The following video tutorials give a demonstration on how to use RefWorks, which is a
bibliographic management tool that can help writers keep articles organized and generate them
in APA format, although the APA format will be imperfect in many cases. You will probably
have to clean up the errors in references if you use RefWorks, but it is a way to begin organizing
and citing sources.
The video tutorials were developed by Andy Cavanaugh, Director of the UMUC Writing
Department.
Part I of the video tutorial is at the following URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X5RDkbtOz0
Part II of the video tutorial is at the following URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gniasxt8Q0
ENGLISH HW
Hello, Class,
This week, we will begin working on the first draft of WA2 - the annotated
bibliography. During the last two weeks, you've been locating articles in the library
databases and writing a summary of those articles. It's important to keep in mind that
writing a summary is a different task than writing an analysis. In fact, writing a summary
can be a bit more challenging because we are often inclined to elaborate on various
perspectives. Therefore, in order to help you understand the objective of writing a
descriptive summary of an article, please watch this video on how to write an annotated
bibliography. The video is from UMUC's Information and Library Services unit. After
watching the video and gleaning the necessary information from it, you can begin to
prepare your bibliography based on the articles that you will locate through the UMUC
Library databases.
Assignment:
1. Begin searching the library databases for several scholarly articles that will be useful
to your research. As a reminder, your objective is to locate articles that relate to the
technological transformation theme that you've selected.
2. Write up a mini-annotated bibliography. For your mini-annotated bibliography, you will have the
following:
a. Three (3) articles listed in alphabetical order.
b. A descriptive summary for each article, which should be minimum 100 words. Please
remember that you are asked to write a descriptive summary and not an analytical
summary. The link to the video describes the difference between the two.
c. List each source using APA style.
d. Note: Your three (3) articles can be ones that will also be provided in your
first draft of WA2.
3. When posting your response, please use the technological theme that you've
chosen in the subject line.
4. As always, please provide generous feedback to at least two (2) of your
classmates, offering any comments, observations and/or questions that you may have
in response to the information provided in their descriptive summaries. This is an
important part of the assignment as it will give you practice in critically analyzing
sources during the research process.
Here is an example of how your mini-annotated bibliography should look:
Example
Evans, M., & Hopkins, D. (1988). School climate and the psychological state of the
individual teacher as factors affecting the utilisation of educational ideas
following an inservice course.British Educational Research Journal, 14(3),
211-230. .
This article illustrates…..(your descriptive summary of about 100 words
would go here).
Leithwood, K. Montgomery, D, & Sage Publications, I. (1980, April). Evaluating
program implementation. Evaluation Review, 4(2), 193-214.
This article discusses…..(your descriptive summary of about 100 words
would go here).
Marsh, C. J. (1987). Implementation of a social studies curriculum in an Australian
elementary school. Elementary School Journal, 87, 475-486.
This article reports on a research study…..(your descriptive summary of
about 100 words would go here).
McKibbin, M., & Joyce, B. (1980). Psychological states and staff
development. Theory Into Practice, 19(4), 248.
This article shows how …..(your descriptive summary of about 100 words
would go here).
By the way, the link to the video also has a text-only transcript of the video, which
you may want to print out. If you have any questions, please feel free to respond
here.
Please note: This assignment requires you to list only three annotations; your
annotated bibliography for WA2 will require 8-10 annotations. Please be sure to
read the instructions provided in the Conference area for the full requirements of
WA2, which is due in your Study Group folder on Sunday.
ESSAY 2
Hello, Class: Here are the instructions for WA2. Feel free to respond to this note with any
questions or concerns about the assignment. I've also attached some brief audio comments
about the assignment. Note: You will submit your first draft of WA2 in your Study Group folder
by Sunday, June 23.
WRTG 291 – Writing Assignment #2: The Descriptive Annotated
Bibliography
Writing Assignment #2 will be a descriptive annotated bibliography of 8-10 sources.
Courses that fulfill the General Education Requirements (GERs) at UMUC all have a
common theme—technological transformations. In following this theme this semester in
WRTG 291, we are examining various essays on some technological themes. In this
annotated bibliography, you will continue this theme of technological transformations.
What is a Descriptive Annotated Bibliography?
In this assignment, you will find 8-10 articles on a theme. You will list each article in
alphabetical order in APA format. In other words, you will list each on as an APA
reference.
In addition, each reference will be followed by a short descriptive summary of 150-200
words.
More instruction on writing a descriptive annotated bibliography is given in the following
video tutorial:
http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/bibliography_tutorial.cfm
What do you mean by “a theme”?
In your response essay, you wrote a response to a set of essays from your custom
textbook, Research Writing, that focused on one of the following themes:
a) How are online technologies changing the way we live?
b) How is technology changing our definition of what it means to be human?
c) What role should technology play in education?
For the annotated bibliography, you will pick one theme, preferably the same theme you
picked for the response essay, among the three themes listed above. You will find
sources that relate to that theme and will write your annotated bibliography on these
sources. (Note: Your third writing assignment will require you to write a synthesis
research paper on the same theme.)
Some Advice on Selecting Articles and Connecting Them to a Theme:
You can be creative in constructing your annotated bibliography on one of the three
themes listed above.
For example, you might find 8-10 articles on the how the use of the Internet is changing
research methods among college students. This topic is one that would fall under the
first theme, “How are online technologies changing the way we live?” or the third theme,
“What role should technology play in education?”
You might find 8-10 articles on the topic of whether one-on-one laptop programs in
schools actually improve student learning. This topic, for example, is one that would fall
under the third theme.
You might find 8-10 articles on the impact of the Internet on reading skills. This topic
would fall under either the first theme or the third theme.
The second theme, “How is technology changing our definition of what it means to be
human?” might be a bit more constraining. In following this theme, just to give an example,
you might find 8-10 articles on various views of the definition of a human embryo as a
result of emerging technologies in reproductive science. Or you might find 8-10 articles
on emerging trends in cosmetic surgery.
You might explore a topic related to your major. For example, if you are a human
resources management major, you might find 8-10 articles on how the use of information
technology (IT) in the workplace affects the evaluation of worker performance. If you are
a criminal justice major, you might find 8-10 articles on the impact of DNA technology on
the field of criminal justice. If you are an English major, you might find 8-10 articles on
how multimedia can be used to teach English literature. If you are a business
management major, you might find 8-10 articles on the emergence of and significance of
business intelligence technology. As you can see, all of these topics would relate to at
least one of the three themes listed in the assignment.
Overall, the three themes leave room for flexibility. Keep in mind, overall, that you will be
writing the annotated bibliography on a theme related to technology.
In addition, keep in mind that this assignment is designed to act as a step in the process
of completing Writing Assignment #3, the synthesis essay. First, you will complete the
annotated bibliography. Then, you will continue with your research and writing on this
theme as you pursue writing assignment #3, the synthesis essay.
More
Resources
on
Writing
an
Annotated
Bibliography:
The following are some links to sample Annotated Bibliographies. Some of them give
examples in APA format. You may want to observe these examples and perhaps model
your work after them.




A variety of samples from The University of North Carolina Writing Center,
including these specificexamples of APA-style annotations.
A sample from California Polytechnic.
A couple of samples from Cornell University. The website also provides more
information on the process of writing an annotated bibliography.
A sample which, you may notice, is not in APA format but which shows the correct
way to annotate fromUNC at Asheville. Please follow the model annotation but not
the model citation here.

Some samples from The University of Maryland College Park. Again, this sample
follows MLA style. Please follow the model annotation but not the model citation
here.)
DUE DATE
 The first draft is due by 11:59 P.M. on June 23 and should be submitted in
your Study Group folder. Please note: only your final draft of WA2 will be
submitted in your Assignments folder.

After you have submitted the first draft of WA2, your instructor will then provide
feedback and suggestions for revising the final draft that you will submit for
grading.

While you are encouraged to revise and submit your final draft once you have
received feedback from your instructor, you will have until July 21 to submit the
final draft for grading.

Please note: twenty (20) penalty points will be imposed on the final graded draft
if a student fails to submit the required first draft.
HISTORY HW