I-Search and Annotated Bibliography

 

An I-Search paper is a narrative assignment in which you talk both about how you found your sources and how reading those sources educated you about your topic and shaped your views on the topic. Rather than a works cited page, you will include an Evaluative Annotated Bibliography. An Annotated Bibliography is like a works cited age, however, you include a brief summary of each source. In this case, about 100 words minimum. Then, to make it an Evaluative Annotated Bibliography, you will include a short statement of at least 25 words in which you will evaluate the source by explaining how useful (or not) you find the source for your project. You will need to find a total of 12 sources for this assignment in the project.

 

Please make sure that every draft of your essay covers all the criteria for the assignment.

Paper Requirements:

 

• An I-Search Paper of at least 1,500 words: The minimum length of this essay should be 1,500 words.
• An introduction: Your I-Search Paper should have an introduction in which you explain why you picked this topic. You should also include the narrative strategy to introductions as explained in your textbook on pages 259-260 or the inverted triangle strategy as explained on pages 258-259.
• A body paragraphs that explain how you found your sources and how your sources shape your thinking about the topic. Make sure to be specific and talk about all 12 sources you are required to find. How do the sources talk to each other? How do they fit together in the conversation on your topic? How do they speak to you? How do they interest you or challenge you? Pay attention to how you organize your research journey in these paragraphs.
• APA-style in-text citations: All material you write about should have the correct in-text citations in APA format.
• An Annotated Bibliography with APA-style entries. Each source should have a correct APA-Style bibliographic entry. The entries should be in alphabetic order by the author’s last name.
• 100 Word Summaries of Each Source. After an APA-Style reference entry, you will include a 100 word summary of that source. For your summaries, you make focus primarily on material that is interesting to you and your project.
• 25 Word Evaluation of Each Source. After each summary, you will include a short evaluation of the usefulness of the source for your project. Explain why.
• A Dear Reader letter: In at least 250 words, answer the following questions in a formal letter (how to format a letter) to your intended readers:

1. What do you think are the strengths of your draft?
2. What do you think are the weaknesses of your draft?
3. If you had 2 more days to work on your I-Search and Annotated Bibliography, where would you focus your attention?
4. What did you enjoy about this assignment?
5. What about this assignment challenged you?

You will revise your Dear Reader letter for your second draft as your answers to these questions ought to have changed.