Preparing an Annotated Bibliography An annotated bibliography is a useful way t

Preparing an Annotated Bibliography
An annotated
bibliography is a useful way t

Preparing an Annotated Bibliography
An annotated
bibliography is a useful way to start a research project because it
asks you to collect and summarize sources that you might use later in
a research paper. Collecting and summarizing sources early in the
research process helps you narrow your research topic. The
bibliography can also help you evaluate the possible usefulness of
source material for later use in a paper.
This handout is
designed to show you how to create an annotated bibliography.
Specifically, it will guide you through the process of creating an
annotated bibliography by:
1) describing in
general terms the meaning of the words “annotated bibliography,”
2) explaining in
general terms how to write an annotated bibliography, and
3) offering an example
of what an annotated bibliography could look like.
You might be confused
about what the words “annotated” and “bibliography”
mean. The word “annotated” is the past tense form of the verb “to
annotate” which means to summarize. An annotation is simply a
summary of a book, article, or some other written source. A
bibliography is a list of sources on a particular topic. Put
together, an annotated bibliography is a list of sources on a topic
that offers a summary for each source.
An annotated
bibliography has two parts. The first part is the bibliography line
which should be written according to the format your professor
requires (for this class, it is MLA format). The second part is the
summary paragraph. Both parts taken together are called an “entry.”
Entries are typically organized in alphabetical order according to
the bibliography information, such as the last name of an author or
the title of a book.
The number of entries
in a bibliography depends upon the assignment. The attached example
is made up of two entries which offer a good example of the
bibliography line and summary that are the key parts of any good
annotated bibliography.
What is included in the
summary part of an annotated bibliography also depends upon the
guidelines the instructor has given you. However, if the instructor
is flexible about these guidelines, Timothy Crusius and Carolyn
Channell in The Aims of Argument suggest that your summary should
include the following elements:
(1) a sentence or two
that describes the author’s credentials, purpose, and audience,
(2) a brief “capsule”
summary of its content, and
(3) a sentence at the
end of the summary that explains “why this source seems valuable
and how you might use it” (255).
What is the assignment?
1. Following the above
guidelines, you will create an annotated bibliography that has a
minimum of ten sources, worth 10 points each:
At least three of these sources
will be BOOKS,
two sources will be WEBSITES,
and the rest will be from the
database online.
2. Your annotated
bibliography will be over YOUR PROPOSAL ESSAY TOPIC. This is how you
will collect the sources YOU WILL USE in your PROPOSAL ESSAY
3. You will complete
your annotated bibliography in MLA format.