2/12/13

Purdue OWL

WelcometothePurdueOWL
ThispageisbroughttoyoubytheOWLatPurdue (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/).Whenprintingthispage,youmust includetheentirelegalnoticeatbottom.

Contributors:DanaBisignani,AllenBrizee. Summary: ThishandoutprovidesinformationaboutannotatedbibliographiesinMLA,APA,and CMS.

AnnotatedBibliographies
Definitions Abibliographyisalistofsources(books,journals,websites,periodicals,etc.)onehas usedforresearchingatopic.Bibliographiesaresometimescalled"references"or"works cited"dependingonthestyleformatyouareusing.Abibliographyusuallyjustincludesthe bibliographicinformation(i.e.,theauthor,title,publisher,etc.). Anannotationisasummaryand/orevaluation. Therefore,anannotatedbibliographyincludesasummaryand/orevaluationofeachofthe sources.Dependingonyourprojectortheassignment,yourannotationsmaydooneor moreofthefollowing: Summarize:Someannotationsmerelysummarizethesource.Whatarethemain arguments?Whatisthepointofthisbookorarticle?Whattopicsarecovered?If someoneaskedwhatthisarticle/bookisabout,whatwouldyousay?Thelengthof yourannotationswilldeterminehowdetailedyoursummaryis. Formorehelp,seeourhandoutonparaphrasingsources. Assess:Aftersummarizingasource,itmaybehelpfultoevaluateit.Isitauseful source?Howdoesitcomparewithothersourcesinyourbibliography?Isthe informationreliable?Isthissourcebiasedorobjective?Whatisthegoalofthis source? Formorehelp,seeourhandoutsonevaluatingresources. Reflect:Onceyou'vesummarizedandassessedasource,youneedtoaskhowitfits intoyourresearch.Wasthissourcehelpfultoyou?Howdoesithelpyoushapeyour argument?Howcanyouusethissourceinyourresearchproject?Hasitchanged howyouthinkaboutyourtopic?
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/614/ 1/6

2/12/13

Purdue OWL

Yourannotatedbibliographymayincludesomeofthese,allofthese,orevenothers. Ifyou'redoingthisforaclass,youshouldgetspecificguidelinesfromyour instructor. WhyshouldIwriteanannotatedbibliography? Tolearnaboutyourtopic:Writinganannotatedbibliographyisexcellentpreparationfora researchproject.Justcollectingsourcesforabibliographyisuseful,butwhenyouhaveto writeannotationsforeachsource,you'reforcedtoreadeachsourcemorecarefully.You begintoreadmorecriticallyinsteadofjustcollectinginformation.Attheprofessionallevel, annotatedbibliographiesallowyoutoseewhathasbeendoneintheliteratureandwhere yourownresearchorscholarshipcanfit.Tohelpyouformulateathesis:Everygood researchpaperisanargument.Thepurposeofresearchistostateandsupportathesis.Soa veryimportantpartofresearchisdevelopingathesisthatisdebatable,interesting,and current.Writinganannotatedbibliographycanhelpyougainagoodperspectiveonwhatis beingsaidaboutyourtopic.Byreadingandrespondingtoavarietyofsourcesonatopic, you'llstarttoseewhattheissuesare,whatpeoplearearguingabout,andyou'llthenbeable todevelopyourownpointofview. Tohelpotherresearchers:Extensiveandscholarlyannotatedbibliographiesare sometimespublished.Theyprovideacomprehensiveoverviewofeverythingimportantthat hasbeenandisbeingsaidaboutthattopic.Youmaynotevergetyourannotated bibliographypublished,butasaresearcher,youmightwanttolookforonethathasbeen publishedaboutyourtopic. Format Theformatofanannotatedbibliographycanvary,soifyou'redoingoneforaclass,it's importanttoaskforspecificguidelines. Thebibliographicinformation:Generally,though,thebibliographicinformationofthe source(thetitle,author,publisher,date,etc.)iswrittenineitherMLAorAPAformat.For morehelpwithformatting,seeourMLAhandout.ForAPA,gohere:APAhandout. Theannotations:Theannotationsforeachsourcearewritteninparagraphform.The lengthsoftheannotationscanvarysignificantlyfromacoupleofsentencestoacoupleof pages.Thelengthwilldependonthepurpose.Ifyou'rejustwritingsummariesofyour sources,theannotationsmaynotbeverylong.However,ifyouarewritinganextensive analysisofeachsource,you'llneedmorespace. Youcanfocusyourannotationsforyourownneeds.Afewsentencesofgeneralsummary followedbyseveralsentencesofhowyoucanfittheworkintoyourlargerpaperorproject canserveyouwellwhenyougotodraft. Contributors:DanaBisignani,AllenBrizee. Summary: ThishandoutprovidesinformationaboutannotatedbibliographiesinMLA,APA,and CMS.
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/614/ 2/6

2/12/13

Purdue OWL

AnnotatedBibliographyExample
ElizabethThompson ProfessorStacks English102 20August2001 StemCellResearch:AnAnnotatedBibliography Holland,Suzanne.TheHumanEmbryonicStemCellDebate:Science,Ethics,andPublic Policy.Boston:MITPress,2001.Print. Thisistheannotationoftheabovesource,whichisformattedaccordingtoMLA2009(7th ed.)guidelinesforthebibliographicinformationlistedabove.IfIwerereallywritingan annotationforthissource,Iwouldofferabriefsummaryofwhatthisbooksaysaboutstem cellresearch. Afterabriefsummary,itwouldbeappropriatetoassessthissourceandoffersome criticismsofit.Doesitseemlikeareliableandcurrentsource?Why?Istheresearchbiased orobjective?Arethefactswelldocumented?Whoistheauthor?Isshequalifiedinthis subject?Isthissourcescholarly,popular,someofboth? Thelengthofyourannotationwilldependontheassignmentoronthepurposeofyour annotatedbibliography.Aftersummarizingandassessing,youcannowreflectonthis source.Howdoesitfitintoyourresearch?Isthisahelpfulresource?Tooscholarly?Not scholarlyenough?Toogeneral/specific?Since"stemcellresearch"isaverybroadtopic, hasthissourcehelpedyoutonarrowyourtopic? Senior,K."ExtendingtheEthicalBoundariesofStemCellResearch."TrendsinMolecular Medicine7(2001):56.Print. Notallannotationshavetobethesamelength.Forexample,thissourceisaveryshort scholarlyarticle.Itmayonlytakeasentenceortwotosummarize.Evenifyouareusinga book,youshouldonlyfocusonthesectionsthatrelatetoyourtopic. Notallannotatedbibliographiesassessandreflectsomemerelysummarize.Thatmaynot bethemosthelpfulforyou,but,ifthisisanassignment,youshouldalwaysaskyour instructorforspecificguidelines. Wallace,Kelly."BushStandsPatonStemCellPolicy."CNN.13August2001.17August 2001.Television. Noticethatinthisexample,Ichoseavarietyofsources:abook,ascholarlyjournal,anda webpage.Usingavarietyofsourcescanhelpgiveyouabroaderpictureofwhatisbeing saidaboutyourtopic.Youmaywanttoinvestigatehowscholarlysourcesaretreatingthis topicdifferentlythanmorepopularsources.Butagain,ifyourassignmentistoonlyuse scholarlysources,thenyouwillprobablywanttoavoidmagazinesandpopularwebsites.
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/614/ 3/6

2/12/13

Purdue OWL

NoticethatthebibliographicinformationaboveisproperMLAformat(usewhateverstyle isappropriateinyourfield)andtheannotationsareinparagraphform.Notealsothatthe entriesarealphabetizedbythefirstwordinthebibliographicentry.Ifyouarewritingan annotatedbibliographywithmanysources,itmaybehelpfultodividethesourcesinto categories.Forexample,ifIwereputtingtogetheranextensiveannotatedbibliographyfor stemcellresearch,Imightdividethesourcesintocategoriessuchasethicalconcerns, scholarlyanalyses,andpoliticalramifications. Formoreexamples,aquicksearchatalibraryorevenontheInternetshouldproduce severalexamplesofannotatedbibliographiesinyourarea. Contributors:DanaBisignani,AllenBrizee. Summary: ThishandoutprovidesinformationaboutannotatedbibliographiesinMLA,APA,and CMS.

AnnotatedBibliographySamples
Overview
ForasampleofanentryfromanannotatedbibliographyentryinPDF,clickonthe downloadablefileinthemediaboxabove. Belowyouwillfindsampleannotationsfromannotatedbibliographies,eachwithadifferent researchproject.Rememberthattheannotationsyouincludeinyourownbibliography shouldreflectyourresearchprojectand/ortheguidelinesofyourassignment. Asmentionedelsewhereinthisresource,dependingonthepurposeofyourbibliography, someannotationsmaysummarize,somemayassessorevaluateasource,andsomemay reflectonthesourcespossibleusesfortheprojectathand.Someannotationsmayaddress allthreeofthesesteps.Considerthepurposeofyourannotatedbibliographyand/oryour instructorsdirectionswhendecidinghowmuchinformationtoincludeinyourannotations. Pleasekeepinmindthatallyourtext,includingthewriteupbeneaththecitation,mustbe indentedsothattheauthor'slastnameistheonlytextthatisflushleft. SampleMLAAnnotation Lamott,Anne.BirdbyBird:SomeInstructionsonWritingandLife.NewYork:Anchor Books,1995.Print. Lamott'sbookoffershonestadviceonthenatureofawritinglife,completewith itsinsecuritiesandfailures.Takingahumorousapproachtotherealitiesof beingawriter,thechaptersinLamott'sbookarewryandanecdotalandoffer adviceoneverythingfromplotdevelopmenttojealousy,fromperfectionismto strugglingwithone'sowninternalcritic.Intheprocess,Lamottincludeswriting exercisesdesignedtobebothproductiveandfun. Lamottofferssaneadviceforthosestrugglingwiththeanxietiesofwriting,but
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/614/ 4/6

2/12/13

Purdue OWL

hermainprojectseemstobeofferingthereaderarealitycheckregarding writing,publishing,andstrugglingwithone'sownimperfecthumanityinthe process.Ratherthanapracticalhandbooktoproducingand/orpublishing,this textisindispensablebecauseofitshonestperspective,itsdowntoearthhumor, anditsencouragingapproach. Chaptersinthistextcouldeasilybeincludedinthecurriculumforawriting class.SeveralofthechaptersinPart1addressthewritingprocessandwould servetogeneratediscussiononstudents'owndraftingandrevisingprocesses. Someofthewritingexerciseswouldalsobeappropriateforgenerating classroomwritingexercises.StudentsshouldfindLamott'sstylebothengaging andenjoyable. Inthesampleannotationabove,thewriterincludesthreeparagraphs:asummary,an evaluationofthetext,andareflectiononitsapplicabilitytohis/herownresearch, respectively. ForinformationonformattingMLAcitations,seeourMLA2009FormattingandStyle Guide. SampleAPAAnnotation Ehrenreich,B.(2001).Nickelanddimed:On(not)gettingbyinAmerica.NewYork: HenryHoltandCompany. Inthisbookofnonfictionbasedonthejournalist'sexperientialresearch, Ehrenreichattemptstoascertainwhetheritiscurrentlypossibleforanindividual toliveonaminimumwageinAmerica.Takingjobsasawaitress,amaidina cleaningservice,andaWalMartsalesemployee,theauthorsummarizesand reflectsonherwork,herrelationshipswithfellowworkers,andherfinancial strugglesineachsituation. Anexperiencedjournalist,Ehrenreichisawareofthelimitationsofher experimentandtheethicalimplicationsofherexperientialresearchtacticsand reflectsontheseissuesinthetext.Theauthorisforthcomingabouthermethods andsupplementsherexperienceswithscholarlyresearchonherplacesof employment,theeconomy,andtherisingcostoflivinginAmerica. Ehrenreichsprojectistimely,descriptive,andwellresearched. Theannotationabovebothsummarizesandassessesthebookinthecitation.Thefirst paragraphprovidesabriefsummaryoftheauthor'sprojectinthebook,coveringthemain pointsofthework.Thesecondparagraphpointsouttheprojectsstrengthsandevaluatesits methodsandpresentation.Thisparticularannotationdoesnotreflectonthesources potentialimportanceorusefulnessforthispersonsownresearch. ForinformationonformattingAPAcitations,seeourAPAFormattingandStyleGuide. SampleChicagoManualStyleAnnotation Davidson,HildaEllis.RolesoftheNorthernGoddess.London:Routledge,1998. Davidson'sbookprovidesathoroughexaminationofthemajorrolesfilledby
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/614/ 5/6

2/12/13

Purdue OWL

thenumerouspagangoddessesofNorthernEuropeineverydaylife,including theirrolesinhunting,agriculture,domesticartslikeweaving,thehousehold, anddeath.Theauthordiscussesrelevantarchaeologicalevidence,patternsof symbolandritual,andpreviousresearch.Thebookincludesanumberofblack andwhitephotographsofrelevantartifacts. Thisannotationincludesonlyoneparagraph,asummaryofthebook.Itprovidesaconcise descriptionoftheprojectandthebook'sprojectanditsmajorfeatures. OurCMSFormattingandStyleGuideisforthcoming.Forinformationonformatting ChicagoStylecitations,clickhere.

Copyright19952013byTheWritingLab&TheOWLatPurdueandPurdueUniversity.Allrights reserved.Thismaterialmaynotbepublished,reproduced,broadcast,rewritten,orredistributedwithout permission.Useofthissiteconstitutesacceptanceofourtermsandconditionsoffairuse.

owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/614/

6/6