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A bibliography is an alphabetized list of sources on a given topic, providing readers with author’s name, title, and publication information for each source

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A bibliography is an alphabetized list of sources on a given topic, providing readers with author’s name, title, and publication information for each source. An annotated bibliography is different from a works cited list. It also provides the writer’s “annotation,” which is information about each source. The annotation might be a short objective summary of the work or it might add a critique or assessment of the work, including comments about the source’s rhetorical content, its strengths or weaknesses, and its usefulness or value as part of the writer’s research.

Annotated bibliographies serve several important functions for the writer:

1. Engages the writer in exploratory thinking about each source and the research as a whole.
2. Saves time by keeping a record of the research and the writer’s initial thoughts about the usefulness and credibility of each source.

This assignment will serve as your research for the next assignment: a 5 to 7- page MLA-style claim of fact essay. The annotated bibliography will record the initial research that you do for the essay. You may find it necessary once you begin writing the paper to include additional sources; therefore, this is not the same as a works cited list for the argumentative essay. You will write a separate works cited list when you write your paper. A works cited includes only those sources that you actually do quote, summarize, or paraphrase in your essay.

Length: Typically, your annotated bibliography will be approximately a four-page paper. You will not have the same amount of information for every source, so the number of pages may vary.

Topics:

Choose an issue that interests you. Don’t use the following topics for this assignment: abortion, highly philosophical topics such as religion, or any abstract concept such as happiness. These topics are too difficult to effectively argue for this assignment.

Keep in mind that your research will support your next essay assignment: a claim of fact essay in which you will argue that there is a problem that exists now, existed in the past or will exist in the future. You will provide proof that it is a problem, but you will not provide a solution to the problem. Your research will have to support your argument that it is a problem. You will also need to refute the opposing view(s) in the essay.

Your issue must have enough depth that research does exist. A good place to begin your research of topics is the Pro/Con list in CQ Researcher or Opposing Views in Context databases, which have lists of possible topics to research. Always make sure that you have the most up-to-date information on the subject. Research should be recent, reliable, and relevant to the topic.