1. Writing an Annotated Bibliography

2. What is an Annotated Bibliography?
First, what is an annotation?
An annotation is more than just a brief summary (250 words) of an article, book, Web site etc.
It combines summary with evaluation (what you think about the source)

3. What is a Bibliography:
A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, Web sites, newspapers, etc.) that are used for researching a topic.
"References" or "Works Cited"
So, an annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources ( books, articles, journal, web sites, etc…) with a paragraph that describes, explains, evaluates and justifies each entry in terms of quality and relevance.

4. What do I get out of writing an Annotated Bibliography?
Good prep for research project
Learn about your topic
Become a critical reader
Develop your main argument
Practice for college research

5. What else?
Shows your reader that your sources are informative, relevant, and credible.
Makes it easier for you to see if numerous sources are saying the same thing
Can help you determine whether or not you want to use a particular source in your research

6. What is the difference between an annotated bibliography and regular research ?
Traditional research- outcome is just to find information.
Annotated Bibliographies provide an evaluation/reason for why the information is relevant to the research topic. You are required to think about your research and be critical of it.

7. Where to start. . .
1) Find your sources before writing your annotated bibliography, by conducting research.
2) Review the sources and choose those that provide a wide variety of information and perspectives on your topic.
3) Write the citation and annotation
When writing your annotation, the complete citation should always come first and the annotation follows. You will want to include:
A summary of the source
Its relevance to the topic
Any special or unique information from the source
The strengths, weaknesses or biases in the source

8. What do you write? Citation Annotation
The bibliographic information of the source (the title, author, publisher, date, etc.)
You will need at least 3
Must be in MLA format
Annotation
Summarizes the content, assess the quality and relevancy of the source to your project, and reflects on the big ideas from the source.
1 paragraph, 250 words/annotation
Annotated bibliographies should be arranged alphabetically

9. As you write your annotation you will….
Summarize
What are the main arguments?
What is the point of the book/article?
What topics are covered?
paraphrase

10. As you write your annotation you will….
Assess/Evaluate
Is this a useful source?
Is it reliable?
Is it biased or objective?
USE CARRDSS!!!!!

11. As you write your annotation you will….
Reflect
How does this source fit into your research?
Strengths/ Weaknesses
How can you use this in your research?
Has it changed how you think about your topic? How?

12. How should I format my annotations?
Use the third person, NOT THE FIRST OR SECOND PERSON
Do not use: I, me, my, we, us, you, your, etc.
Sentence starters:
“This article discusses…”
“This book gives a detailed view on…”
“In this article, the author supports…”
“This article describes…”

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