Writing Assignment #1 Critical Annotated Bibliography of Five Sources
Summary of assignment
· Task: In this assignment you will write a list of at least 5 sources in alphabetical order in APA format. In addition, each reference will be followed by a short analytical summary of 150-200 words. At the end of the short summary, you will include a sentence or two that critically analyzes the source and that mentions distinctive features about the article and why it may or may not be useful for you in pursuing more research.
● Length: Each annotation should be 150-200 words. ● Format: APA ● Sources: Five sources, all of which you fill find through UMGC’s OneSearch
o All of your articles should be from scholarly journals or credible trade journals. They should not be from popular journals.
Strategies in Selecting a Topic for your Annotated Bibliography
You may select a topic of your choice. However, when selecting a topic, keep in mind that it should be a topic on which a number of studies or scholarly articles have been published.
Examples of topics students have chosen in the past or that would be workable for this assignment are the following:
● The impact of the Internet on research methods of students and plagiarism in student papers ● The impact of The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act on primary school education. ● The impact of mobile devices on cybersecurity
Overall, in considering a topic, you might consider your major, topics that will be covered in future classes you plan to take at UMGC, and your interests.
For example, please examine the following ideas:
· If your major is criminal justice, you might consider researching the different types of CSI effects that have been explored in the literature or researching what studies have noted about body cameras for law enforcement officials. · If your major is psychology, you might consider researching counseling strategies, consumer behavior in online shopping, decision-making in upper-management positions, etc. · If your major is history, you might consider researching theories on the Civil War, studies on labor patterns in the United States, an aspect of military history, etc.
· If your major is social science, you might consider researching community responses to health care threats,co-parenting patterns after divorce, etc. · If your major is cybersecurity, you might consider researching different studies that analyze the training of employees on cyber issues or researching the Agile and Waterfall methods of project development.
Whatever topic you consider, keep in mind that it should be a topic on which a number of studies or scholarly articles have been published. You will conduct all or most of your research using UMGC’s OneSearch function in finding scholarly articles or articles from credible trade journals.
Approach
This assignment will be an analytical/critical/ annotated bibliography. The difference between the descriptive/informative annotated bibliography and the analytical/critical annotated bibliography is explained in the following video:
https://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/bibliography_tutorial.cfm
The transcript is at:
https://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/bibliography_tutorial.cfm#transcript
Moreover, the following website from UMGC’s Information and Library Services provides more information on how to complete this assignment
http://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/bibliography_apa.cfm
Submitting the assignment:
You will submit a first draft of the essay to the assignment folder. The first draft will not be graded. The instructor will provide comments to it.
After receiving comments from the instructor, you will submit a revised draft. The final draft will be graded.
Helpful Resources and Websites
The following are some links to sample Annotated Bibliographies. Some of them give examples in APA format. You may want to observe these examples and perhaps model your work after them.
· A variety of samples from The University of North Carolina Writing Center, including these specific examples of APA-style annotations. You can find that at the following page: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/citing-sources/
· Some instruction from Cornell University. The website also provides more information on the process of writing an annotated bibliography. You can find that at the following page: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography
· Some instruction from East Carolina University. You can find it at the following page: https://libguides.ecu.edu/c.php?g=17262&p=98192
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The first writing assignment is to create a five-source critical annotated bibliography.
Assignment synopsis
Task: In this assignment, you will create an alphabetical list of at least 5 sources in APA format. In addition, each reference will be accompanied by a 150-200 word analytical summary. You’ll include a line or two at the end of the short summary that critically examines the source and emphasizes distinguishing elements of the piece, as well as why it may or may not be valuable for further research.
Each annotation should be between 150 and 200 words long. APA (American Psychological Association) Sources: There are five sources, all of which may be found using UMGC’s OneSearch.
o All of your articles should come from peer-reviewed journals or reputable trade publications. They
