Annotated Bibliography
Assignment: This
assignment is a research project on a topic relating to the Holocaust. Guidelines
for these topics are presented below. Your assignment is to find at least two
books, two
journal articles, and a website that you would use to write a research paper
about the topic (Note: for this assignment you will NOT be actually writing a
research paper). Your assignment is to prepare an annotated biliography which provides a
critical review of the literature related to your topic. Follow the format in How to Write an Annotated Bibliography and refer to Critically Analyzing Information Sources.
After you prepare the
annotated bibliography, you will generate 3 questions -- based on your research
-- that are important to understanding the topic that you chose. You will then
write a one-paragraph thesis for that topic.
What Constitutes a
Good Short Research Paper?
Although a research
paper depends upon accurate explanations of information you read in books, a
short research paper is neither a book report nor an encyclopedia entry. A
research paper does not simply reproduce information you read somewhere else.
Rather, it fits information into a coherent coherent
thematic framework. For example, let's say you decide to research the
development of the Christian New Testament. You learn how the various gospels
were written and transmitted and eventually became the New Testament books used
today. Your research paper would not just reproduce this information like an
entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica. Instead, ask yourself, is there a
framework into which these facts fit? This framework will become your theme and
the 3 or 4 points you will use to explain the theme. You do not have to invent
your own theme; you may find one of the themes presented in your research
persuasive. However, you also incorporate other information and test the theme
against competing viewpoints and information. The result is your own work,
explaining but not exactly reproducing the works you read. In the example
above, you may decide to use as your theme the theory that different gospels
represented different (and sometimes competing) Christian communities. However,
there are arguments both for and against this theory and your essay would take
at least one other viewpoint into account. Why is this the best framework? What
makes it persuasive? This theme should be presented in your first paragraph so
that the reader knows your particular framework and the path you are going to
follow to explain it. The academic term for a theme which
answers important questions is a thesis.
A research paper,
even a short one, takes some time to formulate. First you have to assemble
facts, then you have to think hard about what those facts mean. You must be
careful to cite the sources of your information throughout (not just direct
quotes). The reader should be able to check your information easily from your
citations. The general rule is that any information that is not widely known
must be cited. For example, it is generally known that the four gospels are
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. However, it is not generally known that some
scholars believe that Matthew and Luke relied upon Mark as a source for their
own gospels. The reader should be able to find out who postulated that theory.
If you take notes as you read, citation is much easier.
Although you will not
be writing the actual paper, in order to provide a good annotated bibliography
you will have to carefully read your sources to generate a coherent thesis and
to explain how each work fits into a framework that elucidates your topic.
Format
Your completed
assignment should contain: 1) a paragraph explaining three critical questions
germane to your topic; 2) a paragraph generating a thesis based upon these
research questions, and 3) the annotated bibliography. Click here for sample
format.
Dates to remember
October 5 : Draft of paper topics due: short paragraph explaining
which tradition and topic you will research (5 points)
October 12-17 : Meetings with professor to firm up topic, discuss
sources (5 points)
November 4: List of sources due (not
annotated, but in correct bibliography format) (5 points)
November 18 : Short paragraph explaining paper topic and thesis due
(5 points)
December 9 :
Annotated bibliography assignment due. LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.