Annotated Bibliography

A. Definitions:
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. An annotated bibliography includes a
summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources.

B. What the annotation includes: Generally, annotations should be no longer than 150-
200 words. They should be concise and well-written. Depending on your assignment,
annotations may include:
● Main focus or purpose of the work
● Intended audience for the work
● Usefulness or relevance to your research topic (or why it did not meet your
expectations)
● Special features of the work (unique or helpful features)
● Background and credibility of the author
● Conclusions or observations reached by the author and conclusions or observations
reached by you

In general, annotations do the following:

• Summarize: What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or
article? What topics are covered?
• 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?
B. Purpose:
1. 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.
2. 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.
(owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/ general/gl_annotatedbib.html)
C. Process for Writing an Annotated Bibliography
(leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/annotated.html):
1. List the completed bibliographical citation.
2. Explain the main purpose of the work.
3. Briefly describe the content.
4. Indicate the possible audience for the work.
5. Evaluate the relevance of the information.
6. Note any special features.
7. Warn readers of any defect, weakness, or bias.
D. When you write a summary, keep in mind the following questions:
• Does the summary accurately reflect the source’s key facts or ideas?
• Is the summary shorter than the original but detailed enough to stand on its own?
• Does the summary help your reader understand the context of the information or
the statements you include from the source?
• Is the summary written entirely in your own words, except for key words or
phrases that are enclosed in quotation marks and accurately cited?
• Does the summary appropriately acknowledge the original source?

E. Format:
The bibliographic information: For this annotated bibliography, the bibliographic
information of the source (the title, author, publisher, date, etc.) should be written in
MLA format.
Annotations: The annotations for each source should be written in paragraph form.
Following MLA conventions, if you quote anything in your annotations, use
parenthetical documentation (check MLA documentation style). For websites that have
no page numbers, use par. x (for example), that is, the paragraph number where your
quote comes from.
Remember that the annotations should be arranged in alphabetical order
(according to the author’s last name or the first word of the citation). Do not number
them, and do not leave unnecessary space between them.
The citations, as well as the paragraphs should be double-spaced, with no extra space
between citation and first paragraph in each annotation.
Sample Annotations

London, Herbert. "Five Myths of the Television Age." Television Quarterly 10.1 (19820:
81-89.

Herbert London, the Dean of Journalism at New York University and author of
several books and articles, explains how television contradicts five commonly
believed ideas. He uses specific examples of events seen on television, such as the
assassination of John Kennedy, to illustrate his points. His examples have been
selected to contradict such truisms as: "seeing is believing"; "a picture is worth a
thousand words"; and "satisfaction is its own reward." London uses logical
arguments to support his ideas which are his personal opinion. He doesn't refer to
any previous works on the topic. London's style and vocabulary would make the
article of interest to any reader.
(Sample from: http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/annotated.html)

Waite, Linda J., Frances Kobrin Goldscheider, and Christina Witsberger. "Nonfamily

Living and the Erosion of Traditional Family Orientations Among Young Adults."

American Sociological Review 51 (1986): 541-554.

The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data
from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test
their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes,
values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional
sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while
the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from
parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in
attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below
shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of
nonfamily living.
(Sample from: http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill28.htm)
Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Anchor,

1995.

Lamott's book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing life, complete with
its insecurities and failures. Taking a humorous approach to the realities of being
a writer, the chapters in Lamott's book are wry and anecdotal and offer advice on
everything from plot development to jealousy, from perfectionism to struggling
with one's own internal critic. In the process, Lamott includes writing exercises
designed to be both productive and fun.
Lamott offers sane advice for those struggling with the anxieties of writing, but
her main project seems to be offering the reader a reality check regarding writing,
publishing, and struggling with one's own imperfect humanity in the process.
Rather than a practical handbook to producing and/or publishing, this text is
indispensable because of its honest perspective, its down-to-earth humor, and its
encouraging approach. Chapters in this text could easily be included in the
curriculum for a writing class. Several of the chapters in Part 1 address the writing
process and would serve to generate discussion on students' own drafting and
revising processes. Some of the writing exercises would also be appropriate for
generating classroom writing exercises. Students should find Lamott's style both
engaging and enjoyable.
(Sample from:
http://www.owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_annotatedbib.html)