SUNY Fredonia
Division of Arts and Humanities
ENGL 106: The English Major--An Introduction
Spring 2008
TTh 9:30-10:50 am
Fenton 175
Office: Fenton 265; TTh 3:30-4:30, W 9-12, F 1-4:30, and by appointment; 673-3856
E-mail: simon@fredonia.edu (work days); brucesimon18@yahoo.com (other)
Web Page: www.fredonia.edu/department/english/simon/
Course ANGEL Space: https://angel.fredonia.edu/frames.aspx

On the Annotated Bibliographies, Spring 2008

This page takes on two important questions about the annotated bibliographies you will write this semester in this course: what and what for; it also includes an assignment sheet for both annotated bibliographies. My goal is to make this page as useful to you as possible, so let me know if it can be improved. If anything is badly worded, unclear, or missing, please contact me with constructive criticisms and suggestions. Ditto for any questions you may have about any of the options listed below. Thanks.

What

Your annotated bibliography should represent the research you do into what other English departments are, and/or what individual scholars believe English departments should be, trying for and requiring. In each annotated bibliography, you will follow the format laid out in Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Chapter 5, and add a concise annotation after each entry in which you summarize/categorize the source (on departmental goals/mission statements for the first bibliography and graduation requirements for the second) and compare it to what we do at Fredonia (its pros/cons, strengths/weaknesses, costs/benefits relative to ours).

What For

Doing these annotated bibliographies gives you the opportunity to practice and develop your research and writing skills, to compare what we do at Fredonia with what is done in other English departments, and to help you develop your own perspective on the field that you can use in selecting courses and setting personal goals. By seeing what other English departments are shooting for and requiring of their students, you should get a better perspective on our own department and how you can use it to help you set and achieve your goals. With the first annotated bibliography's focus on how different departments understand and explain their role/function/contribution and the second's on how different departments prioritize certain courses through graduation requirements, you'll gain a broad perspective on what it means to be an English major. And you'll exercise such critical thinking skills as analysis, comparison, and evaluation in the process.

Assignment Sheet: Annotated Bibliography I

Due: Monday, February 25, 2008, by 11 pm on the course ANGEL sitefs discussion board

Task: Use all relevant search tools to find examples of goals/objectives or mission/vision statements of a range of English departments. Look for patterns in what you find and try to come up with models/paradigms and representative examples of each. Present in an annotated bibliography the representative examples, with annotations that summarize/categorize them and compare them to what we aim for at Fredonia (their pros/cons, strengths/weaknesses, costs/benefits relative to ours), in a format that accords with the conventions explained in Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Chapter 5. Include only as many representative examples as you need to illustrate the range of English models/paradigms for goals/mission statements.

Format: page length open; double spaced, with reasonable fonts, font sizes, and margins; heading that includes your name, the course name or number, and the date; bibliography and citations in MLA style.

Criteria for Evaluation: I will be grading your annotated bibliography in terms of how well you summarize/categorize and compare/contrast in your annotations, how well you apply and use MLA format, and how well your writing and formatting work (including diction, grammar, syntax, punctuation).

Assignment Sheet: Annotated Bibliography II

Due: Monday, March 17, 2008, by 11 pm on the course ANGEL sitefs discussion board

Task: Use all relevant search tools to find examples of graduation requirements of a range of English departments. Look for patterns in what you find and try to come up with models/paradigms and representative examples of each. Present in an annotated bibliography the representative examples, with annotations that summarize/categorize them and compare them to what we require at Fredonia (their pros/cons, strengths/weaknesses, costs/benefits relative to ours), in a format that accords with the conventions explained in Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Chapter 5. Include as many representative examples as you need to illustrate the range of English models/paradigms for graduation requirements.

Format: page length open; double spaced, with reasonable fonts, font sizes, and margins; heading that includes your name, the course name or number, and the date; bibliography and citations in MLA style.

Criteria for Evaluation: I will be grading your annotated bibliography in terms of how well you summarize/categorize and compare/contrast in your annotations, how well you apply and use MLA format, and how well your writing and formatting work (including diction, grammar, syntax, punctuation).