Annotated Bibliography

Your task is to create an annotated bibliography for at least 5 of your source materials. 
 
What is an Annotated Bibliography?

Let’s break this down.  A bibliography is a list of sources that you’ve used for researching a topic, right?  An annotation is a summary of something.  It can also work as an evaluation.  

So, if we put the two together, an annotated bibliography is a bibliographical citation of a source you have come across that includes a summary/evaluation of that source.

An annotation should both summarize (what did you find in this source?) and assess (is this source useful to you?) the source it is referring to.

Why do we write annotated bibliographies?

An annotated bibliography helps you learn about your topic.  When you are researching a topic, there might be times when you are simply clicking on a link, “reading” the materials, and moving on without actually comprehending the information that was available to you.  

An annotated bibliography forces you to actually pay attention to each source.  When you have to write an annotated bibliography, you must understand the source and figure out if that source is one you will want to use in your research paper.

How long should my annotations be?

Annotations tend to vary in length, depending on the type/length of the source, the requirements for your assignment, etc.  For this assignment, your annotation should be at least one paragraph long.  After reading the annotations, I should at least have an idea about the information you found in each source.

How do I format my annotated bibliography?

I’m glad you asked.  The citations should use MLA format.  If you need a refresher as to what MLA format is and how to use it, go here: 
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ 

As far as the annotations go, I’ve included an example of an annotated bibliography on the back of this sheet, along with some helpful guidelines. Notice the margins/indentation of each entry in reference to the bibliographical citation:

Annotated Bibliography

"Patrick Henry : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History Site." Colonial	Williamsburg Official History Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.	http://www.history.org/almanack/people/bios/biohen.cfm>.  

For each annotation, I would like you to follow the summary outline format you used on your literary analysis essay. Each source will require a one paragraph annotation, including the name of both the article and author, summarizing what you have read, and including least one key fact, quote or statistic. 

"Patrick Henry : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History Site." Colonial	Williamsburg Official History Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.	http://www.history.org/almanack/people/bios/biohen.cfm>.  

If I were really writing an annotation for this source, I would offer a brief summary of what this webpage says about Patrick Henry’s speech and the historical context in which it was given. After a brief summary, it would be appropriate to assess this source and offer some criticisms of it. Does it seem like a reliable and current source? Why? Is the research biased or objective? Are the facts well documented? Who is the author? Is she qualified in this subject? Is this source scholarly, popular, some of both?

"Patrick Henry : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History Site." Colonial	Williamsburg Official History Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.	http://www.history.org/almanack/people/bios/biohen.cfm>.  

Not all annotations have to be the same length. For example, if a source is a very short scholarly article. It may only take a sentence or two to summarize. Even if you are using a book, you should only focus on the sections that relate to your topic.

"Patrick Henry : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History Site." Colonial	Williamsburg Official History Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.	http://www.history.org/almanack/people/bios/biohen.cfm>.  

Not all annotated bibliographies assess and reflect; some merely summarize. In this case, I want you to give at least a one sentence assessment of the source.

**Each Source, formatted by Bibme.org will be listed in alphabetical order. You may need to make some corrections, as Bibme.org has a hard time correctly formatting annotations. 

Also, you should take notes on each of your ten sources. Using notecards makes it easier to outline your essay later on. The better organized your notes are, the more able to understand your section headings and subheadings later one.