Article Annotation Assignment.

1.  Choose your article to read.  Click here for the instructions for how to research, including a link to the list of topic ideas: https://webs.anokaramsey.edu/janke/researchjournalarticles.htm

Remember your article choice must meet the following criteria:

• Choose an article longer than 10 pages.

• Choose an article from the last 20ish years.

• Do NOT choose something that includes the words "review" as that is going to be a book review or topic review.

• Post your possible article in Contact Linda for approval.  You should have received approval by Wednesday, April 9, which means you should have been in communication with Linda before then.

2.  Print out your article.  You will need to turn it in with the assignment.

3. Make an initial pass at reading the article.  Pay attention to the first couple of paragraphs and the last one.  Do you have a general sense of what the article is about?  Do you know what the author will be arguing (attempting to prove) in the article?  Do you know what types of historical evidence the author will use?  Great!  You're ready to dig in and read it for real.

4.  Read the article, using the highlighting and margin notes we practiced in class. 

• Highlight sparingly.  In other words, do NOT highlight everything. 

• LOOK FOR TOPIC SENTENCES: See if highlighting the first or second sentence of most paragraphs is helpful.  Sometimes the last sentence of a paragraph can also be important. 

• The middle of each paragraph will likely include examples.  You can skim those and try to spot a few that are interesting.  Underline or draw arrows to key pieces of evidence or examples. 

• MARGIN NOTES: You can also summarize what some or all of the paragraphs say.  In other words, be an active reader. Do you have questions or comments about any of the paragraphs?  Remember you will be turning in your article as part of the assignment and you will be graded on demonstrating your "active reading" skills. 
  
  

5.  Once you have finished reading (or while you are reading) fill out the worksheet that is loaded into D2L Materials > Content.  You can download the Word document and fill it in or you can re-type the questions into your own document if you'd prefer.

6.  Prepare to present your article to the class.  Don't sweat the presentation!  You're not graded on giving a speech.  I just want your classmates to hear about the other articles and what you found interesting.  Aim for 2-3 minutes.  In your presentation discuss:

• Why did you decide to search for this topic?

• How did the search process go?

• What does the historian argue in the article?  What is one particularly interesting example or piece of evidence?  Thinking about what you learned, what was new to you?
  

7.  How you will earn points (40 possible)

• 5 points for choosing an article.  Linda is happy to help you search and print if you visit her office hours, but you must locate the article and receive approval yourself.  If you miss the deadline, no problem -- you can still complete the assignment but you'll lose 5 points.

• 10 points for printing, highlighting and margin note-taking on the article.  Bring to class to turn it in.

• 15 points for the worksheet (uploaded to the Assignment Dropbox)

• 10 points for presenting in class
  

8.  Due dates:

Approval of Article Choice: final deadline is Wednesday April 9 at 9 a.m.  Please make sure your choice has been approved BEFORE then!

Final project due, uploaded to D2L Assessments > Assignment Dropbox on April 30 at 9 a.m.

Presentations in class on April 30.