Many academic libraries partner with English composition in order to teach first year students skills related to academic research and writing. Due to the partnership between information literacy and first-year writing programs, it is important to evaluate how these programs can best support one another. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of two factors on student information literacy skill development: library instruction and section theme-defined here as class sections of the English 102 (ENG 102) program developed around a central topic selected by the instructor. A random sample of annotated bibliographies from 95 sections of ENG 102 were scored with two information literacy rubrics in order to find out if scores differed between sections based on the variables of library instruction and theme. The results of this study indicate that sections of the ENG 102 program that attended an information literacy instruction session scored significantly higher on the annotated bibliography assignment than sections that did not attend. We also found that themed sections of ENG 102 scored marginally higher on the annotated bibliography than non-themed sections of ENG 102. Implications for further research are discussed, including the potential impact of theme-based writing on information literacy learning. INTRODUCTIONOn many college and university campuses, English composition holds the dual distinction of being both a gateway course for academic writing and research as well as a requirement for graduation. The high impact nature of these courses makes them a focus for many academic library instruction programs, and the information literacy literature is filled with case studies of collaborations between the library and English composition. Due to the natural partnership between information literacy and first-year writing programs, it is important to continue to evaluate how these programs work in tandem and can best support one another.At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the library has developed a robust relationship with English 102 (ENG 102) and participates in ongoing assessment of the information literacy instruction component of the course. In ENG 102, the culminating assignment is an 8-10 page research paper; in preparation of this final assignment, students complete an annotated bibliography and research paper proposal. An evaluation of these annotated bibliographies and accompanying proposals has been the cornerstone of our assessment of first-year students' information literacy skills in terms of identifying areas where students need more support. However, the authors realized that these bibliographies can also be used to shed light on how students best learn skills related to developing a research topic, finding quality sources, and evaluating information. We were especially interested in examining the impact of two factors on information literacy skill development: library instruction and section theme-defined here as class sections of the ENG 102 program developed around a central topic...

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