Create an Annotated Bibliography & Evaluate a Source

Evaluate a Source

For this essay, you will select one of the sources you have found through your preliminary research about your research topic. Which source you choose is up to you; however, it should be substantial enough that you will be able to talk about it at length, and intricate enough that it will keep you (and your reader) interested.

The introduction of this paper will involve introducing the source: Provide the author, the title, and the context (where you found the source, where it was originally published, who sponsored it, etc.)

You will then go on to evaluate the source on two levels:

1. Credibility: Using the information in this unit as a guide, evaluate the source’s authenticity and reliability. Look at all the information that you can find about the source to establish the author’s (or sponsor’s) trustworthiness.
2. Usefulness: Using a combination of summary and analysis, examine the source on a critical level. Determine what the source’s purpose (thesis) is, and how it arrives at that goal. Examine its value to you and the project you are working on. How will it help you prove your own points? How might it come in handy to back up a claim (or address a counter-claim)?Finally, you will include a conclusion which shows your final assessments on both counts.
   

   Create an Annotated Bibliography

   ASSIGNMENT: Using your research question, working thesis, and outline from(Is A College Degree Worth Its Price), create an annotated bibliography that provides a synopsis of your sources and an explanation of how you will use them. Your assignment, include answers to all of the following reflection questions.

   1. Accurately recording bibliographic information is essential and saves you time, as you can transfer this information to the References page of your drafted essay. Each source entry should include a brief summary of the source as well as 3-4 sentences describing how you intend to use that source to build or support your argument. Discuss how your annotated bibliography meets these criteria. (2-3 sentences)
   2. Which strategies were most helpful for you when searching for credible sources? (2-3 sentences)
   3. What difficulties did you face while searching for credible sources? How did you overcome these difficulties? (2-3 sentences)