CSULB Effects of the COVID 19 Pandemic on The Economy and Financial Markets Essay

Purpose: To help you refine your research topic and collect sources for your research project, you will create an annotated bibliography. Annotations are notes or explanations, a bibliography is a list of sources, so an annotated bibliography is a list of sources with notes/explanations about each source.

However, we will be taking the idea of an annotated bibliography one step further. Our final product will be a multimodal presentation of our annotated bibliographies. Rather than work with traditional mediums or programs like PowerPoint, we will be working with Prezi, videos, and other modes of expression.

In this module, we will consider how to present information objectively but still with rhetorical effect. While our first project (Researching Rhetorically) asked us to learn about the topic, consider our personal learning, and examine digital media as potential sources, this project will help us to improve our ability to influence others with research. We will also learn the basics of how to conduct primary research and examine effective ways to discuss that research in different contexts.

Project Overview: This project will take place in 6 parts:

• 1. Research Proposal – Write an initial statement of your research topic. In about 200 words, describe your research topic, why you are interested in this topic, and what specific question(s) you want to explore through your research.

• 2. Sources 1-4: Collect four sources for your research project and write a citation for each source. For each source, write a ~200-400 word annotation. Each annotation should include:
  • A summary of the main ideas of the source
  • An explanation of how the source relates to your research topic
  • An explanation of how the source relates/does not relate to your other sources

You might also choose to describe what new/different information this source provides, explain weaknesses/strengths of the source, and/or tell what about the source you find interesting. These annotations should be as objective, professional, and formal as possible. Conciseness and emphasis of essential information will also be important here.

• 3. Primary Research Draft: Create a detailed plan for the original primary research you will conduct during the project. Recommended methods include: interviews, observations, or surveys. For whichever method you choose, you will identify your target participants, the medium you will use to perform the research, and what questions or observation metrics you will analyze.

• 4. Research Results: After conducting your study, compose a results and discussion section that explains the detailed results of your study and discusses what those results might mean or imply. (You will also be responsible for submitting documentation that you completed the research)

• 5. Class Presentation: After completing all of the previous sections, use that content to create a 4-6 minute multimodal presentation you will deliver to the class. Although all of your annotations and research results will be included in the presentation, you shouldn’t necessarily read through every word during your presentation. Instead, consider what information is most important for your audience, which pieces of evidence will have the strongest rhetorical effect, how you can keep your audience engaged, and what visual aids or visual rhetoric you can use to support this presentation. Specifically, consider the following the questions as you design your presentation:
  • Should certain sources be grouped together, based on how similar or different they are from one another?
  • How can I incorporate visual aspects such as images and colors to enhance my written annotations?
  • Should certain sources or ideas appear bigger or smaller than others, based on their connection to my research topic?
  • What does my audience NEED to know about this topic?

• 6. Project Reflection: Write a revised statement of your research topic and an explanation of your design choices during the project.
  • In about 250 words, consider the research you’ve done and write a revised statement of your research. Now that you have explored more about this topic, how can you make your research topic more specific and/or more focused? Which of the sources in your annotated bibliography will you most definitely use in your research and why? Which of the sources in your annotated bibliography are you less likely to use and why?
  • In about 250 words, explain the design choices you made while creating your presentation. How does your presentation showcase the ways in which the sources relate to one another and to the research topic? How does your use of visuals such as images and colors make sense given the content of your annotations and/or your research focus? In this short writing, you should make specific references to your presentation so that I can see the exact design choices you made.

Criteria for Success:

This writing project will be evaluated based on the following questions:

• Does each annotation summarize the source, focusing in on the main and most relevant ideas?
• Does each annotation relate the source to the research topic and tell how the source relates/doesn’t relate to the other sources?
• Does the design of the presentation showcase the way in which the sources relate to one another and the research topic?
• Does the presentation include visual elements such as images and colors that enhance the written annotations?
• Does the initial statement of research topic offer a thoughtful explanation of the the research topic, including why you are interested in the topic and what specific question(s) you want to explore through your research?
• Does the revised statement of research topic highlight the ways in which the research focus has evolved as a result of the research, including an explanation of which sources you will use and those you might not?
• Does the explanation of design choices make specific references to the presentation so that I can understand your rationale for the design choices you made?
• Does the project show evidence of thorough proofreading and editing?