English W170

Food and Identity in American Culture

MT4

Microtheme4:  Annotated Bibliography

Description:               An MLA bibliography with at least 6 sources and annotations; include your Inquiry Question

Sources:                       At least 1 primary text that represents your chosen topic

                                        At least 5 secondary sources, includingat least 2 peer-reviewed articles from academic                                                  journalsand at least 1 of our course essays

Total Points:              50

Due Date:                    Thursday, 4/14 (email to me by 5pm)

The Assignment

Using your Inquiry Question and its keywords as a guide, research the scholarly conversation surrounding the issue, moment, figure, or phenomenon represented in your primary text(s). Find, evaluate, summarize, and synthesize five secondary sources that will allow you to respond to your Inquiry Question in Essay 3. Provide an annotation for each secondary source, as well as for your primary text(s). That means at least 6 annotations total (5+ secondary and 1+ primary).

At least 2secondary sources must be articles in peer-reviewed academic journals. At least 1 (but no more than 3) of your secondary sources must be an essay from our syllabus.

Note that the sources do not need to directly address your specific primary texts. They must, however, speak to or provide useful lenses for discussing the issue, moment, figure, or phenomenon highlighted by your Inquiry Question.

Details & Strategies

Research: Use the following databases to locate academic, peer-reviewed sources for Essay 3: JSTOR, Project Muse, and/or Academic Search (EBSCO). [We will go over this more during our in-class research day: Tues, 4/12.]

Format: Organize this Microtheme as an MLA bibliography.At the top of your bibliography include your Inquiry Question, then

1.Write a full, properly formatted citation for each source (primary and secondary).Citations should be double-spaced.
2.Order the entries alphabetically by author’s last name. (Just as you would in a Works Cited page.)
3.After each citation, include an annotation for that source. Annotations should be single-spaced.

Annotations: Below each citation, provide a single-spaced paragraph of approximately 5-7 sentences that

1.Summarizesthe author’s main claim (if the claim is implicit, make it explicit).
2. Details the concepts, arguments, or information that this source contributes to the conversation surrounding the issue, moment figure, or phenomenon represented by your primary text(s).
3.Notes a relationship with at least one other source in the bibliography. This relationship might reveal agreement or tension between the sources’ claims and methods.

*Annotations for primary texts should summarize the source and provide some initial analysis showing how each primary text relates to your Inquiry Question.

Criteria for Evaluation

Does the Microtheme provide an accurate and concise summary of each source’s main claim?

Does the Microthemegenerate a scholarly conversation by succinctly detailing important relationships among its sources?

Does the Microthemeexplain how each source engages with the concerns of your Inquiry Question?

Does the Microtheme adhere to the standards of academic writing, including MLA citation?