College Composition II

Guidelines for formal assignment three (annotated bibliography for final research paper)

Description: This assignment is an annotated bibliography, which will help to prepare you for your fourth formal assignment, the final research paper. You will need to choose a television show or film from the list below. Choose one film, one episode of a film-length television show, two episodes of a short television show, or, if you’re feeling adventurous, an entire season of a continuing television show (in which the plot spans over an entire season).

Watch the show or film and then, using the Power Point on research as a guideline, use the library databases and/or APPROPRIATE, SCHOLARLY online sources to research books or scholarly articles on detective fiction that can be applied to the show or film.

I want to be VERY clear: you are NOT searching for reviews of the show or film. In rare instances, you MAY find a scholarly article that is specifically about your show or film (particularly in the case of the older films), but most of what you will find will be in line with the types of assignments we have already done, i.e., applying articles about detective fiction in general to the show or film of your choice. For example, you might find articles about the qualities of a detective character, the way detective fiction plots are constructed, etc. and discuss how these are reflected in your chosen show or film.

You will need at least THREE article or book sources, and only ONE of these can be taken from our text book.

Compose a formal annotated bibliography IN MLA FORMAT. You should have a separate entry for each article or book that discusses in detail what is included in the article/book, how you know that it is a reliable source, and why it will be useful for your final research paper. An example of MLA annotation style can be found at:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/03/

Most of the series or films can be found on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Go, or PBS On Demand. A few can also be found on Youtube.

Film-length television shows (one episode):
“Inspector Morse”
“Lewis”
“Endeavour”
“Wire in the Blood”
“Prime Suspect”
“Jack Taylor”
“Sherlock”
“Inspector George Gently”
“Foyle’s War”
“Columbo”
“Vera”
“DCI Banks”
“A Touch of Frost”
“Wallander”
“Shetland”
“Rebus”
“Hinterland”
“The Brokenwood Mysteries”
“Silent Witness”
“River”
“Single Handed”
“Touching Evil”
“Midsomer Murders”

Short television shows (two episodes)
“Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries”
“Poirot”
“Grantchester”

Continuing television shows (entire season)
“Broadchuch”
“The Killing”
“The Wire”
“True Detective”
“Luther”
“Ripper Street”
“Happy Valley”
“Whitechapel”
“The Fall”
“The Bletchley Circle”

Films:
Chinatown
The Big Sleep
The Maltese Falcon
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Thin Man

Audience: Your audience is composed of me and your fellow students. We may not be familiar with the articles/books you are using, so quotes and paraphrases may be necessary—but be sure to avoid using LONG quotes that overwhelm your own argument.

Objectives:
1. To develop your ability to find, read, assess, choose, analyze, and respond to sources
2. To develop your critical thinking skills
3. To develop your skills at following process steps to construct a research paper in a clear and effective manner

Components of assignment: For this assignment, you will need to find, use, and cite THREE sources (articles or books) in MLA format.

Strategies for completing assignment: Make sure—way ahead of time—that you are familiar with and understand the articles/books you will be using and that they will be useful for your final research paper.

Schedule for submission:

 

Other details:
Length: 500 words
Annotated bibliographies must be word-processed, double-spaced, 12 point, with one-inch margins. Please provide a separate title page with the title of your topic, your name, my name, the course number, and the date of submission.
Grading criteria:
1. Structure—do your annotations follow a logical progression of information or do they jump back and forth between topics? Are you repeating yourself frequently?
2. Appropriateness of sources
3. Evidence that you have thoroughly familiarized yourself with the articles/books you have chosen and have considered critically why they will be useful for your research paper
4. Grammar, sentence structure, paragraph structure, proper format for MLA citations

Last Updated on March 13, 2020

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