nnotated Bibliography Instructions
ENG 213: American Literature I
Annotated Bibliography Instructions
DUE BY FRIDAY, MARCH 25 AT 2:00PM (upload to SafeAssign on Blackboard)
For your first writing assignment, you are asked to create an annotated bibliography of four scholarly sources. These sources should address the same topic or theme in a course reading of your choice. You can choose sources that examine readings we have already covered or have yet to cover.
Begin each annotated bibliography entry with the scholarly source’s bibliographic information, which should be written in MLA format. Below the bibliographic information, summarize your source in a single paragraph. What is the purpose of the source? What are the main arguments? What kind of supporting evidence is used? What topics does the source address? Some direct quoting from the source is permissible, but most of the entry should paraphrase what you read. The last sentence or two of your entry should briefly evaluate the source. (If you do not want to leave your evaluation until the end of the paragraph, you can intersperse it through your summary.) The evaluation should focus on the content of the source, not style or form. You are welcome to critique the argument, the kind or amount of evidence used to support the argument, the thoroughness of the analysis, etc. Please do not just write glowing reviews of your sources—strive to critique at least three of them. Each annotated bibliography entry should be single-spaced and between 150 and 250 words long (your word count should exclude bibliographic information).
-Mary Rowlandson
-Benjamin Franklin
-Harriet Jacobs
-Frederick Douglass
At the top of your document, make sure to write the topic/theme and course reading that your sources address.
Example:
Topic/theme: disability
Course reading: “The Lame Shall Enter First” by Flannery O’Connor
Criteria for your scholarly sources:
Your scholarly sources can be book chapters, essays from a collection of critical essays, or academic journal articles from the library’s databases. Do not use newspaper or popular magazine articles, encyclopedia entries, Wikipedia articles, random articles on the Internet, or book reviews.
Your scholarly sources should have been published within the last 20 years (do not summarize anything published before 1996).
You are welcome to write on sources that address both the course reading of interest and some other text. If you do this, keep most of your summary’s focus on the sections that address the course reading, but do not ignore the content of the rest of the source.
Useful resources:
Databases (MLA International Bibliography, JSTOR, Project MUSE, Academic Search Premier, ProQuest)
Library catalogue (printed books and e-books)
Subject librarians (English literature subject librarian: Ava Brillat)
Suggestions:
Look at the bibliographies, footnotes, and endnotes of each source to see what texts it is directly responding to—this can help you find additional scholarly sources for your annotated bibliography.
If you know which course reading you want to work with but you do not know what topic/theme you are interested in, browse the library’s databases by searching the title of your text and see what kind of articles comes up.
The purpose of this assignment is to help you prepare for your final paper. Choose sources that you feel comfortable with writing on in the future and read them thoroughly. Even though you are not asked for in-depth analysis for this paper, it would be wise to write notes and questions as you read.
TOTAL POINTS: /18
Two sample annotated bibliography entries
Doll, Susan and Greg Faller. “Blade Runner and Genre: Film Noir and Science Fiction.” Literature Film Quarterly 14.2 (1986): 89-100. Print.
Doll and Faller assert that Ridley Scott’s film, Blade Runner, exhibits elements of two distinct pulp genres, film noir and science fiction. The genre cross-pollination is a reflection of Philip K. Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, upon which the movie is based. After a useful discussion of genre, the authors go on to effectively discuss defining characteristics of both noir and sci-fi, despite the difficulties of such a project. Through the course of accessible discussion and useful examples from the film, the complexities involved in the combination of genres are revealed. In addition, the article also examines the ways that noir and sci-fi in fact complement each other, noir providing a distinct style and sci-fi a distinct narrative direction. Both genres are also concerned with many of the same issues, especially social constructs, ethics, and the state of being human.
Renner, Stanley. “‘Red hair, very red, close curling’: Sexual Hysteria, Physiognomical Bogeymen, and the ‘Ghosts’ in The Turn of the Screw.” Henry James: The Turn of the Screw. Ed. Peter G. Beidler. Boston: Bedford Books, 1995. Print.
Renner asserts that what has previously been considered a supernatural event in James’ The Turn of the Screw is actually a psychological one. According to Renner, James was in fact using the psychosis of the governess to comment on repressive Victorian sexual ideals and their effects on individuals. Renner uses a little bit of biography to show that James would have been familiar with “sexual hysteria,” but the more successful part of the article is his careful analysis of physiognomical stereotyping in the Victorian Era. His central argument effectively links the onset of the governess’s sexual hysteria and hallucination with the influence of Victorian assumptions about character and physical appearance.
