Please complete an annotated bibliography for your cultural analysis paper for next Tuesdayto submit to InSite.

Here is the Assignment:

CULTURAL ANALYSIS ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

College Composition II, WISE:
CENG 106WS

TOPIC FOR CULTURAL ANALYSIS PAPER

The study of history is significantly important in understanding current events.  In writing your cultural analysis paper, I want you to connect historical research with the modern world.  In this paper,  show how popular culture or a current event can be better understood through historical research and/or identifying historical parallels.

Assignment:  Prospectus with Annotated Bibliography

Audiences: Students and faculty in CENG 106WS and CHIS 202WS

Purpose

• To develop your skills in using the Woodruff Library’s research tools.
• To expand critical thinking skills by teaching how to decide upon a topic, narrow the topic into a research question, write a prospectus, and prepare research notes.
• To provide practice in scholarly writing.

Directions

The prospectus and annotated bibliography are commonly used to propose a project and to keep the project notes organized while writing the paper.  It is important that you master the annotated bibliography in order to plan, propose, organize, and research projects in college and beyond.

Decide upon a research question:

1. Identify a modern issue or current event.
2. After you have some idea of the quality and quantity of research materials available, and the significant issues within that topic area, create a research question that will guide your search for information on your culture or civilization.  Think of a question that is narrow enough to answer in the length allotted for your research paper.
3. Write a prospectus paragraph (typically about a 1/2 page):  The prospectus is the plan for your research project that you submit before actually writing the essay or completing the research. It should contain the following elements:

• State the research topic and your research question: “The word ‘tsunami’ is Japanese.  It means ‘harbor wave.’  I want the role of Tsunamis in Japanese history.  How have the Japanese people dealt with Tsunamis historically, and what is the cultural attitude toward Tsunamis?”
• Delineate the main areas of your proposed research: “In order to answer this question, I will look at books and articles about Tsunamis, how Japan has been affected in the past, and how the cultural attitude toward Tsunamis may influence the way in which Japan acts toward their latest Tsunami disaster.”

Writing the Annotated Bibliography

1. List the source in correct MLA format for “Works Cited” sources.  Sources should be double-spaced with a hanging indent.  Sources should be organized in alphabetical order. Try an online bibliographic citation system if you’d like.
2. Immediately following the source information, include a paragraph of 1-2 sentences that summarize the information available in the source material.
3. Immediately following the summary paragraph, include a second paragraph with a 1-2 sentence explanation about how you will use that source to answer your research question.

Specific Requirements for This Assignment

This annotated bibliography assignment requires a total of five sources in the following categories that will support your research:

•  
  • at least one reference source (encyclopedia, dictionary, etc.),
  • at least three secondary sources (books, magazines, newspapers)
  • at least one tertiary sources (academic journals or reviews),
  • try to include pictures, graphs, or other illustrations that will make your paper interesting.  Make sure you cite those pictures, graphs, or illustrations properly.

Special Considerations

1. The annotated bibliography is the first step to writing a research paper.  Think of this as the information gathering stage.
2. The purpose of the preliminary research is to get an overview of the topic. The sources you consult during this step are not necessarily the ones you will use in the research for your paper.
3. Your research question should be narrow enough to answer in 3-5 pages but broad enough to support five scholarly sources.
4. In writing your annotations, do not repeat the source title in the description of the source or use the title as the explanation for how the source will help you answer the research question.  There is an example in Blakesley (266).   Although the annotation in the sample is too long for this assignment, it is a good example of how to make your description useful and informative.

 

Resources to Help You with This Assignment

1. Interactive exercise on the Web: “How Do I Create an Annotated Bibliography?” (http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/bedfordresearcher/tutorials/Chapter04/index.html).
2. Class notes. If you were absent, consult the instructor or a classmate.
3. Woodruff Library training session.
4. Sample prospectus on women and feminism in the Roman Empire.

 

Objectives and Learning Outcomes Addressed by This Assignment

Course Objectives

Student Learning Outcomes

Use the writing process to best advantage. Use technology for writing and research. Select and use appropriate writing processes and strategies to produce academic writing that satisfies the needs of or can be adapted to writing in core curriculum courses. Apply conventions of writing effectively in any given rhetorical context with particular regard for audience and purpose. Display higher-level critical thinking skills (as defined in Bloom’s Taxonomy) in academic work. Use assigned software and technological platforms.

Grading Rubric

Pts	Rhetorical Situation	Annotations	Formatting	Use of Language
100 to 90	Research question is appropriate for assignment; document satisfies audience expectations.	Required information is provided and thorough for each source.	All citations and all aspects of paper meet formatting specifications.	Style, tone, and expression appropriate for academic writing; diction well chosen; syntax and mechanics virtually error-free.
89 to 80	Research question is sufficiently narrow but the document only partially responds to it.	At least ¾ of the sources provide complete and thorough information.	Occasional errors in citations and/or oversights in page formatting.	Style and tone suitable for academic writing; syntax and mechanics have minor errors;  diction appropriate in most instances.
79 to 70	Research question lacks specificity or is too narrow or broad for audience and purpose.	Half or fewer sources provide complete and thorough information.	Frequent deviations from citation and/or page requirements.	Style and tone fall short of academic standards; distracting usage, diction, and mechanical errors.
69 to 60	Research question does not address assignment or meet audience needs.	Each source lacks part of required information.	Formatting is of mixed styles or inconsistently used.	Little resemblance to academic writing in most respects.
59 to 0	Research question missing or inadequate.	Annotation missing or uninformative.	Formatting is care­less or lacking.	Frequent errors inhibit clarity and meaning.

Student’s Name

Course

Class Time

Date

Prospectus for

Feminists in the Roman Empire

Contrary to the Hollywood portrayal of women in the Roman Empire as little more than harlots, sex objects, or decorations for luxurious villas, a certain class of Roman women actually enjoyed social and political rights that women in later periods had to struggle to attain. For instance, women were allowed to inherit property and manage it themselves, and they could attend social functions of a kind reserved for men in other ancient cultures. They could even wear modern-style bikinis at the beach, something a Victorian woman would never dream of doing. Despite these freedoms, women could not vote in the Roman Empire. Even so, one has to wonder where these freedoms came from. Is it possible that there was actually a feminist movement in Roman times? Research suggests that “feminist” might be too strong a word for Roman women, but there was definitely a different climate for women in the Roman Empire than in other parts of the ancient world. The following sources will be used to illustrate this important aspect of how women fit into the culture of ancient Rome.

Sources

Bauman, Richard A. Women and Politics in Ancient Rome. New York: Taylor & Francis, 1992. Print.

From the middle of the fourth century to the end of the third women were very active in Roman political life. They conducted protests of various kinds, such as against the inferior status they had in marriage, against the high death rate in wars, and promoting new cults that could address their special interests.

This source provides a definite yes to the research question by giving examples that sound like the modern women’s movement, with Roman women organizing and standing up for themselves and their beliefs.

Carter, Molly. “World History: the Life of Women in Ancient Rome -.” Associated Content – associatedcontent.com. Web. 07 Feb. 2010. <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/395881/world_history_the_life_of_women_in.html?cat=37>

Carter paints an unpleasant picture of Roman women, saying that women were little more than child bearers without liberties and had to be supervised constantly. She describes women being married at the age of 12 and having a lifespan that only last 30 years or less because there it was important for women to have as many children as possible

Although this is a very negative picture of women of this time period, it does

support what other sources say about women being socially active and engaging in

protest about events they disapproved of.

“The life of women in Ancient Rome – by Kris Moore – Helium.” Helium – Where Knowledge Rules. Web. 06 Feb. 2010. <http://www.helium.com/items/567050-the-life-of-women-in-ancient-rome>.

Moore’s findings indicate that women in the Roman Empire could participate in social and civic life to some degree, even though they were not allowed the full freedom that men enjoyed. One of the most important signs of their status that Moore discusses is the women’s right to inherit and own property.

This source does not go far enough to support the idea of feminism in the Roman Empire, but it will help answer the question by revealing the limits of women’s rights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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NOTE: The above sample is not intended to suggest that this is a perfect document or even an example of the best work or that the sources are sufficient or of the best quality. Its only purpose is to show what goes in the prospectus and how the finished document should look.

In terms of formatting, one important thing to note is that the annotations are indented. The reason for aligning the annotation with the hanging indent is that it makes it easier for the reader to tell where each source begins.

The full title of this sample uses the title of the proposed paper after “Prospectus for.” Ordinarily you would not embellish the title of your own paper in any way. This means no quotation marks, no underlining, no italicized or large or bold font, no full caps, no asterisks or anything else except centering. In the case of this document, however, the paper’s title belongs in quotation marks because it is a title within a title.