These last two assignments go hand in hand, so please read the instructions carefully as they apply both to the AnnBib and the Persuasive Essay. It is basically one long project, with this Bibliography representing the research/preparation phase, and the essay being the final, fully written result of that research.

For the final two assignments, I want you to consider this prompt: if you could change one thing about El Paso, what would it be? You are welcome to be as narrow or expansive in your focus as you like: you could argue for urban renewal, new energy policies, or some attempt to bring more culture to our city. El Paso is unusual in that it is actually quite a large city but often maintains a small-town personality. Think back on all those times you’ve been infuriated about bad drivers or a lack of entertainment venues (or perhaps more serious issues), and you should have a topic. The one thing I would ask is that your problem should have some sort of human solution, so don’t just say “I’d change the weather” (unless you’re some sort of supervillain).

Coming up with a topic should be easy. After that, I would like you to research your topic and find five different sources pertaining to it. These sources can be anything: books, videos, newspaper articles, blog posts, even a personal interview (though I’d limit that to just one, and it has to be with someone relevant, not just your friends). Almost any source is acceptable, but try your best to include some variety. If I just see five articles from the same author at the El Paso Times, it is going to look pretty underwhelming.

After you have your five sources, I want you to put them all into an Annotated Bibliography. The actual structure of an Annotated Bibliography is explained very clearly in the relevant Norton chapter: you start with an MLA citation of your source, followed by a brief write-up about the source. Note that the first sample AnnBib in the text is quite short. Instead, I’d like your annotations to be three or four good sentences, or about one complete paragraph (meaning about half a page, give or take, for each entry). I want you to answer three questions: WHAT is this source, and WHY and HOW are you using it in your research? If you cover that, you are set. Note that while this is a very technical assignment, it won’t actually take very long to write. There is no page count; just take as much room as you need to follow all of the above instructions thoroughly.