Annotation assignment

For this project you will follow the format a section in Harper’s Magazine called “Annotations.” Note that the format consists of an image (or set of images) surrounded by blocks of text (i.e., paragraphs). These text blocks. for the most part, represent researched information that answers various questions suggested by the image (for example, what is its history?; how does it work?; what controversies has it sparked?; what does it represent about the way we live?; what audience does it appeal to and how?)

This assignment will be done as a group project. I will provide images for students to choose from; I will form groups of five or six students for each image, taking student interest into account as much as possible. In addition to working as a member of the group, each student will contribute one paragraph to the finished project.

The purpose of this assignment is two-fold: to introduce you to the basics of the research process (asking questions, finding information, integrating that information into your own writing, and appropriately citing sources) and to focus closely on issues related to paragraph structure (in particular, unity and coherence).

COMMUNICATING WITH GROUP: I will provide you with a list of the members in your group and contact info. Select a leader who will coordinate things. Please confer with each other about how you will manage to exchange ideas. If your class is f2f, you may do this largely in class; if you’re taking this as an online class, you’ll be able to post and share info on a group blog we’ll set up.

ASKING QUESTIONS: As a group, brainstorm a list of possible research questions and post these, along with your image (or link or description of the image) on the group blog. Try to go beyond the immediate questions about that particular object to more general questions that the object suggests. (A facebook page, for example, may raise questions not just about that individual but more significantly about the rise in social networking platforms, the psychological effects of social networking, its potential hazards for the job-seeker, and so forth.) List as many questions as you can. Your goal is half a dozen good, rich, provocative questions that could be answered (to some degree anyway) in a paragraph.

FINDING ANSWERS: Do an Internet search using search engines such as google, metasearch engines such as metacrawler or dogpile, and subject indexes such as the Librarians’ Internet Index or the Internet Public Library (More suggestions can be found here. Make sure to consider the four criteria for valuable research sources: relevance, authority, objectivity, and currency (here’s a useful link). Post the Internet links you find on individual or group blogs.

In addition, search BCC’s research databases for journal and newspaper articles that relate to the questions you have posed. (During the course of your research, you may wish to modify your list of questions, depending on what information you discover.) And, of course, you may want to consult the online catalog for book sources as well.

You will need at least four sources; two or more must have originally appeared in print (from research databases or “hard-copy” book or magazine.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: After deciding as a group who will answer each question, look through your sources for usable material. I strongly suggest that you do some sort of note-taking to digest and organize your material. You may want to take one page for each question and collect up facts, statistics, quotations that relate to that question. Be very selective about what you choose to quote; if you choose to paraphrase rather than quote, make sure in your notes to vary both words and syntax (sentence structure) used. In either case (paraphrase or quote) be sure to track your sources by listing the last name of the author or coding the sources in some way (you may use letters, numbers, symbols, or code by writing each different source in a different color).

Remember that in any of the following cases you must provide proper documentation:

• You used a direct quotation from one of your sources
• You mentioned some fact not considered to be common knowledge that you obtained from one of your sources
• You refer to some idea or theory that you learned about in one of your sources

In MLA format proper documentation means that information about your source must appear in two places:

1. Within the text itself abbreviated information (normally the author’s last name and the page number) should appear in parentheses at the end of the sentence where the cited material appears. For example, In her influential study of 1984, noted expert argues that leopards do not have spots (Anderson 73). Click here to find more explanation and examples.
2. Complete bibliographic information for each reference used must appear on your Works Cited page at the end of your paper. You may wish to refer to this handout from BCC’s Writing Lab, or you may use one of the online citation-making sites such as EasyBib, citation machine, or NoodleBib.

COORDINATING YOUR WORK: Work as a group to compile one Works Cited page that includes all of the sources used by group members. Work out a system to peer review each other’s work, and once revisions are completed, compile everything (image, individual paragraphs, and Works Cited page) on the group blog.

Your completed draft should include the following:

• a copy of your image
• your finalized list of questions
• hyperlinks to all of the sources used
•  about half a dozen well-developed paragraphs (target length about a half a page). Use some visual indication that the paragraphs are distinct units, not a connected essay (perhaps a line of asterisks or another symbol between paragraphs or a box around each paragraph).
• a Works Cited page at the end

CRITERIA FOR GRADING:

• the thoughtfulness, depth, creativity, range of your questions
• the quality of your sources
• the unity and coherence of your paragraphs (be sure to use strong topic sentences and transitional devices, consider the order of information in your paragraph, and make sure there are logical links between each pair of adjoining sentences)
• the accuracy and care with which you follow MLA citation guidelines

NOTE on bonus option: I will give one group grade for the project; however, if you are unsatisfied with the group results, you may write an evaluation your own group’s work as both process and product. If your assessment matches mine, I will raise your individual grade by one full letter grade.