Guidelines and Expectations
Your informal proposal should have the following basic components:
APA Title Page
Draft introduction (double spaced), ending with thesis statement/statement of purpose
Note that this is a rough draft: the final draft of your introduction may be quite different
Draft outline of Body Paragraphs (following the draft introduction, may be in point form, may begin on the same page and continue on to the next page, as necessary).
Note that your outline may change/evolve as you continue to work on your report: think of this as your starting point
Annotated bibliography (should begin on new page)
APA reference-list entry for sources related to your chosen topic
min. 4 credible/academic sources
Note that references must alphabetized with a hanging indent
Include peer reviewed sources when possible
Description/analysis of each source (indented), including
Summary of key points,
Critical evaluation (reliability/credibility, bias, methodological strength/weakness, etc.), and
Explanation of connection to your argument.
(the assignment requires 4 annotations)
Below is an (imaginary) example of the basic elements of an annotation for an article:
Jackson, V.I. (2019). An analysis of handwashing practices in hospital settings. Journal of Infection Control, 15(3), 8-16. doi:10.1108/03090560710821161
This primary source is a result of a study conducted at several large Canadian hospitals. Here, Jackson (2013) showed that although mandatory infection-control videos on handwashing practices are not effective for reducing the spread of hospital transmitted infections, more accessible handwashing stations do significantly reduce infection rates. Jackson’s research does seem credible: it was published in a mainstream medical journal, The Journal of Infection Control, it is relatively recent (2013), the biographical note indicates that Jackson is a professor of epidemiology at The University of Western Ontario, and the paper itself indicates that it was peer reviewed. One minor weakness of this source, which the author notes, is that the study relied on relatively small sample sizes in a small number of physical settings; Jackson acknowledges that more research is needed to validate the results. Nevertheless, Jackson’s study is important for my paper as it supports my second recommendation: that handwashing stations should be located no more than a few steps away from every workspace, if possible.
