ENGL 201: Writing and Research

Dr. Amber Strother

Spring 2018
Project 2: Annotated Bibliography and Lit Review

Overview:
Projects 2 and 3 are related projects; you’ll use the same topic for these two essays. Your topic
should be a current issue or problem that scholars and professionals in your field are discussing
or another focused topic of interest. Some preliminary research will likely help you develop a
topic. Talk to professors in your field of study. Think about topics discussed in your classes. Ask
people working in the field for ideas. Check websites, journals, and databases for current topic
ideas. Conduct some quick background research to help you develop an understanding of the
topic.

Most academic writing is concerned with problems, and topics of this nature will make your
work more meaningful. Your third project will explore the literature that is written about the
topic, and you will take a stance on the topic and formulate a researched argument.

Annotated bibliography:
For this assignment, you will be researching and collecting a minimum of 8 sources. Once you
have collected these sources, you will create entries in an MLA or APA annotated bibliography to
prepare for the writing of your research paper. Each entry should be ½ to ¾ of a page in
length. The entries should include a citation for the source, a brief summary of the main points,
and analysis of the effectiveness and credibility of the source, and how you believe you might use
the source in your paper. While I am willing to allow non-scholarly sources (newspaper article,
website, etc.), a minimum of 7 scholarly sources are required for the literature review.
All sources that are not peer-reviewed are subject to my approval before inclusion in this
assignment. Use Thonney Chapter 7 as a guide for these entries.

Literature Review:
The reviewing of existing literature related to a topic is an essential first step and foundation
when undertaking a research project. Literature reviews provide readers with a handy guide to a
particular topic. If you have limited time to conduct research, literature reviews can give you an
overview or act as a stepping stone. For professionals, they are useful reports that keep them up
to date with what is current in the field. For scholars, the depth and breadth of the literature
review emphasizes the credibility of the writer in his or her field. Literature reviews also provide
a solid background for a research paper's investigation. Comprehensive knowledge of the
literature of the field is essential to most research papers.

“Literature” can be anything from a government pamphlet, to scholarly articles, to books, to

websites. You’ll need a collection of sources which express different ideas and viewpoints about
your topic. Your goal is to discover the conversation –the whole conversation—about a topic,
and a review does not necessarily mean that your reader wants you to give your opinion on
whether or not you liked these sources. A literature review discusses published information in a
particular subject area.

Strother Spring 2018

A literature review usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and
synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a
re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old
material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression
of the field, including major debates.

The main focus of an academic research paper is to develop a new argument, and a research
paper will contain a literature review as one of its parts. In a research paper (Project 3), you use
the literature as a foundation and as support for a new insight that you contribute. The focus of a
literature review, however, is to summarize and synthesize the arguments and ideas of others
without adding new contributions. Use Chapter 17 by Van Rhys as a guide. The guidelines on
pages 360-361 will help you create a personal timeline and a list of steps.

Start researching and writing now!!! Literature reviews require extensive researching and
reading. Taking notes while you read will help you create an organizational strategy for your
literature review.

Topics to avoid
There are a few rules in choosing a topic. Please avoid topics which are polarized, such as
abortion, gun control, legalizing marijuana, wolf reintroduction, immigration, terrorism, the
War in Iraq or Afghanistan, government subsidized healthcare, steroids, welfare, euthanasia,
changing the drinking age, death penalty, etc. Rhetorically, these topics are poor choices because
of the conversation that surrounds them. They are arguments that you can’t win. I want you to
push yourself to write about something more creative and more focused—something that you’re
passionate about. Writing about these topics is possible, but you will need a specific focus within
the topic. Instead of a paper about euthanasia, a focused paper would ask “When working in an
elderly care facility, what is a nurse’s role in end of life decisions?” Instead of a paper exploring
climate change, a focused research question would ask “What can be done to improve the water
quality in Puget Sound in an effort to restore aquatic habitat?”

Proposal Requirements
Before beginning your project, you will need to submit a proposal that explains your topic
choice, demonstrates presearch, and allows me to give feedback on your proposed topic. This
proposal should result in 1 ½ -2 pages of writing and should include the following:

• Introduction: Discuss your topic, your major, and why writing about this topic will be
beneficial to you. What interests you about this topic?
• Approach to the topic: Try to envision a logical way to present the material you
intend to cover. What is the best order? Will there be any terms or concepts you will need
to define or explain? Will you show opposing viewpoints? Compare and contrast?
Categorize information? Your approach may change as you begin to research your topic,
but you need to have some sort of plan for starting the work.
• Intended audience: Assume that your readers are not specialists on your chosen topic
but have roughly the same level of education as you. While you may need to explain
terms and concepts, you will also want to consider what the audience will gain from your
research. Who might benefit from reading your paper?
• Documentation style: You will need to specify if you are using APA or MLA
formatting guidelines for this project.

Strother Spring 2018

 • Working bibliography: Because you are expected to have done some presearch on
your topic, you will need to list citations for at least two academic sources that you are
considering using in this project. Please follow the guidelines for the formatting style you
have chosen for the citation and include a brief discussion of why you have chosen the
source.
• Request for feedback: Please conclude by writing at least one question or concern you
have at this point in the project. I want to be able to provide useful feedback, and this
helps me focus on your biggest concerns.

Essay Requirements
• 2000-2300 words of writing (lit review)
• Proper MLA or APA format (including heading, page numbers, in-text citations, and
a works cited)
• A minimum of 8 sources

Criteria for Evaluation

• Identification of a topic and research question that are sufficiently complex for a
college level assignment
• A sufficiently narrowed topic
• Thorough research of the topic that includes information from a variety of sources
and perspectives
• Appropriate selection of sources
• A minimum of 8 sources, incorporated smoothly and synthesized when appropriate
• A tone that is reasonable and has a sense of purpose paired with a presentation that
is factual and believable.
• Logical organization of the information
• 2000-2300 words plus a reference page
• Appropriate and accurate use of MLA or APA

Mini-Portfolio Requirements
File must be submitted as one document (.doc or .docx), and the file must be named correctly.
File name: last name_ first name_project 2_mini portfolio

• cover/title page
• table of contents
• reflective letter that addresses the Essay Reflection Questions listed below
• Project 2 research proposal
• Outline of paper
• Project 2 draft of the Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review with peer
feedback and responses
• Project 2 revised draft of the Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review

Strother Spring 2018

Essay Reflection Questions:

1. Did you seek out and examine a literature review on your topic (or written in the field of
study you are working in) to help you? How might examining a sample lit review help you?
2. Describe how you focused/narrowed the scope of your literature review. Are you satisfied
with the scope of your draft?
3. How has writing a literature review helped you to understand the purpose of literature
reviews? In what ways are you prepared to read and write literature reviews in the future?
4. What was the hardest thing about writing this essay? What was the easiest? Why?
5. If you write a literature review in the future, what would you change about your research
and/or writing process? Why?
6. How did you evaluate your sources for credibility?
7. Examine the Department of English’s 201 Portfolio Rubric. Explain how Project 2
demonstrates at least five of the skills listed on the rubric (one from each category).

Due Dates:
Proposal: February by 11:59 p.m.
Peer Review Draft (Annotated bibliography): March 2 in class
Peer Review Draft (Lit Review): March 5 in class
Mini-Portfolio: March 7 by 11:59 p.m.

Strother Spring 2018

 Research Proposal Rubric

Proficient Competent Novice

22-25 18-21.9 0-17.9

Attempts to respond to all Does not respond to all

Responds to all questions.
Information and questions. Offers some questions. Does not offer
Offers insight into topic
Insight insight into topic choice insight into topic choice
and author interest.
and author interest. and author interest.

13-15 11.12.9 0-11.9

Attempts to show
Demonstrates evidence of presearch. May not Does not demonstrate
presearch and awareness include effective citations presearch. Does not show
Evidence of Presearch
of what is available or show lack of awareness any awareness of source
regarding topic choice. of what is available availability.
regarding topic choice.

8.5-10 7-8.4 0-6.9

Effectively follows
Formatting and MLA/APA formatting guidelines. Contains some
Conventions guidelines. Contains few
to no errors.
Attempts to follow
Does not follow MLA/APA
MLA/APA formatting
formatting guidelines.
May contain errors that
errors that do not
interfere with clarity and
interfere with clarity or
readability
readability.

Strother Spring 2018

 Mini-Portfolio Rubric

Proficient Competent Novice

45-50 38-44.9 0-37.9

Attempts to meet page
requirements and Does not meet page
Fully meets page
assignment guidelines. requirements or
requirements and
May not be revised based assignment guidelines.
Assignment guidelines assignment guidelines.
on feedback. May not May not show revision.
Demonstrates revision
include appropriate or May not include
and use of research.
required number of appropriate sources.
sources.
17-20 14-16.9 0-13.9
Missing too many
Contains most required
Contains all required required elements.
elements. May not include
elements. Elements are Elements aren’t labeled.
Contents peer review. Elements
correctly labeled and Lack of organization
may not be clearly labeled
ordered. affects coherency of
or in correct order.
portfolio.
17-20 14-16.9 0-13.9
Does not discuss process
Fully discusses process of Attempts to discuss
of writing and revision in
writing and revision. process of writing and
Cover letter enough depth. May not
Addresses all reflection revision. Addresses most
address reflection
questions effectively. reflection questions.
questions.

8.5-10 7-8.4 0-6.9

Attempts to follow MLA or

Does not follow MLA or
Effectively follows MLA or APA formatting
APA formatting
Formatting and APA formatting guidelines. Contains some
guidelines. May contain
Conventions guidelines. Contains few errors that do not
errors that interfere with
to no errors. interfere with clarity or
clarity and readability
readability.

Strother Spring 2018