Donovan 1
Around the World Civilizations Study: Annotated Bibliography & Presentation
The Project: There is much to learn about the civilizations of South America, Africa, India, and the Middle East and just not enough time in the year to learn it all! For this assignment, you will select an area of particular interest to you and become a quasi-expert on that area by conducting research and creating an annotated bibliography. Then you will present your information to the class in a five minute presentation so they may learn more about your topic too. You will work in groups of three for this project. Each person will create their own annotated bibliography but will present the information together.
Choose a Topic: Below is a list of sections of your textbook and their general topics. From within these sections you should choose a particular person, place, event, religion, tradition, belief, etc. that you want to learn more about. It needs to be SPECIFIC. The broader your topic is the more difficult it will be to conduct research. Your HW for night one will be able to choose a topic.
Donovan 1
South America (NO NORTH AMERICA)
9.1 Earliest Americans
9.2 Early Mesoamerican Civilizations
9.3 Early Civilizations in the Andes
16.2 Maya Kings and Cities
16.3 Aztecs Control Mexico
16.4 Inca Create a Mountain Empire
Middle East
18.1 Ottomans Build a Vast Empire
18.2 Safavid Empire
Africa
8.1 Diverse Societies in Africa
8.2 Migration: Bantu Speaking Peoples
8.3 Kingdom of Aksum
15.1 North and Central African Societies
15.2 West African Civilizations
15.3 Eastern City-States and Southern Empires
India
7.1 India’s First Empires
7.2 Trade Spreads Indian Religions and Culture
18.3 Mughal Empire in India
Donovan 1
Create a Research Question: After you select a topic you are interested in, think about a question you have about that topic that you would like answered. This is your research question that you will attempt to answer through your research. Research questions should be complex: Think about asking “why” or “how” instead of “who” or “what”. These questions should require a lengthy detailed answer, not a simple one.
This research question must be APPROVED by Ms. Donovan on day 1 in the LMC before you begin your bibliography. Your group will need to agree on a research question which will guide your research and presentation.
Create a new project in Noodletools (MLA, advanced citation style) to catalogue your research. When you have your research question, enter it into the appropriate field and share your project in Ms. Donovan’s Noodletools Dropbox called Donovan Bibliography (5 points)
Research: For this assignment you will be required to find FIVE sources about your chosen topic. For each source you use you must create a complete MLA citation in Noodletools AND an annotation. To create the MLA citation you may either use the Quick Cite function and copy and paste a properly formatted citation or input the proper information in the indicated fields.
*Please note that you do not need the long URL for database citations. Delete these on your final bibliography page.
· TWO of your sources must be free websites. These websites should be evaluated for reliability in your annotation. You should use the CARRDSS criteria to analyze whether or not a source is reliable. When you are writing your annotation, you should comment on the reliability of the website and hit on all seven of the CARRDSS criteria.
· TWO must be database articles. Those database articles must come from two different kinds of sources. In a database there are a variety of sources: newspapers, magazines, academic journals, reference sources, etc. Watch the instructional video about determining which source you are using and how to evaluate it.
· The last ONE can be any type of source. Your textbook does NOT count as a source.
As you find these sources, you should be citing them and creating NOTECARDS to catalogue the information to be used in your presentation. Make sure to link your notecards to the proper source and remember the most important part of creating a notecard is PARAPHRASING the information.
**Please check in with your group mates periodically to make sure you are not using more than one of the same sources.
Annotated Bibliography: An annotation is a short note intended to give a small amount of information about a something. Therefore, an annotated bibliography is a bibliography with notes about each source, indicating what information can be found in it and if it is particularly strong or reliable on certain pieces of information. The idea is that someone who is doing research could read an annotated bibliography and determine which sources are better suited for his/her own research project. For example, it has been estimated that so many books have been written about someone or something related to the US Civil War that it averages close to 400 books a year written every year since 1865. Given such a staggering number, it is not possible for a scholar to read even a majority of the books. For that reason, the scholar would find an annotated bibliography very useful in determining which books, journal articles, etc. would be of most use for a particular topic.
Depending on the purpose of your bibliography, some annotations may summarize, some may assess or evaluate a source, and some may reflect on the source’s possible uses for the project at hand. Some annotations may address all three of these steps. Consider the purpose of your annotated bibliography and/or your instructor’s directions when deciding how much information to include in your annotations. Writers often include three key ideas: a summary, an evaluation of the text, and a reflection on its applicability to his/her own research, respectively.
To Create your Annotated Bibliography: At the bottom of the Noodletools page where you enter citation information, there is a box for an annotation. This is where you should write your annotation. Noodletools will format this for you when you export your bibliography. However, Noodletools does not spell check for you so proofread carefully OR make sure you export to Microsoft Word and spell check before you submit your bibliography. See the attached page for a sample annotation.
Annotations for this project:
Annotations should have three small paragraphs in this order:
1. A summary of the source: what are the main arguments? What topics are covered? If someone asked you what the source was about, what would you say? If someone else were trying to find out if they should use this source, they would want a quick, simple overview of what kind of information they’ll find in the source. To do this well, you may need to skim the entire source, even if only a part of it is relevant for your paper.
2. An assessment of the source: is the source relevant to your research? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is it reliable information? Is it biased, objective? What the goal of the source? Be careful though, a source isn’t “good” or “bad”. You need to discuss what the source can be used for based on what it is good at. You would never put a source that you wouldn’t use because it is bad in a bibliography.
3. A reflection of the applicability source: how does it fit into your research? Was the source helpful? Does it change your perspective of your topic? How can you use this source in your research and presentation?
Other Tips:
· Try to acknowledge the format of the sources in the annotations. For example, begin with “This newspaper article from the New York Times is about…” It helps the readers to know what format a source is before you go into summarizing the info in it or its reliability. This format may also impact its reliability.
· When evaluating the reliability of a website, hit on each of the seven CARRDSS criteria.
· Just because something is from a database doesn’t make it “reliable” or “unbiased”.
· Annotations are in third person POV for the summary and assessment of the source. You may use first person POV when discussing how you will use this source. Instead of saying, “I think this source has a lot of good,” say “This source has some detailed…”
· Be careful of your word choice in annotations. Wording should be descriptive but not “fluffy” “pretty” or over generalized. For example a source is not “perfect” or “flawless”. Sources are rarely “100% objective or unbiased.” Sources are not “wonderful” or “phenomenal.” You want to try to remain unbiased in your description of the source just as most authors want their information to be unbiased.
· Try to discuss what the source DOES have more often than what it is MISSING. It may not be great for your research question and you should acknowledge the information that is lacking, but it is more helpful to a reader to know what the source will have in it if they consult it.
· There should be NO “research” in your annotations-you are simply evaluating the source for its usefulness and reliability and discussing how it helps you completed your research project.
Submitting your Project: Paper Annotated Bibliographies are due on MONDAY March 9th at the start of class. Bibliographies should be printed, stapled, and turned in on time. Spelling, grammar and punctuation count in the annotations. Please make sure bibliographies are properly formatted (consistent font type and size, margins, indentations, etc.) See steps for formatting on the following pages.
Your Grade: Research Question: 5 points
Each Citation & Annotation: 5 points (25 total)
Total: 30 points
Present your Findings: Once you have completed your research, you and your group will need to present the information to your classmates in a five minute presentation. This presentation can be ANYTHING you want. You can write a song and sing it, make a video like crash course, create a poster, do a Prezi, build a diagram or model…the possibilities are endless! Consider running your presentation idea by Ms. Donovan to get some feedback on your choice. Here are the requirements of the presentation:
· It must be historically accurate and answer the research question your group selected.
· The presentation should run between 4-5 minutes in length. No more, no less.
· Your presentation must be clearly planned and practiced. You should all speak clearly and confidently to your audience and be well versed on the subjects you present.
· All of your group members must participate equally in the presentation.
· Presentation should be interesting for your classmates.
Presentations will be due on Monday March 9th. Please be prepared to present that day. Any digital projects should be emailed or shared with Ms. Donovan before class begins.
Your Grade: Presentations will be graded out of 20 points based on your presentation content, visual aids, presentation skills and preparedness.
Agenda & Homework
Friday 2/27 / Introduce the Project / · Choose a topic
· Choose a group
· Watch Databases Video
Monday 3/2 / Begin research to formulate a research question / · Watch CARRDSS video and answer in video questions
· Finalize Research Question and enter it into Noodletools. Make sure project is shared with Ms. D
Tuesday 3/3 / Pick apart an annotation
Continue research / Have 4-5 sources chosen for class tomorrow.
BLOCK / Quick Review of Proper Formatting
Continue working on annotations
Project Brainstorming / Should complete annotated bibliography for Friday so that Friday can be focused on the project.
Friday 3/6 / Continue working on Project and presentation / Printed Annotated Bibliography and presentations due Monday 3/9! Any digital components of presentation must be shared with Ms. Donovan prior to the start of class.
All of the links and documents you will need are linked on my teacher webpage through the Library Lessons Page.
Annotated Bibliography Formatting To Do List
1. Export the document from Noodletools to a Word document.
2. Add a header to the document with your last name and automatic page number, aligned right. Make sure this is in the same font as your works cited. This should appear on the top Right corner of each page of your bibliography.
3. Type your Name, Date, Teacher, and Class at the top left corner of the page.
4. Underneath the title, type your research question.
5. For each annotation, enter down one space between the citation and the annotation so the annotation begins on its own line. Tab to indent the annotation like a regular paragraph. Tab to indent any new paragraph within the annotation. Do not leave extra spaces between citations and annotations (no blank lines at all).
6. Document should be double-spaced and a consistent font (times new roman, size 12).
7. No broken printer excuses! Email it to yourself and print it in the library in the morning (library opens at 7:15).
John Smith
February 26, 2015