Task Instructions
1. Choose a topic of research for this project. Decide on a specific focus–what aspect of your topic do you want to research?
I suggest selecting a topic that is of personal interest to you—perhaps related to careers, hobbies, physical fitness, mental health, physical health, music, film, sports, etc.
Avoid overused and broad topics.
Your topic, research question, and focus must be approved by the instructor. Email or submit this information in the Topic, Research Question & Focus opens in new window folder for approval and for 5 extra credit points.
Your topic and focus should be stated in the title of your AB document.
To arrive at your focus, ask a question worth exploring.
See pages 109-11 of your handbook A Writer’s Reference.
Your focus should in some way answer your question.
For example:
Topic: COVID-19 effects
Question: How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect human behavior?
Focus: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in panic buying.
2. Select 3 sources of research to complete this assignment.
All 3 sources should be about the single, focused topic you selected.
Sources must be full articles or web pages—not abstracts, summaries, or mere citations. Do not use biographies, plot summaries, and sources written for a general audience (such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and newspapers).
2 of the sources must come from the NSCC Mayfield Library’s online databases.
Sources from the library’s databases will provide Works Cited citations, so they are easier to use: Search the Mayfield Library opens in new window.
Internet sources must be thoroughly reliable and should come from credible websites.
Look for websites that are scholarly and/or professional in origin.
Internet articles and pages should be written by experts in that field, should be free of unrelated advertisements, should not sell products, and should be unbiased.
Internet sources must be approved by the instructor. Sources that do not meet the posted guidelines and which are not approved by the instructor will result in a 10-point deduction to the final score for the AB.
Follow the guidelines provided in the Research Information opens in new window sub-module.
3. Create an Annotated Bibliography:
Follow the format guidelines described in Publisher’s Format Guide.
Your AB should contain 3 WC entries with 1 paragraph per WC entry (3 total).
Each entry of the AB contains 2 basic parts:
— a Works Cited entry
— a 150-200 word paragraph (summary, evaluation, reflection)
Your 150-200 word responses should be completely in your own words. If you use a source’s exact words, it must be very brief, and you must quote the source correctly.
Create a Works Cited entry for each source of research.
The WC entries should be formatted correctly.
WC entries should be in alphabetical order.
If you use a source from the NSCC digital holdings, these are provided.
If you use an Internet source, follow MLA format for “a work from a website.”
Create a paragraph on each source of research.
In the first part of each paragraph: Provide a brief Summary of each article. The summary portion of each paragraph will take up most of the paragraph.
What are the main points of the article?
What are the highlights your audience should know about the article?
See the Paraphrasing & Summarizing document for important information.
In the second part of each paragraph: Provide a brief Evaluation of the article. (1 sentence is typical.)
What makes the article a credible source?
Credibility is determined by factors such as an author’s credentials, sponsorship, and currency. For more information, please review:
“Evaluating sources you find on the Web” (357 of WR)
How to Determine if a Source is Credible
“Web Evaluation Using CRAP” by the Washtenaw Community College Library
In the final part of each paragraph: Reflect on how the source helped your research project and what you learned. Use the ‘I’ voice. (typically 1-3 sentences)
How did the source contribute to your research?
How did your knowledge or understanding change? What did you learn?
Criteria for Success
A successful AB:
Meets the basic requirements of the assignment
Does not contain plagiarism of any kind
Has an approved topic + focus stated in the title of your document
Includes 3 credible and instructor-approved sources of research
Provides a correctly formatted Works Cited entry for each source (3 WC entries)
Contains a 150-200 word paragraph for each source that summarizes, evaluates, and reflects (3 paragraphs total)
Has been carefully edited and proofread to minimize documentation, grammatical, and other editing errors
Follows MLA style and guidelines.
The AB assignment will be graded with the rubric below. Please familiarize yourself with this rubric before you submit your assignment.
Below is what i wrote to my teacher it might help you out a little.
My Topic is peace, and my focus is why peace brings happiness and satisfaction in life. The reason why peace is interesting and important to me is that it’s a very big part of my life and it’s the reason why I’m still here happy today. And if we have peace then everybody would be happy, and it would solve world problems. My first source wasn’t that hard to find How to Find Inner Peace and Happiness (Incl. Mantras) (positivepsychology.com) I found this link on google by just looking up “why peace brings happiness and satisfaction in life. One point made by the source is “Happiness is typically associated with the concepts of life satisfaction and subjective well-being, which are a total score of cognitive and affective components of one’s mental state. Therefore, the following definition – happiness – refers to “people’s evaluations of their lives – evaluations that are both affective and cognitive” (Diener, 2000, p. 34).” I believe this source is creditable because it has very well points and has evidence of studies about my point. Also, it has a very strong point that will help about my topic. I choose this topic because I enjoy talking about a habit that can change people’s lives. Also, it’s something that if everybody had peace then everybody would be happy.
My Topic is peace, and my focus is why peace brings happiness and satisfaction in life. The reason why peace is interesting and important to me is that it’s a very big part of my life and it’s the reason why I’m still here happy today. And if we have peace then everybody would be happy, and it would solve world problems. My first source wasn’t that hard to find How to Find Inner Peace and Happiness (Incl. Mantras) (positivepsychology.com) I found this link on google by just looking up “why peace brings happiness and satisfaction in life. One point made by the source is “Happiness is typically associated with the concepts of life satisfaction and subjective well-being, which are a total score of cognitive and affective components of one’s mental state. Therefore, the following definition – happiness – refers to “people’s evaluations of their lives – evaluations that are both affective and cognitive” (Diener, 2000, p. 34).” I believe this source is creditable because it has very well points and has evidence of studies about my point. Also, it has a very strong point that will help about my topic. I choose this topic because I enjoy talking about a habit that can change people’s lives. Also, it’s something that if everybody had peace then everybody would be happy.
My Topic is peace, and my focus is why peace brings happiness and satisfaction in life. The reason why peace is interesting and important to me is that it’s a very big part of my life and it’s the reason why I’m still here happy today. And if we have peace then everybody would be happy, and it would solve world problems. My first source wasn’t that hard to find How to Find Inner Peace and Happiness (Incl. Mantras) (positivepsychology.com) I found this link on google by just looking up “why peace brings happiness and satisfaction in life. One point made by the source is “Happiness is typically associated with the concepts of life satisfaction and subjective well-being, which are a total score of cognitive and affective components of one’s mental state. Therefore, the following definition – happiness – refers to “people’s evaluations of their lives – evaluations that are both affective and cognitive” (Diener, 2000, p. 34).” I believe this source is creditable because it has very well points and has evidence of studies about my point. Also, it has a very strong point that will help about my topic. I choose this topic because I enjoy talking about a habit that can change people’s lives. Also, it’s something that if everybody had peace then everybody would be happy.
My Topic is peace, and my focus is why peace brings happiness and satisfaction in life. The reason why peace is interesting and important to me is that it’s a very big part of my life and it’s the reason why I’m still here happy today. And if we have peace then everybody would be happy, and it would solve world problems. My first source wasn’t that hard to find How to Find Inner Peace and Happiness (Incl. Mantras) (positivepsychology.com) I found this link on google by just looking up “why peace brings happiness and satisfaction in life. One point made by the source is “Happiness is typically associated with the concepts of life satisfaction and subjective well-being, which are a total score of cognitive and affective components of one’s mental state. Therefore, the following definition – happiness – refers to “people’s evaluations of their lives – evaluations that are both affective and cognitive” (Diener, 2000, p. 34).” I believe this source is creditable because it has very well points and has evidence of studies about my point. Also, it has a very strong point that will help about my topic. I choose this topic because I enjoy talking about a habit that can change people’s lives. Also, it’s something that if everybody had peace then everybody would be happy.