1. Annotated Bibliographies and Precis Writing
Mrs. Foley-MacGowan
English
2012

2. Annotated Bibliographies
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.

3. AnNotated Bibliographies
An annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following:
Summarize: Some annotations merely summarize the source. What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? The length of your annotations will determine how detailed your summary is.

4. Annotated Bibliographies
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?

5. Why Do I Write Annotated Bibliographies?
To learn about your topic.
To help other researchers.
The format:
Bibliographic information (MLA Format)
The annotation

6. Example: Book
Liroff, R. A., & G. G. Davis. (1981). Protecting open space: Land use control in the Adirondack Park. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
This book describes the implementation of regional planning and land use regulation in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York. The authors provide program evaluations of the Adirondack Park Agency’s regulatory and local planning assistance programs.

7. Example: Journal Article
Gottlieb, P. D. (1995). The "golden egg" as a natural resource: Toward a normative theory of growth management. Society and Natural Resources, 8, (5): This article explains the dilemma faced by North American suburbs, which demand both preservation of local amenities (to protect quality of life) and physical development (to expand the tax base). Growth management has been proposed as a policy solution to this dilemma. An analogy is made between this approach and resource economics. The author concludes that the growth management debate raises legitimate issues of sustainability and efficiency.

8. Precis Writing
A précis is a short summary. It is not a paraphrase, which merely says in different and simpler words exactly what the passage being paraphrased has to say. A paraphrase may be as long as the passage itself. A précis rarely is more than one-third the length of the original selection and may be only one-fourth as long.
A précis gives only the "heart" of a passage. It omits repetition and such details as examples, illustrations, and adjectives unless they are of unusual importance.

9. Precis Writing
A précis is written entirely in the words of the person writing it, not in the words of the original selection. Avoid the temptation to lift long phrases and whole sentences from the original.
A précis is written from the point of view of the author whose work is being summarized. Do not begin with such expressions as "This author says" or "The paragraph means." Begin as though you were summarizing your own writing.

10. How To Write a Precis
A) In a single coherent sentence give the following:            -name of the author, title of the work, date in parenthesis;            -a rhetorically accurate verb (such as "assert," "argue," "deny," "refute," "prove," disprove," "explain," etc.);            -a that clause containing the major claim (thesis statement) of the work.
B) In a single coherent sentence give an explanation of how the author develops and supports the major claim (thesis statement).

11. How to Write a Precis
C) In a single coherent sentence give a statement of the author's purpose, followed by an "in order" phrase.
D) In a single coherent sentence give a description of the intended audience and/or the relationship the author establishes with the audience.

12. Example
Charles S. Peirce's article, "The Fixation of Belief (1877),asserts that humans have psychological and social mechanisms designed to protect and cement (or "fix") our beliefs. Peirce backs this claim up with descriptions of four methods of fixing belief, pointing out the effectiveness and potential weaknesses of each method. Peirce's purpose is to point out the ways that people commonly establish their belief systems in order to jolt the awareness of the reader into considering how their own belief system may the product of such methods and to consider what Peirce calls "the method of science" as a progressive alternative to the other three. Given the technical language used in the article, Peirce is writing to an well-educated audience with some knowledge of philosophy and history and a willingness to other ways of thinking.

13. Assignment
There is no assignment at this time. However, you will be writing four cases for the public forum debate project, and you will need an annotated bibliography for each source.
There will be a minimum of four sources per case.
We will also be doing an annotated bibliography soon in preparation for your research project.