Annotated Bibliography

From PhillipsWiki

Contents 1 Definition and Scope 2 Recording Source information 3 Producing the Annotated Bibliography in correct MLA style 4 Assessment 5 For more information

Definition and Scope

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents and multi-media sources used in research. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and critical or evaluative paragraph, the "annotation". The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

Each annotation should include:

• Complete bibliographic information.
• Information to explain the authority and/or qualifications of the author.
• Summary of the main ideas contained in the source.
• Any biases that you detect.
• Intended audience and level of reading difficulty.
• Evaluation or why you feel this work is suitable for your topic

TIP: Ask yourself
* How many sources are required?
* What source types must be represented?
* Are the sources that I have selected good sources?  Check Source Evaluation for additional information.
* Are these sources appropriate for my research?

Recording Source information

Producing the Annotated Bibliography in correct MLA style

• Citing Sources
• How to Write Citations and Bibliographies in MLA Style
• RefWorks
• Zotero is a Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your references.

Assessment

TIP: Check your annotations
* My annotation is about 150 words long 
* My annotation has a paragraph which clearly and concisely describes the source.
* My annotation has a paragraph which clearly and concisely evaluates the source.
* My annotation informs the reader of the relevance of the source cited to my research.
* My annotation effectively informs the reader of the accuracy of the source cited.
* My annotation effectively informs the reader of the quality of the source cited.
* My annotation exposes the author’s point of view.
* My annotation discusses the qualifications (authority) of the author.
* My annotation discusses the clarity of the author’s writing style.
* My annotation compares or contrasts this source with another source I have cited.

For more information

• How to Write Annotated Bibliographies from Memorial University Library
• An example of an annotated bibliography from the OWL at Purdue University