Annotated Bibliography The need to know… (Senior Project)

A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journal articles, Web sites, etc.) that you have consulted in order to write a paper. An annotated bibliography differs from a standard bibliography. For each source listed you will need to provide descriptive or evaluative comments (i.e., annotations).

Information to include in an annotation Depending on your assignment guidelines, you may have to: Describe the content of the source Mention why the source is useful Indicate any strengths or weaknesses of the source Evaluate the overall reliability of the source; you can do this by looking at: The author's conclusions and how he/she arrived at them The references consulted Describe your reaction to the source

Format of an annotated bibliography Most bibliographies organize items alphabetically by the author's last name. Use a citation style guide to determine what information to include for each item. Your annotation should appear right after or below the citation. Your instructor may have indicated a particular citation style guide to use. If not, consult one of the main citation style guides such as MLA, APA, Chicago or Turabian

Example according to MLA Chrisholm, Patricia. "The ADD dilemma." Maclean's 11 Mar. 1996: Print. This magazine article looks at the use of Ritalin in Canada. Specifically it covers the drug's side effects, why there is so much debate surrounding its use and how teachers have come to rely on it to control problem students. The article is based on information taken from interviews, statistics and studies that were conducted. Overall, it is well written and well researched. Notice that the first part of the annotation is descriptive and that the last sentence is a brief evaluation.

Examples according to APA Chrisholm, P. (1996, March 11). The ADD dilemma. Maclean's, 109, This magazine article looks at the use of Ritalin in Canada. Specifically, it covers the drug's side effects, why there is so much debate surrounding its use and how teachers have come to rely on it to control problem students. The article is based on information taken from interviews, statistics and studies that were conducted. Overall, it is well written and well researched.

MLA Citation (Owl Purdue or MLA Guidebook) 3-4 (6) sentences to summarize the source-what did it say? 3-4 (6) sentences to evaluate the relevance 1-2 (2-3) sentences to evaluate the credibility of the source (bias, ethos, pathos, logos) Double-spaced ABC order by author last name All lines indented after first line Columbia Annotated Bibs