ENGL 309 Fall 2019

1. Annotated Bibliography for White Paper
(50 points)
For many students, “research” is another word for “find quotes that support what I already think.”
As you can guess, this is not the definition of research that we’ll be using for the White Paper
assignment. Rather, research is a process of inquiry, meaning that you read sources to help
identify, define, and “give presence to” a problem for a specific group of professionals.
This assignment is designed to give you a jump-start on the White Paper assignment, in which you’ll
be identifying and solving a problem for a specific professional audience.
Thus, you should focus your research on finding evidence to prove that there actually IS a problem
(the main thing you need to convince your audience of). What that looks like depends on your
problem and your audience.
INSTRUCTIONS
Your bibliography should include substantive sources (news stories, opinion pieces, academic
journal articles, policy reports, etc.) on your topic. General things like fact sheets, Wikipedia
entries, “About X” statements, etc. do not count as sources.
Your annotated bibliography should have a minimum of 12 sources.
Each entry should include the following [see the example below]:
1. The complete citation in whatever format you plan to use for the white paper: typically,
either MLA or APA (the website Citation Machine can help you with this, though entries on
the University library site typically also give you the citation formatted however you like).

2. 2. A brief summary or overview of the source, using this format (filling in the italicized
prompts): "In this article, [the author] argues/comments/discusses/writes that [main
point/purpose of piece]. What I find most interesting in this source is [whatever you find
most interesting or useful].”
3. In a titled section called “Relevance to problem,” explain what this source shows about the
problem you’re attempting to identify or define for your audience.
4. A list of direct quotes (keep track of page numbers, access date, etc.) that you might use in
your white paper.
At least six of these must be scholarly (academic, peer reviewed) sources. You will highlight these
sources in your annotated bibliography (like this).
EXAMPLE ENTRY (MLA format)
Citation
Brazier, J.S. “Clostridiumdifficile: fromobscurity to superbug.” British Journalof
BiomedicalScience 65:1 (2008), pp 39-44.DOI:
10.1080/09674845.2008.11732796
In this article, Brazier explains how C. diff became one of the mostdifficult
nosocomialinfections to cure, owing to the increasein antibiotics use.
Relevance toproblem: This is a great specific example showing the direct link
between the overuseof antibiotics to the risein bacteria that are resistantto all
currentantibiotics, otherwiseknown as “super-bugs.” I’llalso be able to use the
example of C. diff to show how infections spread via hospitals.
List of relevant direct quotes:
 “This hypervirulentstrain of C. difficile, which is deficient in genes that
downregulatetoxin production, has been responsiblefor severe,
sometimes fatal, colitis in adults”(39).
 “The increasing prevalence of C. diff infections can be directly traced to
the overprescription of antibiotics by general practitioners and the faulty
use of antibiotics among patients”(40).