Assignment:
My topic is obesity in African American women.
Writing Assignment
Reflective Annotated Bibliography
Summary of assignment
• Task: The response essay asks you to complete the following:
• Locate five articles on a topic of your choice through UMGC's
OneSearch.
• List each article in alphabetical order in APA format. In other words, you will list each on as an APA reference.
• Write the following for each article:
o précis
o vocabulary or terminology section
o reflection
o quotable ssection
• Length: 1100 to 1400 words
• Format: APA
• Sources: Five sources, all of which you should find through UMGC's One Search
More details that explain each of these sections are provided below.
The Four Sections for Each Annotation
Part 1: The Précis: In this section, you will provide a descriptive summary of the material. To observe a video tutorial that takes you through the process of summarizing an article in a descriptive manner, click the following links:
• How to Write an Effective Academic Summary Paragraph
• Academic Summary Example
You will want to include the author's main claim in the article as well as any sub-claims. In addition, please include the types of evidence the author uses to support this claim, including what data/facts/evidence the author uses to justify the claims of the article. Finally, you will want to mention the interpretations that this author arrives at through the claims and evidence and the points or conclusions she presents. You may use the first-person point of view ("I") in your précis.
Your précis for each article should be 100 to 150 words.
Part 2: Vocabulary or Terminology: In this section, you will select key terms that were used in the article or words with which you were unfamiliar. You don't need to include definitions of these terms; however, you should look up their definitions for your own benefit.
You should come up with 6 to 8 vocabulary terms for each article.
Part 3: Reflection: In this section, you will describe your opinion about what the author has stated in the article. Please state whether you agree, disagree, or agree on some points and disagree on others. You can mention any criticisms, questions, or comments you have on the author's methods of research. In addition, include any unanswered questions you have as a result of having read the article carefully. Include items or concepts that you do not understand, information you would need to have in order to better understand the article, etc. You will, of course, use the first-person point of view ("I") in this part of the reflective annotated bibliography.
Your reflection section for each article should be 100 to 150 words.
Part 4: Quotables: In this section, you will insert direct quotations from the article that demonstrate some of the claims the author or authors make. Please include page number(s) where you found the quotes. Moreover, please place quotation marks around the chosen phrase and make sure you cite the phrase verbatim.
Your quotables section for each article should contain 4 to 8 quotes.
More Resources on Writing an Annotated Bibliography:
• a sample reflective annotated bibliography from a student at John Jay College.
• a worksheet and sample for the reflective annotated bibliography from Mark McBeth,
Associate Professor/Deputy Chair of Writing Programs, English, John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY