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. 3rd 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!!!