Technology

Instructions for Assignment One (Essay outline/annotated bibliography)

 

Essay Outline:

 

 

 

1. Your “outline” can be rough but it should be clear enough for the reader to understand the structure of your essay and it should provide enough detail that feedback can be given by the marker about how you might improve your analysis of the topic.

 

1. The outline (only) should be approximately 250 words long.  Do not exceed this word count if at all possible.  Marks will be deducted for excessive content and also if the outline is too brief. Be clear and concise.

 

1. Your opening paragraph should include your overall thesis statement, (which can be changed if necessary when you write your Essay assignment), to let the reader know what the argument of your essay is going to be and the direction and focus of your work.

 

1. Break your outline into appropriate paragraphs and explain what the focus of each paragraph is going to be.

 

1. You must use full sentences, (no bullet points), in each paragraph explaining the flow of your analysis and argument.

 

1. Indicate in the various paragraphs which of the sources (stated in the bibliography) you will be using to support your work.

 

1. Identify your closing paragraph and, if possible, what conclusion you will be drawing in the essay.

 

Annotations:

 

1. Your bibliography must be formatted using the APA style of referencing.

 

1. This section of the assignment must be an annotated bibliographywith a minimum of five ACADEMIC or SCHOLARLY sources.  Only one of these 5 sources may be an (approved/credible) website.  All others must be scholarly books (or e-books), and academic journals (or e-journals).

 

1. When using a book (e-book) as a source, you may not use excerpts from ‘Google Books’ unless the entire book is available online.  Using only selected portions from books on this website does not provide you with the overall book context and meaning of the author. If you feel the book you have found on Google Books is a valuable resource, then locate and use the entire hard copy or the complete e-book.

 

1. Note that an annotated bibliography has a different format and content than a regular bibliography.  For instructions on how to create an annotated bibliography please visit this link:  http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill28.htm

 

1. Annotations for each source should be between 75-100 words and should demonstrate that you, personally, have reviewed the source.   It is not acceptable to simply copy or paraphrase the publisher’s abstract or book review.  The annotation must be YOUR summary of the resource and should indicate whether you feel it will be valuable to use in your essay (and if not, why not).

 

1. You may not use the course text(s) as one of your academic sources.

 

1. You may not use internet sources other than those already deemed to be acceptable (i.e. an e-book version of a published book,  an e-journal version of an academic journal, or a credible organization or government site).

 

1. Newspaper, magazine and radio/TV articles or web links are NOT considered academic or scholarly articles.

 

1. Only credible and trusted internet websites may be used as references. These include government and academic institution sites which can be identified by .gov or .edu.

To determine the validity of any website you are looking at, consider the following information shown in the domain’s URL:

 

.com = a site of a business or commercial organization

.edu = an educational institution

.gov = a government organization

.mil = a military organization

.org = a non-profit organization

 

The domain type might signal a certain bias or agenda that can skew the data you are using.

.com sites are likely going to be biased towards a business which is trying to sell a product or service

.org sites may embrace a certain political view or ideology.

 

 

1. If you use the university library website or other library databases, make sure that you note all the required bibliographic information for your source(s) before you log off the site (i.e. author(s)’ name, title of book / journal, title of specific journal article, journal #,  date of publication, publisher name.  You must not use a hyperlink to the library database in your bibliography because the source cannot be verified if you do this.  The marker will simply be directed to the database login page and not the actual source material.