Proposal, Annotated
Bibliography and Final Essay
English
338 – Summer 2005
Kate Scheel
There
are 4 parts to this assignment:
1.
Topic
Identify
a question or area of interest for your essay.
2.
Research and Annotated Bibliography
Research existing knowledge on this topic by reviewing 5
critical articles or books, at least 3 of which must be journal articles. Write an annotated
bibliography of the 5 critical sources. See handout for details on how to
format the bibliography. Each annotation should be a brief (an approximately
150 word description) of the source and an evaluation of its use for your
topic. A sample annotated bibliography follows.
3.
Proposal
Write
a 1-2 page proposal of the question that your essay will explore. (See
directions and marking scheme below). The proposal should describe the existing
knowledge you investigated in your bibliography, the knowledge deficit (what
your essay will contribute), the text that you will use, and the method. The
proposal and bibliography are due on July 14 in class although you are welcome
to turn your proposal and bibliography in earlier. The proposal and
bibliography count for 5% of your final grade. Directions for completing the
proposal follow.
4.
Essay
Upon
approval of the proposal by the instructor, write the essay using MLA
guidelines or the English Department Style Guide. You are not required to
include the secondary sources you have researched in your essay. The essay
should be approximately 2500 words or 10 – 12 pages long.
The
essay is due July 28, 2005 and counts for 35% of your grade. Grades for late
essays will be deducted 5% per day unless there are valid mitigating
circumstances.
Annotated Bibliography
Sample Annotated
Bibliography
Marlene Sawatsky
Gamlin, Gordon. “Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion and the Oral Narrative.” Canadian Literature 135 (Winter 1992): 68-77.
Gamlin discusses parallels between Ondaatje’s narrative strategies
and characteristics of oral narrative strategies. Primarily, Gamlin identifies the tale-telling nature of the novel and
the narrative’s inclusion of multiple experiences. Connections are also drawn
between the oral source text of The Epic of Gilgamesh and Ondaatje’s story. He
examines how these elements of the novel present (like oral history) a challenge
to traditional concepts of valid sources of history.
Giltrow, Janet. Academic
Writing:
While
the body of this text focuses on scholarly reading and writing, the preface
(9-14) contains a broadly relevant discussion of “the meaningfulness of style.”
Giltrow emphasizes the relationship between a text’s
style and the “reader’s construction of meaning.” She points to the important
role that the stylistic conventions of academic disciplines play in conveying
knowledge. This discussion provides useful concepts for understanding the
significance of style for the reader.
Hutcheon, Linda. Narcissistic
Narrative: The Metafictional Paradox.
The
page numbers indicated here refer to the first chapter of this book entitled
“modes and Forms of Narcissistic Narrative.” In this chapter, Hutcheon clarifies the meaning of the terms that
characterize metafiction, such as self-reflective and
self-conscious. Hutcheon distinguishes between the
two terms and discusses modes of writing that display them. Hutcheon
also includes discussion of the implications of these stylistic techniques for
the role of the reader.
Features
of Annotated Bibliography:
Documentation
format for source (alphabetical order): writer’s surname, first name, title of
article, title of journal (italics or underlined for book and journal titles,
quotation marks for article and poem titles), volume, year, pages
Reporting
expressions (i.e. Gamlin discusses… He examines…)
Arrangement:
Essay Proposal
The
proposal should include the following items:
1.
Title
2.
Thesis
3.
Existing Knowledge
4.
Knowledge Deficit
5.
Annotated Bibliography - review of 5 sources, 3 of which are journal articles
Total Marks 10/10