A&B Ch. 7 skill 4, annotated bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources for a given topic, to make it easier for a person who has done research or will be doing research to organize and cleanly present their information.  This bibliography is generally organized alphabetically listing each of the sources that the author used in a particular set of research.  There are two main ways to go about an annotated bibliography, first is a summary-only annotation.  This form is where when creating the bibliography the author will focus strictly on presenting the information that the source provides.  It shows the authors use of rhetoric and simply tells you what is in each source.  The other form is called an evaluative annotation.  In this form the author will not only provide a summary of the various sources but will also give their own personal evaluation of the article or the source, writing how they personally feel on the effectiveness of the article.  No matter the style the author chooses, the annotated bibliography shouldn’t exceed 150 words, it should be clear and concise allowing any readers to understand the information clearly.  When writing the bibliography, the author should pay special attention to three topics.  First the rhetorical information, show how the rhetoric was used and how well it was used.  Second, summarize the content of the source.  Tell the reader what is there.  Finally evaluate the source, if the author were doing a summary they would focus on how they would use it in their article or research, if it was exploratory the author would also talk about its strengths, weaknesses and how useful it was.

A&B Ch.1 skill 1 and Ch. 20 skill 1

One of the keys to writing a good research paper is having a good topic or a good question to write about.  If one were to choose a bad question they may find themselves stuck in a trap of having too much information to research or no particular aim.  When deciding on a topic, one of the most important things that one can do is make sure that you are personally interested in the subject.  Look around for things in your life that make you question the method or execution of something.  This could be when talking to friends about sports, when in class discussing a topic or on your free time relaxing on the couch.  Once you find a topic that you are interested in it is good to start thinking of questions about it. For example you could ask “Do kids have access to cellphones too early in life?” Are kids spending too much time on their phones or computers?  Does increased time on computers cause kids to be less patient?  There are many questions one can ask on even a simple topic that can help narrow it down and make sure that you have a good focused topic to research.

When a topic and a question are finally picked out, you can ask yourself some follow up questions to verify to yourself that you have a good topic.  You can ask are you personally interested in this question.  Is the question both problematic and significant? Is the question limited enough for the intended length of your paper?  Is there a reasonable possibility of finding information on this question based on the time and resources you have available?  Is the question appropriate for your level of expertise? If you can answer yes to these questions, you are ready to begin you research paper.