BIBLIOGRAPHY PROJECT
Each bibliography project counts for 10% of your total grade for the semester. Follow the
instructions carefully, and ask me if you have any questions. Note: A few sample entries are
shown below at the end of the document (some have single spacing and some have double
spacing—you can choose either style for this project).
DUE DATES: Bring an article to class on Wednesday/Thursday Nov. 10/11 to write an inclass annotation. The complete project is due on Monday/Tuesday Nov. 14/15.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Your Bibliography Project must consist of at least 4 entries that are related to your Research
Paper topic. These will probably be full-text journal articles or possibly newspaper articles (and
books are also appropriate sources, of course), but at least one source must be a book chapter
or government document from the library (Note: this must be a print document and not an
electronic document). You should try to have a variety of sources (journal, newspaper, book,
government document, and even interviews).
All entries should appear in alphabetical order (by author’s last name) and in MLA format. For
each entry, you should include a brief synopsis of the article (or source) that is at least 5-7
sentences long, and it should, for example, contain a useful quote or two from the article that you
hope to include in your essay. Ultimately, this synopsis will guide you when you begin to draft
your essay. The main goal is to review the article and reduce the information to a “usable form”
for your research project. Critique the article as you write your annotation. Do not use synopses
or article abstracts but rather full-text articles for your sources. Do not cut and paste abstracts
written by other people into your annotation; write an annotation that is specific for your essay
and position.
In your essay, you may also include website research, but this does not count for the
Annotated Bibliography Project. The four entries must be rigorous, scholarly research.
You are welcome to ask a reference librarian for assistance with this project.
Note: The annotated bibliography is a building block of the research process, and the final
project should overlap with the Works Cited List that will be included in your essay. The
only major difference is that the WCL will not be annotated. It is okay if some of these
articles do not prove useful; rejecting information is a valid part of the research process, but you
should describe why the article is not useful in your synopsis. It is also possible that your
research paper Works Cited has more than 4 entries or that you find additional research, but the
goal of the bibliography project is to find and describe all the sources you plan to use in your
research essay, so you need to clear any additions with me. I will be suspicious of any research
paper that has a Works Cited List that differs from your Annotated Bibliography, and I
may ask you submit additional annotations for any new entries on your final Works Cited
List.
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Point Deductions
You are required to be a problem solver with this task; it is truly a test of your independent
thinking. Points will be deducted for incorrect formatting or insubstantial research. Not
knowing how to list a citation in MLA format is not an acceptable excuse; use the MLA
handbook (available at the bookstore: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New
York: Modern Language Association, 2009) or find an online source. Also, the common excuse,
“I couldn’t find any good articles for my topic” is also unacceptable. Change your topic if you
must, but do not submit inferior or insubstantial research. Ask the reference librarian for help
if you get in a bind, but don’t wait until the last minute to do so.
Samples from student bibliography projects:
Note: Some of the samples include annotations to help you with your writing while others are
just the citations to help you with your formatting.
Article Samples:
Cassidy, Wanda, Margaret Jackson, and Karen N. Brown. "Sticks and Stones Can Break My
Bones, But How Can Pixels Hurt Me?: Students' Experiences with Cyber-Bullying."
School Psychology International 30.4 (2009): 383-402. Academic Search Complete.
EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.
This article contained very useful information regarding what researchers deem a new
and improved form of harassment, cyber-bullying. This study was conducted to ultimately put
an end to bullying by finding out from students who are getting bullied, the reason for the
bullying and solutions they deem effective. Researchers found that the most common mediums
for cyber-bullying were through e-mails and chat rooms; social networking sites are grouped
with chat rooms. The study found that the majority of bullied victims keep the torment they are
experiencing to themselves mainly because they fear their bully find out; in the victim’s eyes this
will lead to being labeled as a “rat” and the vicious cycle of the bullying will continue (394).
Researchers asked the participants to evaluate possible solutions to deal with the bullying; the
three top rated solutions included: setting up an anonymous help line, developing and
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implementing programs to inform students about the effects of cyber-bullying and incorporating
ways to achieve and maintain positive self-esteem in the school’s curriculum (395). The results
from the study were to be shared with administration and faculty members in schools as well as
parents and guardians of the children; all parties working together to put an end to bullying will
be much more effective in the long run.
Sunstein, Cass R., and Adrian Vermeule. "Conspiracy Theories: Causes and Cures." Journal of
Political Philosophy 17.2 (2009): 202-227. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web.
29 Oct. 2010.
This article may be useful because it offers a different assessment, hypothesized by Cass
R. Sunstein and Adrian Vermeule, on how conspiracy theories are able to pervade
modern culture. They begin by negating the notion that the presence of a mental illness is
to blame for a person’s belief or beliefs in one or more conspiracy theories. They back
this claim by saying, "But we have seen that in many communities and even nations, such
theories are widely held. It is not plausible to suggest that all or most members of those
communities are afflicted by mental illness; the metaphor of mental illness itself obscures
more than it clarifies” (211). Sunstein and Vermeule then present their proposal that these
beliefs are the products of incorrect knowledge or even a lack of knowledge altogether,
particularly of the personal type. They explain: “Many extremists fall in this category;
their extremism stems not from irrationality, but from the fact that they have little
(relevant) information, and their extremist views are supported by what little they know”
(211-212). This “crippled epistemology,” as they call it, is the reason why some
conspiracy theories continue to be believed in light of credible information to the
contrary.
Taliaferro, Lindsay A., et al. “High School Youth and Suicide Risk: Exploring
Protection Afforded through Physical Activity and Sport Participation.”
Journal of School Health. 78.10 (2008): 545-553. Academic Search Complete.
EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.
This article compares feelings of hopelessness and suicide with physical activity and sports
participation. The study compared levels of hopelessness to students who participated in various
levels of physical activity to inactive students and athletes to non-athletes. It was found that
vigorous activity decreased the risk among males, and low levels of activity increased risk
among females, and that sport participation protected both sexes. The authors state: “Physical
activity in the context of team sports may afford additional protection by facilitating social
support and integration” (546). This article will help support my position that social and family
ties help increase mental stability, and it can also add to my discussion of potential treatments for
youth with suicidal behavior.
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Book Sample:
Neal, Homer A., J.R. Schubel. Solid Waste Management and the Environment: The Mounting
Garbage and Trash Crisis. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1987.
Several chapters of this book particularly explain the impacts of landfill and incineration
methods of waste management. It covers the history of landfills and explains how they
have changed over time in this quote: “Over the past fifty years, there has been
considerable improvement in the practice of landfilling of garbage, primarily because of
the advent of large earth-moving machines which make it possible for garbage to be
promptly covered with soil” (3). The book refers to these modern versions of landfills as
sanitary landfills and states that they reduce odors and access by vermin, and enhance
decomposition of degradable material (4). The book discusses the history of incineration
of wastes as well as the modern incineration process. It is stated to burn wastes at very
high temperatures (more than 1000 degrees Fahrenheit) and produce residual ash as well
as gaseous emissions (4). The chapters on environmental impacts of landfills and
incineration provide a large amount of more specific information on the processes.
Book Chapter:
Churchwell, Sarah. “Femme Fatale, 1961-1962.” The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe. New
York: Metropolitan Books, 2005. 269-325.
This chapter describes Marilyn Monroe’s life right before she died. It looks at her weight
changes the summer prior to her passing, noting that “she was certainly thin that summer,
but she had also been relentlessly criticized in the press for her heaviness in her recent
films, and was trying to make a comeback” (271). The chapter also goes into her
activities during her last summer, when she lost both her job and her romance. She started
a binge of narcotics that summer, and those months were filled with several overdoses
that nearly killed her. Also mentioned are theories that Monroe had affairs with John F.
and Robert Kennedy, but Sarah Churchwell says that there has never been anything to
prove them. This chapter is useful because it dives into the life of Monroe right before
she died, and it even addresses the Kennedy rumors.
Fenster, Mark. “Richard Hofstadter and ‘the Paranoid Style.’”Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy and
Power in American Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1999. 3-21.
This chapter elaborates on the causes of the paranoid style. Some of the causes stem from
the years of the Cold War. The author states, “This was a period in which the ‘consensus’
about the identity and distinction of American culture was never so clear and yet never
seemed so threatened, in which ‘consensus’ was built in and on fear of annihilation” (15).
In summary, in the years of the Cold War, when America was constantly under threat,
people coped with feelings of anxiety and paranoia. The author then goes into the
differences between paranoia and the paranoid style. While both are defined largely by
suspicion, the paranoid person thinks the world is against herself or himself; however, the
paranoid style approach notes that the world is working against something bigger. This is
useful because it goes into the psychological side of paranoia.
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Miscellaneous Other Sources. I did not provide sample annotations for everything, but
here are some other types of research you may need to cite in your essay.
Newspaper Sample:
Floyd, Jacquielynn. "Gay Council Member to Teens: 'It Gets Better'" The Dallas Morning News
15 Oct. 2010, 1st ed., Metro sec.: B01. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 20 Oct. 2010.
This article discusses the extremely emotional council meeting that took place in Fort
Worth, Texas earlier this month. Council member, Joel Burns, like many of us, is very
distraught over the recent suicides due to bullying. This issue hits home for Burns who is openly
gay; he was tormented extensively as a child much like the suicide victims he addressed. Burn’s
message was intended to reach the young victims of bullying; his key point was that “it gets
better” (Floyd). The author, Jacquielynn Floyd, suggests that Burns sent out this heart felt
message as “a piece of political theater” (Floyd). I couldn’t disagree more with that idea; Burns
went out on a limb by going into detail about his personal life in order to relate to the young
victims who may have no one else to turn to. His overall goal was to save the life of a bullied
victim; that is in no way being selfish. He also negates the theory that being gay is a lifestyle
choice by simply asking “What 13-year-old boy chooses to be humiliated to the point of hanging
himself?” (Floyd). I found this article useful because it reiterates the reality that victims of
bullying long to be accepted; thus, stable, positive and encouraging relationships are vital to their
well-being.
Peters, Sharon. “Puppy Mills Face More Heat.” USA Today 09 Dec 2009: 6D. Print.
Government Documents:
Thorneloe, Susan. “Background Information Document for Updating AP42 Section 2.4 for
Estimating Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills.” United States
Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Research and Development. Washington:
GPO, 2008. Print.
This document contains an abundance of background information on the subject of
emissions from municipal solid waste landfills. It presents many useful pieces of data
such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s average gas capture efficiency which is
stated in the document to be 75% (2). It also brings up Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle D regulations which were effective on October 9, 1993
and limited the types of wastes that could be landfilled with Municipal Solid Wastes (1).
The document describes “wet landfills” as landfills that “recirculate leachate to accelerate
waste decomposition” and shows how the emissions of wet landfills differ from those of
other types of landfills (iii). The specific factors that affect emissions were listed as the
size, configuration, and operating systems of the landfills and the age, moisture content,
and composition of the landfill’s wastes (4).
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Interview Samples:
Stentiford, Kari. Personal Interview. 30 Mar. 2010.
Wang, Weii-Hsung. Email Interview. 30 May 2010.
Wiesel, Elie. Interview by Ted Koppel. Nightline ABC. WABC, New York. 18 Apr. 202.
Television.
Public Lecture:
Wood, Natalie. Medical Physics 2051. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. 2 Feb.
2010. Lecture.
Pamphlet:
Renoir Lithographs. New York: Dover, 1994.
MLA style Heading for the Project:
Student Name
English 101 Section XX
Dr. Lisa Moody
14 November 2011
Annotated Bibliography:
Name of Research Project
Begin Citations on this line (alphabetical by author’s last name or article title if no author
known). Do not number the entries: that is not MLA style.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Can I use websites as sources for this project?
A: No.
Q: Is it okay if I have few than 4 sources? I’m having trouble finding articles.
A: No.
Q: Can I use more than 4 sources?
A: No. (Well, you can, but I’m grading the first 4 I read.)
Q: Do I have to use books? I don’t want to read 4 books.
A: No. DO use a variety of sources (and a book chapter is fine as a source).
Q: Is it okay if I don’t include any quotes in my annotation?
A: No.
Q: Can these be in anything other than MLA Format? Because the original article is in APA
style.
A: No. Convert it.
Q: Can I come by your office and get help with my search? I’m having trouble finding sources.
A: Did you speak with at least two reference librarians? No? Then No. Speak with the reference
librarians first; they have far more expertise in this area than I do.
Q: Can I use Google to search instead of library search engines?
A: Yes. But only if you don’t care about your grade.
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