Stress

Creating and Evaluating Annotated Bibliographies

For this project, each Annotated Bibliography will contain three elements:

1) MLA Works Cited entry: Provide complete publication information for the text.

2) A one-paragraph summary of the text: Include the genre, the main ideas, and any conclusions offered by the text.

3) A one-paragraph evaluation of the text: Discuss the strengths and/or weaknesses of the text. Is it useful to your

research? Why or why not?

Below is a sample Annotated Bibliography summary paragraph and evaluation paragraph for the book Nickel and

Dimed: On (not) Getting By.

Annotated Bibliography

Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (not) Getting By. Henry Holt, 2008.

In this nonfiction book based on the journalist's experiential research, Ehrenreich

attempts to ascertain whether it is possible for an individual to live on a minimum-wage in

America. Taking jobs as a waitress, a maid in a cleaning service, and a Walmart sales employee,

the author summarizes and reflects on her work, her relationships with fellow workers, and her

financial struggles in each situation. Ultimately, Ehrenrich concludes that welfare reform has led

to a state of “emergency” in the U.S., where hard-working people in good health cannot support

themselves through full-time employment.

An experienced journalist, Ehrenreich is aware of the limitations of her experiment and the

ethical implications of her experiential research tactics, and she reflects on these issues in the

text. The author is forthcoming about her methods and supplements her experiences with

scholarly research on her places of employment, the economy, and the rising cost of living in

America. Originally published in 2002, Ehrenreich’s findings may be somewhat dated, but her

use of scholarly research in addition to her personal experience makes this book a useful source

of information.

Peer Response: Annotated Bibliography

1. Read the Works Cited information. Does it appear to be correct and complete? If not, provide advice:

Read the summary paragraph and answer the following questions:

2. According to the summary, what is the central idea of the text?

3. Does the summary paraphrase the author’s main ideas in logical order?

4. Does the summary provide transitions between ideas?

5. Does the summary contain any unacceptable elements (e.g., direct quotes; opinions or evaluations; minor

details)? If so, what?

Read the evaluation paragraph.

6. Paraphrase the writer’s opinion in one sentence.

7. Has the writer followed MLA guidelines for formatting the page? If not, what is needed?

8. Provide one more piece of advice for improving the Annotated Bibliography entry.