The Annotated Bibliography
Why should I write an annotated bibliography?
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. At the professional level, annotated bibliographies allow you to see what has been done in the literature and where your own research or scholarship can fit. 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.
To help other researchers: Extensive and scholarly annotated bibliographies are sometimes published. They provide a comprehensive overview of everything important that has been and is being said about that topic. You may not ever get your annotated bibliography published, but as a researcher, you might want to look for one that has been published about your topic.
This course structure was intentional as to allow you ample time to prepare some research before you dive into that important major assignment for the term.
At this point, you should have developed a tentative research question and tentative thesis related to some aspect of related to a social justice issue (local, national, or international), and your topic should have naturally evolved from the reading and journaling that you have completed thus far this term, most of which initially began at the Huffington Post.
You also should have completed a topic proposal, attended a library information literacy session, and completed the library information literacy modules online.
Hopefully you completed each of these tasks, paid attention, and took detailed notes.
Now your task is to focus on gathering the research that answers your question.
For this, you will need to turn to the library's databases of full-text academic journal articles, newspaper articles, and full-text books.
To access the library's electronic databases see the link below:
You may also use books. You may access the library's catalog here:
Complete each of the following steps:
1. You must gather 10 sources that answer your research question.
2. Read all ten sources and ANNOTATE as you read. See think link for an explanation of this. Underlining important passages and taking good notes in the margins as you read will make this assignment easier and will also prevent you from having to completely read a source a second, or possibly third time, when the time comes to write the draft of the research paper.
3. Write an annotation for 8 of the 10 sources you feel you are most likely to use in your research paper. In other words, you consider these your BEST sources. Don't discard sources 9 & 10. Hold onto those for when you begin writing the draft later.
To complete each annotation, first write the MLA citation for each of your 8 BEST articles. Remember that the database will often supply the citation for you. You will just need to copy and paste it into a MS Word document. You may use Easybib if it isn't provided by the database.
Next, you will write an 8-10 sentence summary of the main ideas of each source and include an additional sentence that explains how you think you will use this information in your research paper later.
Your annotation should be typed, double-spaced, 12 pt., and Times New Roman font, using MLA style.
In your 8-10 sentence summary of each source, make sure to identify the author’s thesis in your summary and other important points you think the author makes in the article. Finally, in an additional final sentence, indicate how you might use the information from this source in your research paper later. This is only a prediction.
Here is an example of what an annotation should look like :
Pach, Walter. Renoir. 1st ed. Danbury: Harry N. Abrams , Incorporated, 1983.
In this book, Walter Pach covers the interviewing process with Renoir. He discusses the
everyday with Renoir, including his bouts of arthritic pain. His thesis is that Renoir's later years
were an important influence on the artists' work. The author briefly reviews Renoir’s life
and his apprenticeship, as well as his artistic studies and also discusses Renoir’s marriage
with Aline Charigot. Pach also reviews the influences of Renoir, including those he adored and
studied as well as living artists he had worked with. studied as well as l analyzes several of
Renoir’s paintings and compares him to other artists and how other artists perceived similar
subject matter. Pach analyzes the paintings in two different ways. In one way, he analyzes it in
an opinionated manner but in another he analyzes the paintings in a very technical manner.
This source could prove useful in my paper as another source of analysis of Renoir’s work as I
will use this source to provide a more intimate look into Renoir’s later years.
For an additional example, click the link below:
•
Remember that the purpose of an annotation is to give a reader a condensed and objective account of the main ideas and features of a text. Indicate the main ideas of the text. Accurately representing the main ideas (while omitting the less important details) should be your major goal.
Remember that the purpose of an annotation is to give a reader a condensed and objective account of the main ideas and features of a text. Indicate the main ideas of the text. Accurately representing the main ideas (while omitting the less important details) should be your major goal.•Use direct quotation of key words, phrases, or sentences. (“According to Hattemer” or “as Hattemer explains”) to remind the reader that you are summarizing the author and the text, not giving your own ideas. NOTE: Instead of repeating “Hattemer says,” choose verbs that more accurately represent the purpose or tone of the original passage: “Hattemer argues,” "Hattemer explains,” "Hattemer warns,” “Hattemer asks,” “Hattemer advises” (These are referred to as author tags).
Use direct quotation of key words, phrases, or sentences. (“According to Hattemer” or “as Hattemer explains”) to remind the reader that you are summarizing the author and the text, not giving your own ideas. NOTE: Instead of repeating “Hattemer says,” choose verbs that more accurately represent the purpose or tone of the original passage: “Hattemer argues,” "Hattemer explains,” "Hattemer warns,” “Hattemer asks,” “Hattemer advises” (These are referred to as author tags).•Avoid summarizing specific examples or data unless they help illustrate the thesis or main idea of the text.
Avoid summarizing specific examples or data unless they help illustrate the thesis or main idea of the text.•Report the main ideas as objectively as possible. Represent the author and text as accurately and faithfully as possible. Do not include your own personal reactions to the author's information.
Report the main ideas as objectively as possible. Represent the author and text as accurately and faithfully as possible. Do not include your own personal reactions to the author's information.• Lastly, in one sentence explain how you might use the source in your research paper.
