Horror Film Annotated Bibliography

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An Annotated Bibliography is a tool that can help you practice proper MLA citation techniques, as well as organize your research and strategize your paper. It is an alphabetized list of sources that contains explanations of what your research sources contain, and how you will use them in a research paper.

What is the purpose of an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography demonstrates the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources you are using in your researched argument. It also demonstrates your ability to evaluate the merit of the sources you choose, and provides you an opportunity to showcase the knowledge you have gleaned from those sources.

It can also provide you with a thorough understanding of the sources you are using. Through looking at sources critically and considering how they will serve your paper, you will gain a deeper understanding of the sources themselves. It can also help you to conceptualize and organize the final draft of your researched argument.

The Big Picture:

Writing a strong researched argument requires you to construct a credible argument. You can begin building a credible argument about a horror film once you have assembled enough information to accurately depict the rhetorical situation of your artifact, which, in this case, is a horror film of your choosing. You must gather several sources in order to construct the rhetorical situation of this film.

You will amass 5 sources total, 2 of which must be scholarly and 3 popular sources (from reputable news sources, such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, etc or other REPUTABLE online publications.)

Basic Instructions:

CITATIONS:

You will need to consult the appropriate links on Purdue Owl or within your text book in order to cite each of your sources in proper MLA format. Remember, in addition to proper citation, a correct annotated bibliography is also alphabetized by the last name of the author. Of course, where there is no author, you must list by the text’s title. Consult Purdue Owl or the MLA Citation section of your book to ensure you provide a full and CORRECT Works Cited entry for each source. DO NOT USE CITATION GENERATORS.

You will also need to consult our MLA Citation prezi for a refresher on how to complete in-text citations, as this assignment will demand you select one quotation and paraphrase one piece of information from each source you choose, and provide accurate citations for both the paraphrase and the quotation.

ANNOTATIONS: 

Each source entry should be followed by an annotation. The annotation should demonstrate your ability to assess the source for accuracy and relevance to your argument. A complete annotation will summarize the article’s content or main argument. It will also describe the author’s credentials & purpose. It will pull both a quote and a paraphrase from the source and cite them correctly. explains how or why a source is valuable or useful to your argument. Below, you will see the exact amount of sentences needed for complete points in each category.

SOURCES YOU NEED TO FIND:

1. Biographical and career related details about the Director: Who is the director, and what is their personal and professional background? Is this film one of their early works, or does it fall later in their career? How does this particular film fit in with their other works? Is this director known for creating movies with a certain style, or films that reflect a particular theme? Dive deep into your research about the author and dig up relevant points to enrich the content of your argument about the film.
2. Intended audience of the text: Who was being targeted and represented by this text? What groups or communities was this text trying to attract? What demographics are represented in the film? Look at the time frame the film was released within and consider the needs and concerns of the intended audience during this time period. Consider what about this film may serve to attract that audience.
3. The historical context of the film: When was this film released? Were there any important social movements or political moments in occurrence that lead up to this film? What relevant and socially or politically important information can you dig up about the time period (2-5 years before the film was released)? What connections can you make between the film’s content and message and the time period it emerged from? What political or social issue is this film attempting to comment on? What stance is it taking about that political or social movement/moment?
4. Information about the film’s release and critical reception (which may include reviews and rankings, awards, etc.) How was this film perceived upon its release? Was it widely anticipated, or was it a sleeper hit? Was it a B movie or did it go directly to video? Was it part of a franchise or a stand-alone work of horror? How did it perform at the box office? Does it remain popular or is it a lesser known film?
5. Subgenre: What subgenre does this film belong to, what qualities define that subgenre? Don’t use Prohaszkova here—find a complete and detailed discussion/article about the subgenre of this film. When did this subgenre of horror emerge, and has it changed significantly throughout the years? What are the conventions of that particular subgenre, and how do those conventions manifest in your film?