Essay 2 Research Process and Annotated Bibliography

Research Process and Annotated Bibliography

Essay 2 Research Process and Annotated Bibliography

For your second major assignment, you’ll communicate your exploration, research, and reflection as you listen to, evaluate, and record the conversation surrounding an ethical issue or problem relevant to your intended profession.

This assignment won’t be a formal essay but a document that demonstrates your engagement with the research process. At its completion, your assignment will consist of three (3) parts, each of them recording the steps you’ve taken in researching your ethical problem or issue, understanding your sources, and evaluating the direction you’ll take for the final research- supported argumentative essay. This assignment will tell your research story from inquiry (exploration of a research question) to claim (tentative thesis).

For guidance in successfully completing this assignment, consult Everything’s An Argument, Ch. 1 (Understanding Arguments and Reading Them Critically), Ch. 17 (Academic Arguments), Ch. 18 (Finding Evidence), Ch. 19 (Evaluating Sources), and Ch. 22 (Documenting Sources).

The most important thing to understand is that this is not an assignment you can write in one sitting from beginning to end. It’s a construction project that, in many ways, builds from the inside out.

Think of the finished product in terms of the following general outline:

Essay 2 Research Process and Annotated Bibliography

Part I: Exploratory Narrative (300+ words)

The first section of the assignment will be a 1st person narrative that tells the story of your intellectual journey, beginning with your research question. You should use your research question as the title of the document. This portion of the assignment will let the reader know how your process began and progressed, what sources you found, what they were saying, and where they led you. I’m interested here in the chronological path of your process. As you can imagine, you can be drafting this section throughout the process. Consider also that books, articles, database materials, and websites are not the only relevant sources available. An interview with someone in your field, for example, might give you further insight and background into the question.

Important: Your sources here will reflect how your research develops. There is no expectation that these sources are the ones that will appear in the final paper or that they will be “balanced,” that is, so many “for” or “against” an issue. In fact, it’s unlikely that all the sources will appear in the final paper. Also, resist the impulse to select only those sources that support any opinions or judgments you may already have about your topic. Reserve judgment and see where the research leads you.

Essay 2 Research Process and Annotated Bibliography

Part II: Annotated Bibliography (minimum of 4 entries – 200+ words each). At least 2 sources should be accessed using the library website.

An annotated bibliography is like an expanded Works Cited (MLA) page where your reader sees not only the formal citation but a paragraph containing a summary and explanation of each source. You’ll list your sources alphabetically according to MLA citation style as you would in a Works Cited page. Each formal citation will be followed by a short paragraph containing description and summary, a specific evaluation of the credibility, authority, or bias of the source, and a statement of how the source might fit into an argument.

Part III: Reflection and Tentative Thesis (150+ words)

The final section will give the reader a sense of where your research stands now, what’s left to be done, and what conclusions you may have drawn from participating in the conversation surrounding your question. Like the first section of the assignment, 1st person makes sense here. You can think of your final document as a rhetorical sandwich: an objective 3rd person annotated bibliography between two 1st person narratives. You’ll have a chance to flex your voice and tone muscles with this assignment.

Conclude Part III with your tentative thesis. What stand can you take, now that you’ve looked at the sources? Will you have a definitional claim? An evaluative claim? A causal claim? A proposal? The thesis is tentative and can be revised or changed in the final assignment, but it should be a detailed and specific indication of your position.

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