Overview
The annotated bibliography forms the basis for your Instructions and Report assignments. If you do a good job with this assignment, those projects will be easier, so give this your best effort.
What is an annotated bibliography?
A standard bibliography lists sources that relate to a project. A bibliography differs from a references or work cited page because the sources in a bibliography may not be used in the project. Think of a bibliography like a recommended reading list. Ideally, all sources in your annotated bibliography would appear in your later assignments, but sometimes, a thesis changes or better sources are found later. You aren’t committed to using these sources later, but doing so is ideal.
An annotated bibliography expands on the concept of a bibliography by adding one or more paragraphs (annotations) describing the type, quality, content, and usability of a source. Good annotations demonstrate that you understand the source and its potential value for your project.
For a detailed explanation and some examples, read this guide from Cornell (Links to an external site.).
Approach
Identify the problem you are exploring (1 sentence)
This is the same issue you described in your proposal assignment (unless you’ve since revised the topic with my approval).
For at least four sources, complete both (a) and (b) below
(One of your sources MUST be a scholarly source; the others can be serious popular sources.)
Citation
Write a correct citation in MLA, APA, CMS, CSE, or IEEE style. If you are undecided, I recommend using the style that best corresponds to your major (explained here by UC Davis (Links to an external site.)).
Remember that citations from databases are often not correct; they need to be checked against the Reference Handbook in the appendix of Practical Strategies or another current handbook.
Annotation
Your annotation should be at least one paragraph and should briefly review the following:
Retrieval of Information
Discuss the following:
-The type of source
(For example, is it a book, magazine article, newspaper article, website from a reputable organization, or an academic publisher? Is it a reference work, serious popular source, or peer-reviewed scholarly source? If it is a scholarly source, from which section/s of the source was the information found?)
-Reasons it appears to be this type of source
-How and where the source was located
(For example, was it found through a library search, library database, or general internet search?)
Quality of Information
Discuss the following:
-Authority and credentials of the author(s)
-Currency of the source
-Reliability of information
-Potential biases
Application of Information
Based on your reading of each source, include both of the following:
-A brief summary of the source’s information that is useful to your specific research (you don’t need to summarize the entire source)
-An explanation of how the source’s information specifically relates to the research question (i.e, how you will use the source in your project)
Tips
Find quality sources. Avoid biased information. Be suspicious of websites that exist for profit. Emphasize information from academic, government, and non-profit organization sources.
Annotative writing tends toward short, simple sentences, closer to journalistic writing than an essay. Pay attention to examples of annotations to get a sense of their length and simplicity.
Follow the sections outlined for the annotations exactly. Don’t skip sections.
Comments from Customer
Discipline: Annotated Bibliography Draft
The file I uploaded is my topic. The topic of the bibliography is the file topic too
