Annotated Bibliography:

Evaluating Sources Assignment

Weighting: 5%

Sources: 5 (at least THREE of which must be academic)

Assignment description

Find five sources that are linked to the Fourth Industrial Revolution tech debate that you are writing about for Essay 3. Evaluate each one of them individually, then explain how they give you a comprehensive view of the issue you are writing about and how they give you enough information and evidence to take the position you hold.

Steps in the process

1. Write up a 100 word description of the topic you have chosen, related to the tech debate you are writing about. Include:
   1. Topic
   2. Background on controversy
   3. Well-defined, arguable prompt (question)
   4. Your stance (draft a thesis statement)
2. Choose five sources that are linked to the topic you are writing about. As you do so, consider that you want to present a comprehensive view of the debate you are writing about. Think about how the sources you are choosing complement each other, like pieces of a puzzle, and how they represent the complexities of the issue. Make sure to include at least one source that will present a counterargument. Before selecting each source, make sure that it meets the CRAAP test that we talked about earlier in the semester.
3. List your chosen sources, numbered and in alphabetical order, citing each one correctly using MLA style.
4. Below each citation, write a paragraph about each source. Start with a one-sentence summary of the source to briefly introduce it, and then evaluate it in a few sentences, showing how it meets the CRAAP test and considering some of the questions below. End with a couple of sentences explaining how you plan to use the source in your essay to support your line of argument.

General questions to answer about each source to help you with your assignment (See also the questions below about text, author, reader, context, argument and content).

NOTE: You do not need to address all these questions by any means -- these are just some of the questions that writers ask themselves as they evaluate and select sources they are going to use. You can choose to answer any of these questions in each paragraph that you think are most helpful in presenting an evaluation of the source.

• What kind of language does the author use?
• What type of examples or evidence is provided by the author?
• What types of reasoning/appeals are being employed?
• What does the text, its language, and its message mean to the larger world? Does the text raise any issues that are directly relevant to you?
• What might be the motivations for what is being said? (There are probably LOTS of reasons.)
• How has the text succeeded or failed to persuade its audience and to achieve the purpose for which it was intended?

Some possible points of comparison (in terms of):

• The kind of information being presented
• The kind of sources (academic, newspaper article, blog, opinion piece, survey, etc.)
• The arguments that are being made
• The use of appeal(s) (Does the text strike its audience’s intellect, emotion, or both?)
• The intended audience? Profile them. How are they different?
• The kind of evidence that is used to support the argument(s)
• Whether the source considers possible opposing viewpoints. If not, what might these be?
• Whether the argument/message is convincing. Whether they consider possible opposing viewpoints and what might be excluded from each.

Questions about the text

• What genre is the text? How does that shape its structure and style?
• What tone does the writer take toward the issue? What specific phrases, figures of speech or sentence structures convey this tone?
• What is the physical medium through which the reader will encounter the text? (Book, paper magazine article, online pdf, internet article, etc.) Does that impact the structure or style of the piece?

Questions about the author

• Who is the author? Knowing about the author allows us to have an idea on how he/she thinks. What is the author’s educational background? Where did the author work before? (In order to make sure he is not targeting to benefit the party or the organization he was working for). If the author is affiliated with a reputable institution or organization, what are its values and goals? Do they benefit financially by promoting a particular view? What other works has the author published?
• What is the author’s purpose in writing this? What are their motives/agenda? Sources are rarely objective, that’s why we have to see the sources motives to better understand what they’re telling us. This can lead us to identify the bias as well.
• What needs or concerns might be influencing the writer? Why might he/she have chosen to write about this topic? Do they have anything “at stake” in taking this position or writing about this subject?
• What assumptions does the writer make about the audience or the topic? Does the writer assume his/her reader agrees or disagrees with him/her?
• What does the author VALUE? If he/she is opposed to something, what might he/she favour instead?

Questions about the reader

• What is the reader’s (or your) purpose in reading this?
• Who is the intended reader or audience? (How do you know?)
• What lenses (theoretical frameworks) do we readers view the text with? What assumptions do we make about his/her meaning?
• What does the reader VALUE? Are those values in harmony or conflict with those of the writer? Identify the values that might conflict.

Questions about the context(s)

• What is the historical context shaping the text? When was this text written in relation to other important writings on the subject? What historical events have influenced the writing?
• What is the social context shaping this text? Who is the author in relation to his/her readers? Is this an authority figure, a scholar, a journalist? How does that affect your interpretation of the text?
• What is the cultural context shaping this text? Is the author a member of a particular group or nationality? Does that affect his/her position? Does the text reveal cultural biases?

General questions about the argument and content

• What “conversation” is this text part of? What are the key terms necessary to understand the debate? Who are the main “players” involved in discussing this issue?
• What claim is being made? What are the main points the writer presents?
• Does it agree with logical reasoning? Does it make sense? Some news simply doesn’t agree with logical reasoning. Yet, people believe it just because it satisfies their desires and agrees with what they wish and want to hear.
• Where is the main source of the information and where is the evidence? What evidence is used to support those claims? Is it sufficient and reliable? Where did the author obtain their information from? Is the information limited to a study of a small group or larger group of people? Is it first-hand (observed by the source directly) or second-hand information (observed by someone else)? Is it reliable?
• Are there fallacies in the report?
• What are the implications of the writer’s position if you were to carry it out? What would be the outcome of taking this position or course of action?

Grading:

You will be graded based on the Annotated Bibliography grading rubric attached below.