Stress

Annotated Bibliography Guidelines & Sample Annotated Bibliography Entry

An annotated bibliography is a collection of sources that includes bibliographic citations (MLA-formatted citations like

you would find on a Works Cited page), summaries, and additional information for each source. You will use the

sources you find while creating your annotated bibliography to support the argument you will make in your final

research paper.

1) Your assignment for the final research paper is to write a persuasive essay (cause and effect) that identifies a

problem or issue about which people have differing views. In response to Prompt B, the problem-solution paper,

you must identify three solutions to the problem. So you should search for sources that help you to prove a problem

exists, provide support for your solutions, and help you to refute objections to your approach. For Prompt A, of

course, you need to find a range of sources to represent diverse points of view about your issue. In other words,

both prompts require that you search for a variety of sources--and the searching will take time.

2) The assignment is to annotate six sources. One of these sources should be a book or reference text (e.g. an

encyclopedia)—you may not use Wikipedia, About.com, or other anonymously supported sites as a source for this

assignment. In addition, three of these sources should be periodicals (e.g. journals, magazines, or newspapers),

which are available in print, online, or from databases. And finally, at least two of your sources should be electronic

(e.g. an online journal, database, or web site). The remaining sources can be of any type you like. Note: I strongly

encourage you to find more than six sources for use in your final research paper; however, for the Annotated

Bibliography assignment, please annotate only six.

3) For each source, first include the “Type of Source” (this would be the title of the model that you find in your

Writer’s Reference or the Purdue OWL MLA Formatting & Style Guide). Then, provide the MLA citation using an

MLA handbook or website of your choice. Next, write a 3-5 sentence summary of your source. Finally, for the

“Contribution,” write 1-2 sentences suggesting how you might use this source in your essay—be specific. See

the accompanying handout below for a visual example of how each of your citations should look.

4) Note: you do not necessarily have to read the entire source in order to annotate it. Read synoptically. In other

words, skim the source. Read the title, look at the table of contents, and read the preface or introduction as well as

the initial paragraphs of each chapter and the conclusion. For shorter sources, it may be simpler just to read the

entire text.

5) Organize your sources alphabetically—in the same order that you would present them on a Works Cited page.

Annotated Bibliography Sample Entry

Type of Source: An Article in an Online Scholarly Journal (Use the title from Purdue OWL MLA Formatting and Style

Guide)

Reynolds, Morgan. “Incarceration Reduces Crime.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology 85.5 (2004): 52

-61. Academic Search Premier. http://www.ebsco host.com/smc/s2309sjjs0sf9

Summary: Morgan Reynolds, director of the Criminal Justice Center at the National Center for Policy Analysis and an

economics professor at Texas A & M University, argues that incarceration has a significant impact on reducing crime.

He supports his position with extensive evidence--including expert testimony from leading research scholars and

criminologists, statistical data, and comparative studies--that suggests criminals are deterred by certain and severe

punishment. His argument is based largely on the assumption that criminals operate from an “incentive-based

perspective” in which they rationally weigh possible outcomes before committing crimes and that incarceration will

influence their decisions, thus lowering crime rates.

Contribution: I can use Reynolds’ concession—“the most effective crime reducer is the intact family”—in my

refutation to assert that implementing educational and social programs to support and strengthen family ties may be

more effective than reducing crime through incarceration