Annotated Bibliography

Create an annotated bibliography consisting of three (3) works from each of the eight (8) time periods under which the readings are arranged in the course textbook.

Requirements

• Document must be formatted in APA (7th edition) style
• Entries must be alphabetized
• Each work must be cited correctly according to APA guidelines
• Each entry must contain two paragraphs, each 150200 words:
  1. Analytical Summary: A concise overview of the works argument, themes, or purpose
  2. Critical Evaluation: An assessment of the works significance, usefulness, and contribution to the study of African American literature

This option emphasizes breadth of reading, critical evaluation, and scholarly synthesis.

Purpose of This Assignment

The Annotated Bibliography Final Project (Option A) is designed to develop your ability to:

• Read African American literature historically and critically
• Track the development of literary forms across time periods
• Evaluate the significance of key authors and texts within African American literary traditions
• Practice scholarly research, synthesis, and academic writing using APA 7

Rather than producing a single argumentative essay, this option emphasizes breadth, depth, and scholarly evaluation across the full scope of the course.

Assignment Overview

You will create an annotated bibliography consisting of twenty-four (24) total entries:

• Three (3) works from each of the eight (8) historical time periods represented in the course textbook
• All works must come from The Norton Anthology of African American Literature
• Entries must be organized alphabetically by authors last name (not by time period)

Each entry will include:

1. A correctly formatted APA 7 reference entry
2. Two analytical paragraphs that demonstrate literary understanding and scholarly evaluation

What Is an Annotated Bibliography?

A bibliography is a list of sources used for research. In APA style, this list is titled References.

An annotation is a written explanation of a source. In this project, annotations are not summaries only. They require analysis, evaluation, and historical awareness.

An annotated bibliography, therefore, combines:

• Accurate scholarly citation
• Close reading and literary analysis
• Evaluation of a texts cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance

Required Structure for Each Entry

Each annotated entry must contain two paragraphs, each 150200 words.

Paragraph 1: Analytical Summary (What the Text Does)

This paragraph should:

• Identify the author, genre, and historical period
• Explain the central themes, concerns, or formal features of the work
• Situate the text within its historical, cultural, or literary context
• Avoid plot summary beyond what is necessary for analysis

Guiding questions:

• What is the text responding to historically or culturally?
• What literary strategies or forms does the author use?
• What ideas or tensions define the work?

Paragraph 2: Evaluation of Significance (Why the Text Matters)

This paragraph should:

• Evaluate the importance of the work within African American literary history
• Explain how the text contributes to or complicates:
  • African American identity
  • Resistance, survival, or self-definition
  • Literary form, voice, or tradition
• Discuss the works lasting influence, limitations, or scholarly value

Guiding questions:

• Why is this text studied today?
• How does it shape or challenge dominant narratives?
• What does it contribute to the broader tradition of African American literature?

Formatting Requirements (APA 7 Non-Negotiable)

• All entries must follow APA 7th edition
• Use a hanging indent for reference entries
• The section title must be References
• Entries must be alphabetized by authors last name
• Use original publication dates when applicable
  

  APA Formatting Help

example: Wheatley, P. (2016). On being brought from Africa to America. In H. L. Gates Jr. & V. Smith (Eds.), The Norton anthology of African American literature (4th ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. (Original work published 1773)

Wheatleys poem engages eighteenth-century Christian discourse while navigating the constraints placed on an enslaved Black woman writing for a white readership. The poem employs neoclassical structure and religious diction to assert spiritual equality while simultaneously exposing the racial contradictions embedded in Christian ideology. Through subtle irony and controlled tone, Wheatley positions Black salvation as undeniable within a society that denies Black humanity.

The significance of this poem lies in its strategic negotiation of power. Wheatley demonstrates how African American literature emerges not only through protest but through intellectual mastery of dominant forms. Her work complicates assumptions about resistance by revealing how survival, authorship, and faith functioned under extreme constraint. The poem remains central to African American literary study because it challenges readers to reconsider agency, voice, and resistance in early Black writing.

How This Project Prepares You for Advanced Literary Study

Completing Option A prepares you to:

• Write upper-division literary research papers
• Conduct a historically grounded textual analysis
• Evaluate literature beyond personal response
• Engage African American literature as a dynamic, evolving tradition

This project emphasizes critical thinking, precision, and scholarly discipline over opinion or summary.

AVOID:

• Do not list anthology editors as authors unless citing editorial material.
• Do not submit a document that is not alphabetized.
• Do not submit entries without two full paragraphs.
• Do not submit paragraphs under 150 words or over 250 words.
• Do not rely on general web sources for interpretationyour annotations must be your own analysis of the primary texts.

WRITE MY PAPER