Assignment List Week 6: Annotated Bibliography
Week 6: Annotated Bibliography

Grade Details
Grade N/A iRubric Link
Gradebook Comments None
Assignment Details
Open Date
Graded? Yes
Points Possible 100.0
Resubmissions Allowed? No
Attachments checked for originality? Yes
Assignment Instructions
Annotated Bibliography

You will submit an annotated bibliography for 2 of your sources for the week 7 paper. Each source will have the correct citation entry for the citation style you are using, as well as an annotation, which is made of a paragraph or two telling the reader about the source. One (1) of the sources should be a peer-reviewed piece from a journal in the APUS Library.

To help you gather sources, review the assignment description for the week 7 analysis paper. Pay special attention to the article linked there and the steps for identifying your problem. Here is the link to the article: “Looking for Trouble: Finding Your Way into a Writing Assignment.” This piece shows how to write about solving a problem, using the steps of noticing, articulating, posing questions, and identifying what is at stake.

After you have identified your problem, you can start choosing your sources and build an annotated bibliography.

Here are the steps you will take to build your annotated bibliography:

First, determine what kind of source you are using. Is it a book? Journal article? Blog? Using one of the citation guides in the APUS Library, find the model that matches your source. Hint: if you are looking at your source on your computer, you will go to the category of electronic sources to start looking.
Copy that model and paste it into your bibliography.
Then put your source in the correct citation format, following the model you just copied and pasted.
Finally, write a brief annotation of that source. The annotation should describe the main ideas covered in the source as well as an evaluation by you for the source’s usefulness for your project. The handout attached below has more information about what should be in the annotation.
Please be sure that one (1) of your sources is a peer-reviewed article from a journal in the APUS Library.

Follow the student example included below. You will see the model, the citation, and then the annotation for the source. The rubric shown below shows that you will be graded on having the model for the citation format, so don’t forget to include it.
The attachment “Peer Review Defined” has helpful information from the APUS Library on peer-reviewed sources.
The attachment “how to” handout has some helpful tips on what to include in an annotation.
Submit your assignment as a Word document attached to the assignment link so it can be processed on Turnitin.

Sample Annotation. Each of your entries should follow the format below.

Sally Student
ENGL 110
Date
Annotated Bibliography- MLA

Model from APUS Citation Guide (MLA)

PRINT BOOK

Format:

Author’s last name, first name. Book title. City: Publisher, year. Medium.

Calkins, Lucy. Raising Lifelong Learners: A Parent’s Guide. Reading: Addison-Wesley
Longman. 1997. Print.

Lucy Calkins is a noted teacher and researcher in reading and writing. Her book is a guide for parents, helping them to work with their children’s schools to create a positive learning environment and a lifelong love of learning in their children. Topics covered include fostering learning and curiosity in mathematics, science, social studies, reading, and writing. Calkins’ work also offers advice on school curriculum and testing. By providing specific examples of parental involvement, this book will help support the assertion that parents need to play a strong role in their children’s education.
Supporting MaterialsENGL110
Annotated
Bibliography
Rubric
Exceeds
Meets
Below
Well Below
Not Aligned
Source
Selection
30%
Student
chooses two
(2) scholarly
sources
relevant to
topic meeting
requirements
of assignment,
including one
(1) coming
from a peerreviewed
journal from
APUS library.
Student
chooses two
(2) scholarly
sources
relevant to
topic meeting
requirements
of assignment.
It may not be
clear if one (1)
source comes
from a peerreviewed
journal from
APUS library.
Student
chooses two
(2) sources
relevant to
topic meeting.
Sources may
not be
scholarly. It
may not be
clear if one (1)
source comes
from a peerreviewed
journal from
APUS library.
Student
chooses two
(2) sources,
with some
relevance to
topic, meeting
some
requirements
of assignment;
no source
from peerreviewed
journal from
APUS library.
Student
chooses no
sources.
Source
Summary
20%
Annotations
are clear,
concise
summaries of
source
materials,
demonstrating
student has
read and
understands
sources.
Annotations
are summaries
of source
materials, but
may not
include key
elements and
may not
demonstrate
student’s
understanding
of source.
Annotations
provide
information
about source
materials, but
may not
include key
elements, may
not be clear,
and may not
demonstrate
student’s
understanding
of source.
Annotations
do not set
forth key
elements of
sources and
may not
demonstrate
student’s
understanding
of source.
No annotation
summaries are
included.
Source
Evaluation
20%
Annotations
explain value
of sources to
the paper;
apply to
sources clear
criteria, such
as objectivity,
currency,
accuracy,
reliability, and
relevance; and
include any
issues of
concern.
Annotations
explain value
of sources to
the paper;
apply to
sources
criteria, which
may be clear
but may raise
questions; and
may include
any issues of
concern.
Annotations
do not fully
explain value
of sources to
the paper;
base
evaluations on
criteria which
are unclear
and/or
inconsistent;
and may not
include any
issues of
concern.
Annotations
do not explain
value of
sources to the
paper; do not
base
evaluations on
stated criteria;
and do not
include any
issues of
concern.
No annotation
evaluations
are included.
Formatting
20%
No errors in
formatting
rules for
citation style
of discipline
(margins,
spacing, font,
headers, page
numbering,
etc) are seen.
Model for
citation is
present for
each source.
Two (2) or
fewer errors in
formatting
rules for
citation style
of discipline
(margins,
spacing, font,
headers, page
numbering,
etc) are seen.
Model for
citation is
present for
each source.
Four (4) errors
in formatting
rules for
citation style
of discipline
(margins,
spacing, font,
headers, page
numbering,
etc) are seen.
Model for
citation is not
present for
each source.
Five (5) errors
in formatting
rules for
citation style
of discipline
(margins,
spacing, font,
headers, page
numbering,
etc) are seen.
Model for
citation is not
present for
each source.
Evidence of
efforts to
meet
formatting
rules for
citation style
of discipline is
not seen.
Grammar &
Mechanics
10%
Annotated
bibliography
shows
evidence of
careful
proofreading
and has two
(2) or fewer
mechanical,
grammatical,
punctuation,
or spelling
errors.
Annotated
bibliography
shows
evidence of
some
proofreading
and has three
(3) or more
mechanical,
grammatical,
punctuation,
or spelling
errors.
Annotated
bibliography
shows
evidence of
minimal
proofreading
and has five
(5) or more
mechanical,
grammatical,
punctuation,
or spelling
errors.
Annotated
bibliography
shows
evidence of
minimal
proofreading
and has seven
(7) or more
mechanical,
grammatical,
punctuation,
or spelling
errors.
Evidence of
efforts to
proofread and
correct
mechanical,
grammatical,
punctuation,
or spelling
errors is not
seen.

APUS Library answers the question “What does peer reviewed mean?”

Essentially, peer review is an academic term for quality control.  Each article published in a peer-reviewed journal was closely examined by a panel of reviewers who are experts on the article’s topic (that is, the author’s professional peers…hence the term peer review).  The reviewers look for proper use of research methods, significance of the paper’s contribution to the existing literature, and integration of previous authors’ work on the topic in any discussion (including citations).  Papers published in these journals are expert-approved…and the most authoritative sources of information for college-level research papers.

Articles from popular publications, on the other hand (like magazines, newspapers or many sites on the Internet), are published with minimal editing (for spelling and grammar, perhaps; but, typically not for factual accuracy or intellectual integrity).  While interesting to read, these articles aren’t sufficient to support research at an academic level.

But, with so many articles out there, how do you know which are peer reviewed?

• Searching the library’s databases can save you a lot of time…allowing you to limit your search to scholarly or peer reviewed articles only. Most internet search engines (like Google and Yahoo) can’t do this for you, leaving you to determine for yourself which of those thousands of articles are peer reviewed.
• If you’ve already found an article that you’d like to use in a research paper, but you’re not sure if it’s popular or scholarly, there are ways to tell.  The table below lists some of the most obvious clues (but your librarians will be happy to help you figure it out as well).

• limit your search to scholarly or peer reviewed articles only. Most internet search engines (like Google and Yahoo) can’t do this for you, leaving you to determine for yourself which of those thousands of articles are peer reviewed.
• If you’ve already found an article that you’d like to use in a research paper, but you’re not sure if it’s popular or scholarly, there are ways to tell.  The table below lists some of the most obvious clues (but your librarians will be happy to help you figure it out as well).

See the APUS Library’s site for more info, including a short video on peer reviewed sources.

Here’s the link:  APUS Library FAQ “What does peer reviewed mean?”