Entire Libraries in our Pockets

Professor Introduction: The Annotated Bibliography Research in Progress for English 1301: Composition 1 Faculty Mentor: Lisa Roy-Davis Ph.D. The following papers represent research work begun by students in English 1301, the first course in the 2-semester composition sequence at Collin College. Students in 1301 are introduced to the concept of academic research by learning to ask research-focused questions and then use the library resources to find sources that provide answers. In what follows, students have chosen research questions based on their areas of interest and expertise and then assembled a group of 5 sources that begin to answer those questions. Being able to write this work involves close reading of textual sources, notetaking and working on summary and analysis skills so that the arguments and focus of each work can be adequately represented in each annotation. Proper citation format must also be followed. Students are also encouraged to see the connections between the sources by including sentences that indicate how the authors might engage each other’s ideas in conversation. The annotated bibliography assignment is separate from a research paper in that it works to focus students on finding and understanding sources before the research paper writing process begins. In this way, students are encouraged to understand the research process as a first step taken separately from the research paper composition process. Students are also encouraged to connect the work done on this project to other research projects in the disciplines they aim to major in