Bibliography 10/31, Draft 11/05, Final 11/10
[See Discovery Lab]

Overview: An intermediary assignment, between the argument (E3) and argument with sources (E5), this requires you to identify, locate, digest, and evaluate sources related to the topic of essays three and five.  Your "Source Anthology" will be composed of  an introductory essay (min. 3 pages), an MLA-format Works Cited page (a.k.a. bibliography), and photocopies or printouts of all source materials (except books).

Process:

1. Research
1. Identify kinds of evidence likely to be useful (eg. scientific studies, expert opinions, history, etc.)
2. Use library orientation and guidance of reference librarians to identify appropriate databases, search engines, and book-catalog searches
3. Compile a working bibliography, with full bibliographic information, for at least 15 different sources
4. Collect full-texts for a variety of the most promising sources

Source Number and Variety: Your final bibliography must include a minimum total of 10 different sources. These should include at least: 2 articles or essays from electronic databases, 2 articles or essays from print periodicals, newspapers, or books; 2 quality websites; and 1 unconventional source (eg. published or personal interview, email or letter from a subject authority, broadcast transcription).  At least half of the sources should be of a scholarly or professional nature (as opposed to articles in general interest periodicals like Time or columns in USA Today.)

1. Selection and Documentation
1. Evaluate sources in terms of their reliability; and then consider their applicability to your argument;
2. choose those preferred, then develop MLA Format citations for each, using the Hacker handbook or MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers as a guide;
2. Introduction  SAMPLE
1. Review and take notes on each source, summarizing the contents and evaluating it in terms of "reliability" and relevance to your project;
2. Draft an introduction in essay form that explains the aims of your research, then explain the kinds and uses of the sources you have selected. 

Hint: This essay should not simply summarize each source, beginning in alphabetical order.  Ideally, it should summarize and evaluate in an organized way by effectively grouping and relating multiple sources; it should teach the reader something about the kinds of materials available and their uses. An essay on the death penalty might begin by describing and evaluating sources reflecting the perspective of law enforcement authorities; then it might proceed to professional sources produced by defense lawyers and activists, noting broadly how they differ from the first group; finally it might discuss the perspectives given by the popular media, and explain whether they are informed by the kinds of information of sources from groups 1 and 2 or not.