Annotated Bibliography Endangered Species/Environmental Issue Unit

A bibliography is the list of citations for sources one has used to research a topic. An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources, each of which is followed by a brief annotation.

Why should I write an annotated bibliography? You begin to read more critically instead of just collecting information. 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.

Annotations Your annotated bibliography must do the following two things for each source used: Summarize Evaluate

Summary Include the main points of the source. Prompting Questions: What are the main arguments? What is the point of this article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say?

Connection to Thesis Reflect: Once you've summarized a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research. Prompting Questions: How does it help you shape your argument? How does this source support your thesis? What argument does this source provide? Has it changed how you think about your topic?

Format Citation: The bibliographic information of the source (title, author, publisher, date, etc.) is written in MLA format and appears first. All citations must be in alphabetical order Must be formatted with a “hanging” indent Double Spaced The annotations: The annotations for each source are written in paragraph form under the citations.

Thesis Statement Example: While capital punishment appears to be a barbarous act, it is a necessary part of life because it deters crime, is cost-effective, and has been historically and biblically used as a deterrent of crime.

Annotated Bibliography English, Joe. “Capital Punishment versus Life in Prison.” The Robesonian. 24 May 2007, Robesonian.com. Accessed 8 December 2016. Joe English, author of the article, “Capital Punishment versus Life in Prison,” clarifies several misconceptions about the use of the death penalty from state to state. One misconception is that capital punishment is less effective than life sentences. English gives several examples of how this is faulty logic. His most compelling example is his comparison of the use of capital punishment in Washington to the use of life sentences in Utah. English states, “Statistically there are 50% fewer murder cases in Washington than Utah solely due to the fact that Washington implements the death penalty while Utah does not” (1). English indicates that the death penalty is an effective deterrent of heinous crime when comparing states that use the death penalty versus those states that do not. This article is primarily directed to those audiences who have been promoting the use of life sentences as opposed to the death penalty. I used this article as evidence to support my thesis to show that I am for the death penalty because it deters crime. Yes, you can include an in-text citation to provide examples of how you will use ideas in your essay. Explanation of how this source will support your thesis. This demonstrates the writer’s comprehension of source.

Provide the citation first in alphabetical order. All annotations must be 5-7 sentences in length. 12 inch font Times New Roman 1 inch margins