At this point you should have a relatively detailed understanding of the problem you have been exploring and should have accumulated quite a few different sources. However, it is unlikely that you will be, and most likely should not be, using all the sources that you’ve researched (Remember that the you must use a minimum of 6-8 sources four of which must be scholarly. While you may of course include more, this is a relatively short paper and too many sources can oftentimes be overwhelming within such constraints. Generally speaking, you should try to have, at most, no more than 10-12 sources for a paper this size, though this is not always the case.) The purpose of this assignment is to get you to review and critically engage the various source materials you have researched up until this point and decide, albeit tentatively, which sources you will be including in your Contexts Project paper.Please make sure to complete all of the following aspects:
Part 1:
State your problem:
As clearly and succinctly as possible, I’d like you to state the key problem that you’ve chosen to examine. I’d also like you to make this as specific as possible.
For example, “Video games make children violent,” is clear, but also pretty vague. The statement “First-person military simulators are shown to discourage empathy and a sensitivity to violence in teenage males” gives me a much clearer picture of specifically what you’re going to be looking at in your paper.
Remember that we’re not stating proposed solutions (yet!) — we’re just exploring all of the facets of a particular problem so that we can analyze and evaluate the efforts to address or fix the problem in the Advocacy Project.
State your guiding questions:
What do you think are the most important questions you will need to address in your presentation of this problem?
For example, if your problem is the one above regarding violent video games, what are the relevant questions we’ll need to ask about violent video games and their possible effects? What are we going to need to ask about the way these games are designed and marketed? What will we need to ask regarding the history of the problem?
For instance, in the 2011 supreme court case Brown vs. Entertainment Merchants Association, the court struck down a California law banning the sale of certain violent video games to children without parental supervision. Thus, a potential question could be the following: “Why did the supreme court pass the ruling it did and how does it affect the nature of the problem in our contemporary situation?”
Describe the historical aspects of your topic:
What are the important events, cases, products, or arguments that will help us understand this problem as it exists now?
What cases or ideas do your sources trace back in time to substantiate their arguments about the contemporary problems and questions at hand?
Can you offer reasons for why the historical aspects are important?
Show how the problem has developed over time in order to contextualize both its evolution up until the present and its relevance to the present.
4. Describe the different sides of this argument:
Remember, you’re not trying to take a side just yet, but rather to present all the perspectives on the issue.
What are the dominant positions? Do your sources disagree with each other? On what particular aspect do they agree or disagree? Depending on your project, this task will be easier for some.
For instance, you won’t find a scholar out there arguing that the misogynistic behavior in online game communities is a positive thing. Rather, try to focus on the specific aspects of each project and note where any similarities or discrepancies arise.
On the other hand, if you are doing violence and video games, you will find reputable scholars who argue that there is no effect and others that argue that there is. You will want to begin thinking about which side you believe is correct and why you think so.
Part 2:
Include all of the annotated bibliography entries you have completed thus far in alphabetical order. (FYI There should be at least 13 by now.) However, rather than simply copy and pasting the entries I want you to revise and augment them according to the following guidelines:
Please identify whether or not you will be including each source in your CP paper. Please explain and justify, as detailed as possible, why or why not you will be using a particular source.
What materials will you be incorporating from the source?
2a. Data, historical info/contextualization, contemporary info/contextualization, cited/quoted research or points from other people the author mentions, conclusions/analyses regarding the causes/effects of the problem, etc.2b. Why are you choosing to include those materials? How are those materials intended to function in relation to your project? Is it meant to establish the individual or social harm resulting from the specific problem? Does it explain why the problem exists or how it came about? Does it help you establish the relevance of the problem as it exists in our contemporary situation? Perhaps it helps you demonstrate one or more of the various perspectives, debates, or conversations held on your specific problem?While the above guidelines are merely starting points and you do not need to address each, I suggest you try to include as much specific material as is reasonable from each source you will be including in your final paper. Don’t be afraid to quote here. This specific assignment might usefully be viewed as a pre-rough draft for your actual rough draft wherein you should try to critically navigate your research material with your specific project and goal in mind. While you are free to pull phrases or lines from the annotated bibliography entries you have already completed, please try to revise and augment those original entries as much as possible with more specific details from the texts. This will help you tremendously with the overall drafting process.Please email me if you have any additional questions or need further clarification.