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Annotatedbibliography

Annotatedbibliography

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Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is

followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the

annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and

quality of the sources cited.

A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, Websites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for

researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called "References" or "Works Cited"

depending on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes the

bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).

An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes

a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the

assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following:

● Summarize: Some annotations merely summarize the source. What are the main

arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If

someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? The length of your

annotations will determine how detailed your summary is.

● Assess: After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. Is it a useful source?

How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information

reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source?

● Reflect: Once you've summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits into

your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your

argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how

you think about your topic?

Your annotated bibliography may include some of these, all of these, or even others. If you're

doing this for a class, you should get specific guidelines from your instructor.

Why should I write an annotated bibliography?

To learn about your topic: Writing an annotated bibliography is excellent preparation for a

research project. Just collecting sources for a bibliography is useful, but when you have to write

annotations for each source, you're forced to read each source more carefully. You begin to read

more critically instead of just collecting information. At the professional level, annotated

bibliographies allow you to see what has been done in the literature and where your own research

or scholarship can fit. To help you formulate a thesis: Every good research paper is an argument.

The purpose of research is to state and support a thesis. So a very important part of research is

developing a thesis that is debatable, interesting, and current. Writing an annotated bibliography

can help you gain a good perspective on what is being said about your topic. By reading and

responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you'll start to see what the issues are, what people

are arguing about, and you'll then be able to develop your own point of view.

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To help other researchers: Extensive and scholarly annotated bibliographies are sometimes

published. They provide a comprehensive overview of everything important that has been and is

being said about that topic. You may not ever get your annotated bibliography published, but as a

researcher, you might want to look for one that has been published about your topic.

Format

The format of an annotated bibliography can vary, so if you're doing one for a class, it's

important to ask for specific guidelines.

The bibliographic information: Generally, though, the bibliographic information of the source

(the title, author, publisher, date, etc.) is written in either MLA or APA format.

The annotations: The annotations for each source are written in paragraph form. The lengths of

the annotations can vary significantly from a couple of sentences to a couple of pages. The

length will depend on the purpose. If you're just writing summaries of your sources, the

annotations may not be very long. However, if you are writing an extensive analysis of each

source, you'll need more space.

You can focus your annotations for your own needs. A few sentences of general summary

followed by several sentences of how you can fit the work into your larger paper or project can

serve you well when you go to draft.

Steps to Creating an Annotated Bibliography

1. Locate and record citations of articles and other texts that may contain useful

information and ideas on your topic. Examine and review them.

2. Cite the article/film/or literature using the MLA format.

3. Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the article.

Include one or more sentences that

● (a) evaluate the authority or background of the author,

● (b) comment on the intended audience,

● (c) compare or contrast this work with another you have cited, or

● (d) explain how this work illuminates your bibliography topic.

Sample MLA Citation and Annotation

Catherine Franke

American Lit.

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Annotated Bibliography An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited. A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, Websites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called "References" or "Works Cited" depending on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.). An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following: ● Summarize: Some annotations merely summarize the source. What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? The length of your annotations will determine ...
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