Annotated Bibliography

ENGL 212 – Winter 2024

Important Details
Due date: On Canvas by 11:59 p.m., Monday, April 1
Length: 1,200 words minimum (200 per annotation)
Percentage of final grade: 8%
Number of sources: Six 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)

Assignment Description
Your first task in this paper is to select one of the following topics to research (you must use one of
these):
 Ethics: sources exploring the concepts of right and wrong with technology
 Performance: sources discussing how technology influences the ways we act
 Politics: sources discussing technology as a political issue
 Identity: sources exploring how technology affects self, individuality, or personhood

You will find six sources to help readers understand this topic. You are not writing a typical “essay” for
this paper. Instead, you are writing short summaries of each source, which are called annotations.

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 six sources, read them, and write short
summaries, or annotations, in order to help you better understand the research you have found.

Getting Started: Research Requirements and Where to Look

You are required to find six 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 six 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
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.)
6. Your choice! (But please see the note above about what types of sources are off-limits.)
Framework
Once you find your six sources, you’ll need to read them and then write a short annotation for each
source. Each annotation should be at least 200 words (the citation does not count towards the 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 references page, except with the alphabetized annotations
between the citations (I’ll share samples in my video explanation). This is the only assignment when a
separate works cited page is unnecessary.

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 212 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 previous paper into this one.
Failure to do so will result in a lower grade.