English

In this assignment, you’ll be required to list and summarize all of the sources you’ll be using in your final paper. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

Why we’re doing this:

·      Forces you to gather all of your sources for your paper now instead of waiting until the last minute

·      Forces you to consider and assess how these sources will fit into your actual paper

·      Shows me the quality and range of your sources; as you’re putting this together, it’s a good exercise in re-evaluating the strength, variety and credibility of your sources

·      Helps you understand your topic better; the AB helps your refine your paper and better apply the sources that will produce a stronger, well-supported paper. You’re welcome.

Important Notes

·      You are required to have at least 5 acceptable sources in your paper, regardless of which essay option you’ve chosen. Page length will vary, depending on the final number of your sources. I’m more interested in that substance of each of your annotations, which should each be about a paragraph long.[1]

·      Alphabetical order (author name first; if that’s not available, go with the name of the article)

·      Citation in MLA or APA (easybib.com is a good resource)

What each annotation should include after the citation:

Two things: a brief summary of the source and the application to your paper (in other words, how you plan to use it in your paper).

Example of a summary:      

"Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers   for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 Oct. 2015. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.

This website provides helpful background information on the healthy eating movement, including its origins in Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative. The site also includes success stories from schools in California to Alaska that have instituted salad bars with excellent results. I plan to utilize this source to support my argument that healthy eating options must begin in public schools and at an early age. This source will also be helpful to me as I lay out the logistics of implementing salad bars in schools since this is part of my proposal. [MG1] 

Smith, Brendan L. "The Case against Spanking." American Psychological Association. N.p., Apr. 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

This anti-spanking article takes a logical, straightforward look at why and how spanking is bad for a child. The article includes input from several professors of psychology from many universities, including such prestigious universities as Yale. The piece outlines the negative effects of spanking, the supporting research, and the effective alternatives to spanking (shockingly encouraging a toddler to throw a tantrum while the parent remains calm). This article strongly supports my main argument, so I plan on using it to emphasize the negative effects of corporal punishment on children and contrast the pro-spanking's guidelines for proper discipline with the spanking alternatives offered in this article.

Other ways to address how you will apply the source to your argument/paper:

·      I plan to utilize Winters’ article in supporting my notion that childhood obesity has become a problem in recent years. I find it particularly intriguing that Winters points to some specific exceptions to this and I plan to further explore this idea that class distinctions played an important role in the likelihood.   

·      Peabody’s chapter supports my contention that the negative effects of technology far outweigh any perceived benefits from a child development standpoint.

·      I plan to explore Robinson’s assertion that organic eating is good for everyone and tie that into my discussion of overall benefits for families.

[1] If you are using a visual in your paper, you do not need to include it in this AB. Just include the citation in your Works Cited page in your final paper.

 [MG1]This particular example will be applied in multiple ways to this hypothetical paper: supporting the thesis (that’s a gimme, though); showing that there’s research to back up the proposal; and providing some supplemental info for the proposal. Not all sources have to do all these things and can just be used in one instance.