one-inch margins around the page, number your pages, and correct all typographical errors before submitting the essay. Your essay should look like a professional work. Remember: Writing is a well-established craft; high technology cannot replace it!