ENGL 111 – Fall 2019

Paper 2
Annotated Bibliography: Food Histories

Final drafts due: Tuesday, October 8 on Canvas by 11:59 p.m.

In-class Peer-Review: Thursday, October 3 (Drafts must have at least 7 annotations completed and be
submitted on Canvas by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, October 2)
Length: 2,000 words (200 per annotation)
Percentage of final grade: 9%
Number of sources: Ten sources (see “Research” section below)
Citation style: APA
Document design: 12 point font, 1” margins, Times New Roman or Calibri font
Acceptable file types: .doc, .docx, .rtf, .pdf (do not submit Google Docs or you will not receive credit)
Corresponding chapters of Writing Today: Chapters 25, 26, and 29
Corresponding readings: Psyche Williams-Forson, “Suckin’ the Chicken Bone Dry: African American
Women, History, and Food Culture”; Lisa Heldke, “Let’s Eat Chinese! Reflections on Cultural Food
Colonialism

Assignment Description
Whether you are a well-known chef or eat merely for sustenance, we can all argue about food from a
variety of perspectives. Somewhat ridiculous questions (Do hot dogs count as sandwiches? Is cereal
actually a soup?) illustrate the possibilities of analyzing various food items. Your goal in this paper is to
select one type of food, examine its history, and inform your readers about the variety of perspectives
which surround this item by finding and annotating ten sources.

When compiling research, one of the most effective ways of understanding the conversation that
already exists is to read the work that’s been done already. However, merely reading the research isn’t
enough, but going one step further and writing about what you have read helps you grasp the concepts
more thoroughly. For this assignment, you will need to collect ten sources, read them, and write short
summaries, or annotations, in order to help you better understand the research you have found.

Your first task will be to identify a topic you are interested in researching further. You might find
inspiration from a dish your family makes, a meal you particularly enjoy or even despise, an answer to a
ridiculous question (like the ones above), or you might research some food you’ve never heard of. You
must stay focused on one type of food. If you do not, you will not have success on this paper. For
example, my mom is Lebanese and Syrian, and we cook a lot of traditional Arabic foods for holidays. If I
were writing this paper, I might want to investigate a food like grapeleaves or even something more
widespread like hummus. I might find sources about how the food item began, where it started,
differences in its preparation, or people’s reactions to trying them.

Getting Started
After you’ve decided on a food item, brainstorm your responses to these questions1:

 What is the first evidence of its use as a food item?

1
Questions and research suggestions adapted from the Yale University Library guides
  How it was first produced and have there been any significant changes in its production up to
the present day?
 What sort of labor is required in its production?
 Has it been identified with a particular ethnic group or nationality and what has happened to it
as it has moved to other countries?
 Is its production, preparation, or consumption gendered, i.e. more frequently done by men or
women?
 Has it taken on any metaphoric cultural meanings (e.g. is used in a familiar phrase, like, “You’re
the apple of my eye”)?
 Are there any myths or origin stories?
 Has it been involved in discussions of globalization or GMOs?

Research Requirements and Where to Look

You are required to find ten appropriate sources for this essay. While there are a few restrictions on
these sources, you should select appropriate sources for college level writing. Inappropriate sources
include Wikipedia pages, less popular blogs, unverified webpages, and social media posts (this does
not include articles you might find on social media). All sources must be documented in APA. We will
review search techniques that will help you narrow your search results in the library’s database.
Remember, these ten sources must be about the same topic.

You are required to find research from the following types of sources (one from each):
1. Academic journal article (Journal of Ethnic Foods, Graduate Journal of Food Studies, Gastronomica,
and Food, Culture, and Society are good places to look)
2. Book (can be a chapter from a book)
3. News report
4. Magazine
5. Website (Source cannot be a blog or Wikipedia. If you choose Wikipedia, please use one refer to one
of the sources at the bottom of the page. Do not let Wikipedia be your final destination—let it be your
first.)

Your other five sources can come from almost anywhere you find them, but please see the note above
to see what types of sources are off-limits.

Here are some ideas about where to find research for this paper:
 Review cookbooks about the food. Some cookbooks, especially those about a single food item,
will often include a history of it.
 Look for books or articles about the history of the key ingredient in the dish. If you are making
corn tortillas, look for information about the history of corn and its uses as a food.
 Look for books and articles about regional food. If you have chosen a dish that is distinctly
regional, like New England clam chowder, books about the history of food in New England would
likely have useful information.
 Look for books and articles about regional history or social customs. Try a keyword search that
combines the name of the country or geographic region with terms like social history, social
aspects or social customs. You could use Google or our library databases.
 If you have chosen a popular food item, search for that dish. You should have little trouble finding
books and articles on historically popular or culturally significant foods such as pizza, ice cream,
chocolate or tea.
 If the dish is affiliated with a holiday or has religious significance, look for books and articles about
food and the holiday or the religion.

Reading Recommendations
For this paper, we will be reviewing the structure of annotated bibliographies by looking at samples.
Some of our readings from our textbook will provide information about how to craft this type of
essay, while the corresponding readings will provide inspiration for style, grammar, even sentences
you might want to emulate. The important fact is that you follow-through on the reading. Sometimes
the reading will be challenging, exciting, and yes, even boring. We will be discussing these readings
together. You should take notes in whatever way you feel comfortable, but make sure you have
something to say about each reading when we discuss them in class. It will help you gain the skills of
being a critical thinker, something that you will need in your courses and beyond.

Framework
Once you find your ten sources, you’ll need to read them and then write a short annotation for each
source. Each annotation should be at least 200 words. Each annotation must include the following:
a. A citation in APA format.
b. Short summary of the content: you should tell your readers what the source is about. Do not
use quotes in this section. Summarize the sources in your own words.
c. Short characterization of the type of source and the audience: explain to your readers for
whom this type of text is written and what they should expect from the type of text (there are
great differences between an academic journal article and a website).

Organize this paper like you would a works cited page, except with the alphabetized annotations
between the citations (we’ll look at samples). This is the only assignment when a separate works cited
page is unnecessary.

We’ll review all these steps in class, so it is important you attend class, take notes, participate in
activities, and ask question to fully grasp the purpose and expectations of this assignment.

Peer Review
In addition to your essay, you will be responsible for completing an in-class peer review. To prepare for
this peer review, you must submit a complete draft the evening before our in-class peer review. Each
student will be randomly assigned two other papers to peer review. On the day of peer review, you will
receive these other papers on Canvas and you will complete a worksheet to help you provide feedback.
You will only receive credit for peer review if you have submitted a paper and provided feedback for
other students. After you have completed the written portion of the peer review, you will be required to
meet with that student to discuss the feedback you’ve provided. You must be in-class to participate in
peer review.
Grading
I will be looking for strong utilization of the framework that we discuss in class. I will also be looking for
good use of appropriate sources and proper documentation. I use the ENGL 111 rubric, which can be
found on Canvas, to grade each of your papers. Most importantly, however, you should be incorporating
comments about how to improve and strengthen your writing I left in the paper into this one. Failure to
do so will result in a lower grade.