What is an Annotated Bibliography?
A bibliography, as you know, is a list of sources that you’ve used when researching your topic (vs works cited, which will include only the sources cited in the essay). An annotated bibliography includes a brief summary and evaluation of the usefulness of each source. Like the mind maps and outlines we used for the first essay, annotated bibliographies are a valuable way to organize your ideas for a research paper; they give you an overview of what has already been said and areas you could contribute.
Annotations are written in paragraph form. Each annotation should include the following information:
1. Medium (book, movie, article, etc.)
2. Purpose of the source (what did the creator of the source want you to take away?)
3. Summary of the key features or arguments in the source
4. Information on the author/creator and related credentials. Is it in a peer-reviewed journal? Is it a fan on YouTube? (Both of these are valuable, but would be used differently in your essay)
5. Failures or shortcomings of the source. Did it overlook something major?
6. The value of this source to your essay. How does it help you?
For the first assignment, you will create an annotated bibliography with 6 credible sources ; each annotation will be about one paragraph (150 words), so your final annotated bib will be about 900 words. These annotations will be in MLA format. You must include three books and three web sources, journals, newspapers, items from digital or "live" archives.
If you are looking for information on annotated bibliographies, these resources provide an overview and examples: