The Annotated Bibliography

What is an ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY?

It’s a list of sources or citations with a brief note (annotation) about each item listed.

example: a citation for a magazine article might include: the article title; author; magazine title; volume; pages; and date. Check with your teacher for prefered format (MLA. APA, Chicago Style etc.)

example: an annotation for an article might: summarize the article; evaluate its usefulness; or criticize the article.

HOW TO COMPILE an annotated bibliography?

1.   Consider the scope of your bibliography -- how many and what types of sources are needed. This will been defined later in your position paper assignment.

2.   Locate the sources, then analyze the information contained in each source.

3.   Finally, write your citations (see bibliography email) and the annotations.

HOW TO WRITE an annotation:

Understand the information value of the material to be annotated. When analyzing a source, consider:

·       purpose -- what is the source trying to do?

·       form -- is it a book or an article or a....?

·       arrangement -- how is the source organized?

·       audience -- who is the source aimed at?

·       authority -- is the author/publisher reliable?

·       currency -- is the source up-to-date?

·       coverage -- is the source comprehensive?

·       ease of use -- are there any special features?

Use annotation style writing:

example: Describes the history of the topic. Contains extensive charts and graphs