|
Annotated Bibliography |
A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, websites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic. A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).
An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources.
Why do an Annotated Bibliography?
Forces you to Evaluate Sources—what is it and is it a good source
Questions to ask when evaluating a source
n Authoritative?-who wrote it (what are their qualifications); what type of source is it (journal, newspaper etc)
n Audience?-who is it written for (children; scholars, popular etc)
n Accurate?—how is the quality of information
n Purpose?-inform? Entertain? Sell something? (is it biased?)
n Usefulness?- is it useful for your topic/assignment?
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.
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 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.
The format of an annotated bibliography can vary, so if you're doing one for a class, it's important to ask for specific guidelines from your instructor.
The bibliographic information: usually written in MLA format.
The annotations:
-usually paragraph form
-length varies depending on purpose (ask your instructor)
- usually written underneath the citation
Links to Sample Annotations
SCC Library Sample Annotations
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/WAC/science_writing.html
http://www.cgu.edu/pages/836.asp
http://library.csusm.edu/course_guides/gel/GELmeulemans/sample.annotated.bib.doc
Spartanburg Community College
Libraries
Central Campus |800 Brisack Road PO Drawer 4386, Spartanburg, SC 29305
| 864.592.4764 | Toll Free 866.542.2779 | Fax 864.592.4762
Cherokee County Campus | 101 Campus Drive PO Box 2189, Gaffney, SC
29342 | 864.206.2656 | Fax 864.206.2721
ask-a-librarian
Copyright © 2008 Spartanburg Community College. All rights reserved.
Last update
09/03/2008