Annoted Bibliography

Instructions:

Each student will create an annotated bibliography of five critical studies pertaining to the works or themes related to the course. Critical articles and essays can be found by performing a search of databases such as the MLA Bibliography. If an article is found in a journal or book not available at the GVSU library or online, you can request it through Inter Library Loan. It’s important to remember that it might take up to two weeks or more to receive it; therefore you should begin your research as soon as possible.

Once I have collected your annotated bibliography (please deliver it on the day indicated on the syllabus in electronic form [diskette or e-mail), it will be published on the course web site as a resource for ideas and sources for the final paper.

Content and Organization:

Each entry should be headed with the bibliographical information according to the format of MLA or Chicago Style. Each entry should be listed in alphabetical order. Your commentary should consist of two paragraphs for each entry: a paragraph that summarizes the ideas and thesis of the author and another that critically evaluates the article.

The information that follows is based on: “Apéndice 1: El Ensayo Crítico" de Aproximaciones al estudio de la literatura hispánica (New York: Mc-Graw Hill, 1994: 390). This guide consists of a series of questions that you should answer about each critical study. NB: these questions are meant to serve only as a guide to help you look for the correct information, it is not acceptable to just answer the questions, you should organize the information into coherent paragraphs.

1. What is the thesis or central focus of the article?

2. Does the author use a certain critical approach? Is it formalist or extra textual?  Define or explain how the critic approaches the text? You can find examples of different critical approaches on this page this page.

3. Does the critica effectively defend his/her position? Why or why not?

4. Are you as reader in agreement with the interpretation or analysis of the critic? Do you share the same ideas or a different view, perhaps even a contradictory view?

5. A critical study/article presents a specific viewpoint about a literary work or theme. What are other ways that the work or topic can be studied?

6. Are there problems with the article that make its reading/comprehension difficult? (For example, problems of organization, use of a very specialized vocabulary- careful! It is important to distinguish between a critical vocabulary that is necessary for the analysis and an excess of jargon that tends to confuse).

7. General evaluation: ¿Does the article/study help us to understand the subject or not?? Does it enrich our reading of the text or topic? ¿Is it useful for further study of the text or topic?