American comics vs. Japanese manga

The Annotated Bib
Your Annotated Bib will be made up of two key parts: an abstract and annotations. You’ll really get to show off your summary skills on this assignment! If that’s an area where you know you struggle, it will really help to review Ch. 2 in They Say/I Say – “Her Point Is:” The Art of Summarizing.

Abstract
Your bib will start with a brief presentation of your research topic for this project – an Abstract. Essentially, your Abstract should read like the abstracts you’ve seen on scholarly articles. You can think of the abstract as a more formal way of covering some of the issues you addressed in the topic analysis. As this is a summary, I do not expect to see any direct quotes from your research – this should be an opportunity for you, the writer, to summarize your topic for me, the reader.

The Abstract will be a concise summary of your topic that

explains how your topic relates to writing/literacy
details where you plan on taking your topic and
includes your tentative thesis statement
It will help to look at the two scholarly articles in Module 6 as you put together your abstract. The abstract for “Learning to be Literate” is a bit too brief for our needs, as it’s mostly key phrases, but it can give you an idea of the type of information typically included in an abstract. Lancaster’s abstract in “Do Academics Really Write This Way? A Corpus Investigation of Moves and Templates in They Say/I Say” is closer to what you want to aim for here. Yes, his abstract is pretty long, but as you read it, you can see how clear it is – we have a good idea of where he’s going to take us just by reading that paragraph.

Your Abstract must be one detailed, cohesive paragraph and at least 100 words long.

Annotations
Following your Abstract, you will present your research as an Annotated Bibliography. This may be different from Annotated Bibs you’ve done in the past, as we’re going to focus more on vetting our sources instead of just providing a summary. It’s important to think critically about where our sources come from, when they were written, and how they’ll work for our project goals. You’ll find a sample annotation for a scholarly source following this page (Annotated Bib Example 7.1.2)

You must include the following information for every source (5):
Full MLA citation: You must use MLA 8th edition for all Works Cited entries.
The Little Seagull Handbook we’re using this term has the updated format, and so do sources like The Purdue Owl (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/11/ (Links to an external site.)).
DO NOT RELY ON CITATION GENERATORS. They are typically wrong.
Summary: Each summary must be at least 100 words and include the following information:
Database Information: Identify the specific database used (not just the host name) to find the source and explain why it’s acceptable for your research. Keep in mind that general web sources will not be acceptable for this project.
Source Information: Identify the journal or publication the source was found in and explain why it’s an acceptable and credible source for your research. Do some digging and find out a bit more information about the journal like academic affiliation, focus, etc.
Date: Identify the publication date for the article, and discuss the relevance the publication date has on the information provided in the source. It’s best to keep sources current, especially on this type of project. If it’s an older article (10+ years), explain why this would still be a helpful source for your project.
Summary and Purpose: Provide a summary of the source, focusing on explaining the author’s main point. Do not use any direct quotes in your summary – follow the guidelines for creating effective summaries in They Say/I Say (ch. 2). Additionally, explain how this source will help with your specific project.
Your Annotated Bib must present at least 5 scholarly sources and each summary must be at least 100 words.

Format
The Annotated Bib must follow MLA 8th edition format exactly.
Use your book – avoid the urge to simply make-up Works Cited entry format!
Avoid the urge to rely on citation generators that often come with word processing programs or ones found online.
Unfortunately, they are often inaccurate and lead to lost points on important assignments.
They are a great way to collect the information needed for your works cited page, but you need to review them carefully and edit as needed.
As this is a working bibliography, it is expected that all entries will be presented in alphabetical order – either by the author’s last name or by title as necessary.
Review the MLA chapters in your handbook for more information about setting up a Works Cited page.
The ENC1101 Lab has an extensive unit on MLA formatting.
Your Annotated Bib should be set up similar to a standard MLA style document
This includes using proper page numbers, double-spacing, a title, and a heading.
For overall formatting tips, review the “Formal Essay Submissions Guidelines” handout.
For heading example, see the syllabus.
Do not underline the title or put it in “quotation marks,” italics, or bold.
The title can simply be Annotated Bib or you could opt to try out your research project title.
Write in standard, formal English, using no slang or contractions.
Use of second-person perspective (“you”) is not appropriate or acceptable on this assignment.
Submission Information
The Annotated Bib must be submitted via the appropriately labeled drop box available in our Canvas course page. The link will become available prior to the submission deadline.
You must save your paper as a Microsoft Word document. If you are using a different program, make sure to “save as” and select either .doc (or .docx) or .pdf as your file type.
Late formal assignment submissions will be accepted per the policy listed in the course syllabus – all late submissions are subject to a significant grade deduction.
Follow the formatting guidelines carefully, reviewing the notes in the “Formal Essay Submission Guidelines” presentation as needed.
All submissions will be reviewed by Turnitin.com automatically upon submission.
Review your originality report once it’s available.
The ENC1101 Lab includes a module to help you understand your report.
Papers receiving high originality scores will not be accepted.
In certain cases, revisions will be allowed for a reduced grade.
In extreme cases, plagiarized submissions will be reported to Academic Affairs for further review.
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Annotated Bib Checklist
An Annotated Bibliography is a very technical document – it requires strict adherence to formatting, understanding numerous scholarly sources, and the ability to synthesize each source in a concise summary. There’s a lot to do, and it will be so important to follow instructions carefully. When you start to put together your bibs, I would recommend starting with your heading, title, and page numbers. This should have the same formatting as any standard paper in that regard. It’s best to start with your abstract and follow with your citations and summary statements. Some students opt to give both sections a separate title, and that’s fine. If you want to just stick with one title, that’s fine, too. That much is up to you!

As you finalize your Annotated Bib, use the following checklist to make sure you’ve completed all the assignment requirements:

Requirement Yes No
At least five scholarly sources
Sources listed alphabetically by author (or title as necessary)
Works Cited entries follow MLA 8th edition precisely
Summaries include all listed information from the instructions
Summaries do not include any direct quotations and are entirely in your own words
Summaries all meet the individual word count requirement
Sources are all scholarly in nature
At least 5 sources listed come from the SSC databases
The assignment includes proper heading
The assignment includes proper page numbers
The assignment includes the proper title (Annotated Bib is fine)
The document is free of grammar/sentence structure errors

Nothing is plagiarized

The document includes an abstract as required

Abstract meets the word count requirement
Abstract clearly supports an approved topic related to writing/literacy
Sources clearly support an approved topic related to writing/literacy

You feel confident and proud of the work you’re submitting

Although you don’t have to submit this checklist, I strongly suggest you actually reference it before submitting your bib. I find that so many students submit what really seems to be a first draft – overall, more polish and better development is really needed. Take the time to review everything before submitting your work – you want to feel good about what you’ve done and feel proud of your efforts.
– where did the origins of comic books begin?

– how do they differ from culture to culture?

– what the inspiration for comic book writers?