WRTG 391 7970 Advanced Research Writing
Critical Annotated Bibliography — WA#1
Writing Assignment        #1          
Critical   Annotated Bibliography                of Five Sources Summary of assignment             
• Task: In this assignment you will write a list of at least 5 sources in alphabetical order in
APA format. In addition, each reference will be followed by a short analytical summary
of 150-200 words. At the end of the short summary, you will include a sentence or two
that critically analyzes the source and that mentions distinctive features about the article
and why it may or may not be useful for you in pursuing more research.
• Length: each annotation should be 150-200 words
• Format: APA
• Sources: five sources, all of which you fill find through UMUC’s OneSearch
Strategies            in            Selecting              a              Topic     for          your       Annotated          Bibliography      
You may select a topic of your choice. However, when selecting a topic, keep in mind that it
should be a topic on which a number of studies or scholarly articles have been published.
Examples of topics students have chosen in the past or that would be workable for this
assignment are the following:
• The impact of the Internet on research methods of students and plagiarism in student
papers
• The impact of The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act on primary school education
• The impact of mobile devices on cybersecurity
Overall, in considering a topic, you might consider your major, topics that will be covered in
future classes you plan to take at UMUC, and your interests.
For example, please examine the following ideas:
• If your major is criminal justice, you might consider researching criminal behavior among homeless
individuals, criminal behavior among youth, society’s perception of law enforcement, etc.
• If your major is psychology, you might consider researching counseling strategies, consumer behavior in
online shopping, decision-making in upper-management positions, etc.
• If your major is history, you might consider researching theories on the Civil War, studies on labor patterns
in the United States, an aspect of military history, etc.
• If your major is social science, you might consider researching community responses to health care threats,
co-parenting patterns after divorce, etc.
• If your major is graphic communication, you might consider researching different categories of graphic
communication technology, trends in graphic communication through the years, etc.
Whatever topic you consider, keep in mind that it should be a topic on which a number of
studies or scholarly articles have been published. You will conduct all or most of your
research using UMUC’s OneSearch function in finding scholarly articles.
Approach
This assignment will be an analytical/critical/ annotated bibliography. The difference between
the descriptive/informative annotated bibliography and the analytical/critical annotated
bibliography is explained in the following video:
http://sites.umuc.edu/library/libhow/bibliography_tutorial.cfm
The transcript is at http://sites.umuc.edu/library/libhow/bibliography_tutorial.cfm#transcript
Moreover, the following website from UMUC’s Information and Library Services provides more
information on how to complete this assignment:
http://sites.umuc.edu/library/libhow/bibliography_apa.cfm
Submitting the assignment:
You will submit a first draft of the essay to the assignment folder. The first draft will not be
graded. The instructor will provide comments to it.
After receiving comments from the instructor, you will submit a revised draft. The final draft
will be graded.
Helpful Resources and Websites
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 specific examples of APA-style annotations.
• Some instruction from Cornell University. The website also provides more information
on the process of writing an annotated bibliography.
• Some instruction from East Carolina University.