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*Stone, Kate. Brokenburn: The Journal of Kate Stone, 1861-68. edited by John Q. Anderson and forwarded by Drew Gilpin Faust. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995.ISBN-13:9780807120170*Faust, Drew Gilpin. Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War. Durham: The University of North Carolina Press, 1996.ISBN-13:9780807855737Guidelines for Writing Annotated BibliographiesAn annotated bibliography is a list of secondary sources on a specific historical topic which follow the Chicago Manual of Style of bibliographic entries. All ABs need to follow the correct Chicago Manual of Style form. All students must have at least a minimum of 12 sources including 5 Books and 3 scholarly articles and 4 Primary Sources. I suggest the university library to find books and JSTOR (online scholarly source for peer-reviewed articles).Annotations must be between 5-7 sentences and are both descriptive and analytical. All annotations should contain these essential elements:1. Description of the book–that is, what kind of history is it (political, military, social, biography, women’s, etc.) If the author follows some specific methodology, that information should be included (for example, an economic interpretation might include lots of charts, graphs, or economic models); Include the major topics the book explores, which may include a chronological description and scope of the source. If a book only explores the first Day of Gettysburg, that information should be included. Also including in the description should be what kind of primary sources the author relies on, such as newspapers, personal diaries, tax records, personal records, government records, etc. Be very specific in this regard.2. Description of the argument–every secondary source attempts to argue some point of view; all students must read enough (not all) of the source to get the author’s point of view. *Tip*–Most good books and articles include the argument in an introduction or at the very beginning of the work.3. Critical review: includes the analytical portion of the citation; here the author provides a brief assessment on the usefulness of the source (or lack thereof). Here, the annotation may include any glaring strengths or shortcomings; in short, this part of the citation should be a very brief evaluation of the effectiveness in the author’s argument. Claiming that the book or article is useful or interesting is not acceptable; if there is praise or critique, there should be a subsequent explanation. For primary sources–no criticism necessary, just maybe a sentence or two on what exactly is in the primary source, e.g. a description of a letter from a Civil War soldier to his wife before the battle of Gettysburg.The goal of the annotated bibliography is to provide a very brief, quick review of the work (some of the approach should be viewed as analogous to the book review) Suggestions: be very concise, brief, but include all the elements of the annotation. Assignments should run between 6-10 pages, depending on the annotations. Students should not overload the reader with too much information in the annotation, but there should be enough to suffice the three essential elements.A note on the description of the topic: All papers must have a rather precise description of the topic, including the scope, time period, or other important descriptor(s)A further note on Sources: Please do not include non-scholarly (non-peer reviewed) sources for the secondary sources. Stick with Academic journals and books published by University Presses. If you are not sure of a source, ask. Stay away from popular published magazines designed for buffs and not professionals. Book reviews and encyclopedia entries are also not allowed because they are technically not secondary, nor primary sources.Mechanical Requirements: All papers must include the student’s name and topic on a cover sheet and include page numbers on the top right corner of each page. Papers must be written in New Times Roman, 12 point font with 1” to 1.5” margins all around. Keep in mind, citations are SINGLE SPACED, WHEREAS ANNOTATIONS ARE DOUBLE-SPACED. There are no exceptions to these mechanical guidelines.Writing GuidelinesViolating numbers 1-10, especially repeat violations will result in a significant reduction in the grade .1. Write in third person only. Do not use “I,” “we,” “you,” etc.2. Avoid run-on sentences. A run-on exists when two independent clauses are not properly separated. Example: “John did not study his notes he failed history.” When combining two independent clauses into a single sentence, use either a semicolon or a comma with a conjunction. “John did not study his notes; (no comma) he failed history.” Or, “John did not study his notes, so he failed history.”3. Avoid sentence fragments. “Also because they did not want to pay taxes” is not a complete, independent sentence.4. Be careful that the subject and verb agree.5. Pronouns require clear antecedents. “Frank agreed with John when he told him that he should do it.” Who told what to whom? Who should do it? What is “it” anyway? Writing should be clear and precise. Especially be careful using this, that, these, and those. DO NOT begin a sentence with “this” unless “this” has a clear referent following it which allows the reader to know what “this” refers to.6. Do not, under any circumstances, use contractions.7. Do not, under any circumstances, use rhetorical questions.8. Use past tense when referring to historical events. “In 1861, Mississippi seceded [not secedes] from the Union.” “Thomas Paine discussed [not discusses] the evils of monarchy in Common Sense.” Also, avoid subjunctive mood when unnecessary. Example: “Calhoun was to become vice-president in 1828.” He did in fact become vice-president, so simply write, “Calhoun became vice-president in 1828.” Do not under any circumstances, shift verb tense.9. Avoid slang phrases such as “all about,” “he had some issues,” “raise awareness,” etc. Do not use informalities such as “Well, this issue really irritated the colonists,” “Ok, this issue really heated the situation up,” or “The South was, like, irritated with the North.” Formal writing is not the same as chatting in an e-mail. Also, use strong, commanding language. Avoid weak words such as “bad,” “mean,” “a lot,” etc. Do not write like you speak.10. Have some logical semblance of organization, specifically–paragraphs should contain only one idea. Also, a paragraph should contain a minimum of three to five sentences.The rest should be avoided as well, but are minor mistakes compared to the first Ten.11. Beware the comma splice. Example: “John did not study his notes, he failed history.” See #2 for proper handling.12. People deserve personal pronouns. Write, “the boy who [not that] threw the ball.”
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