OVERVIEW
Compiling an annotated bibliography is a helpful part of the process of writing an argument supported with research. It will help you get a sense of what has been written on a particular subject, and it will help you organize and evaluate what you’ve learned from your sources.
Additionally, the completed product provides you with a summary of your sources (a helpful referral later on in the research process), allows you to identify gaps in your research, and allows me and the course librarian to provide suggestions for further research.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
- Write clearly using appropriate diction, syntax, and standard English conventions (e.g. grammar, punctuation, usage)
- Identify sources appropriate to a given assignment
- Read critically to understand, analyze, and evaluate the ideas of others
- Synthesize and cite the ideas of others using the most current version of an established professional citation style
REQUIREMENTS
- Create a bibliography for the sources you have read for Paper #4, argument supported with research.
- Write a brief summary of the source. (Do not copy the article abstract, a summary from Amazon.com, the book jacket, or anywhere else. Do not copy. Period.)
- Annotate each source with rhetorical information: your evaluation of the content, source, and author.
- Include a minimum of 4 sources. (This bibliography probably will not show all of your research, as you will (and should) continue to conduct research on your topic.)
- Format your bibliography in MLA style.
RESOURCES
- Bibliography: a list of sources consulted during research. It is much like a Works Cited page in that it includes source information – author, title, publisher, etc. It is different from a Works Cited page in that a bibliography is a list of all sources consulted, whereas a Works Cited page includes only those sources used in the paper.
- Annotate: to make critical or explanatory notes or comments on the document.
- Evaluate: to assess something for its usefulness. In this case you will evaluate the sources on the bibliography by including comments about the genre of the source, its reliability and/or the reliability/expertise of author, a summary of the information contained in the source, and an evaluation of the information – Is it accurate? How will you use it? Is it easy to understand?
EXAMPLE:
Annotated Bibliography
Samuel Adams, Paul Revere. "The Importance of Beer and Taverns in the American Revolution." American Journal of Social History (2008): 354-382.
This article discusses the importance of beer and taverns in bringing together discussion of the AmericanRebellion. It draws on the first hand experience of three Revolutionaries and their experiences in the pub. The article includes discussion of social class in where one would congregate. Written for a scholarly audience, the article brings out that even though the Revolutionaries were fighting for Liberty, it was a relative term and a dangerous one. The authors all had first hand experience in the Revolution and write from different perspectives. The editor has provided a literature review as well as an extensive bibliography. The summary and general discussion provided a useful overview of the conclusions drawn by the authors and could be used in the research paper to support a conclusion.
"How we survived camp living." 12 October 2008. Revolutionary War Camping.15 March 2020. <www.revolutionarywarcamping.html>.
This site provided basic information about camp life. It raises some important issues about gender
and status that may be useful for the classroom. It is a commercial site rather than an academic site, so it
provides some insight into the clothing that was used and may be useful for supplies. The impression I
had from the title of the site was that it would have primary documents. It does list some primary sources.
In general, I would not use this site in my research paper unless I could corroborate the information with
another more trustworthy source.
George Washington, Nathaniel Greeene. Military Strategies: On a Limited Budget. Boston: Colonial Press, 1799.
Geared for both a broad audience and professional military historians this book provides an insight into
the financial crises involved in the war. The authors show the importance and reliance on foreign
currency and support in the prosecuting of the war. The authors share their first hand experience of
deprivation and include a list of books that they used in planning military strategy. By common
consensus the authors were the best American generals and so their book is a valuable resource in
understanding the relationship between economics and strategy. Chapter Two of the book is particularly
useful since it contains Washington’s and Greene’s plans for the Battle of Manhattan.
Source: Annotated Bibliography Example http://www. tahvt.org
ASSESSMENT
In addition to the above requirements, this paper will be assessed according to the following criteria: Contains well-developed content that is specific and accurate; demonstrates the writer’s ability to synthesize complex ideas; documents all sources correctly in MLA format, andhas few to no errors in sentence structure, usage, grammar, and mechanics.
Testimonials
