Annotated Bibliographies A howto guide What is an

Annotated Bibliographies A how-to guide.

What is an annotated bibliography • An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources (may be any variety of materials, books, documents, videos, articles, web sites, CD-ROMs, etc. ) with an accompanying paragraph that describes, explains, and/or evaluates each entry in terms of quality, authority, and relevance.

How yours will be organized… • Entries will be categorized first by concurrent arguments versus opposing arguments. You may have articles that are useful in both categories. • Under those categories, you will then list sources in alphabetical order according to author’s last name. • If no author is present/identified, you will then list by title.

Why annotation? • The annotations do one big thing for me, as your teacher: they prove you read the article and that you know how to use the information. • The annotations must include a brief summary of the article (3 -5 sentences). This summary should give me the main idea of the article and a brief statement about how this main idea is defended.

Why annotation? • Next, you must explain why you have chosen this source for your argument. Reasons can include: – Qualifications of the author – Purpose/scope of the article – Audience being addressed – Bias presented in article – Conclusions, data, findings through research

Structure of annotations • Annotations are one paragraph long, usually no more than 100 -150 words each. • 3 rd person explication – even when referring to yourself, you will call yourself “the researcher” • Language and vocabulary are as academic and formal as possible • All citations will be listed in MLA format, with the annotation following.

Proper MLA Formatting (A la Microsoft Word) • The MLA citation itself should have a hanging indent. The easiest way to do this is to highlight the citation, and press CTRL + T on your keyboard. Your citation will look like this: Ebert, Roger. "An Inconvenient Truth. " Rev. of An Inconvenient Truth, dir. Davis Guggenheim. rogerebert. com. Sun-Times News Group, 2 June 2006. Web. 24 May 2009. Notice the indent of the lines…that doesn’t happen naturally!

Guidelines and deadlines • Remember, MLA format for all citations, double spaced, 12 point standard fonts (Calibri, Arial, or Times New Roman ONLY) • If all sources are found by the end of tomorrow, Friday can be spent composing your annotated bibliography. • Annotated bibliography due SUNDAY by MIDNIGHT on Turnitin. com (assignment will be posted online today – early submissions rewarded). Submit receipt on MONDAY (1/28)

Requirements • The following must be included, in this order: – Standard heading – Title of Research Subject – Argumentative Thesis – Citations and annotations, categorized and alphabetized. – Again, in MLA FORMAT – Cheat sheet posted online. If confused, find the best guide ever at Purdue’s OWL Online Lab.

How to make this easier… • Annotate your articles/media as you find it. Your annotations can help you with the composition of your bibliography. • Write with the confidence and authority of an expert…you are becoming one. • Look at the online examples I will post today; they can be used as guides, but will be slightly different from the requirements I have given you. • And for Pete’s sake, USE MLA FORMATTING!!!