Annotated Bibliography for English

Topic Summary and Annotated Bibliography

Assignment 3

For this assignment, you will need to briefly outline the subject you plan to explore in your research paper along

with a potential thesis statement. This topic summary should be approximately 200-300 words. You should then

construct an annotated bibliography of potential sources for your research essay. There should be at least six sources, all of them related to your topic. An annotated bibliography is a list of citations for research sources. Each citation is followed by an annotation, a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph about the source. The purpose of the annotation is

to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

Some things your annotations should include: 1. Evaluation of the source for relevance to your topic,

2. Evaluation of the source for possible bias,

3. If possible, an evaluation the authority, background, and education of the author(s), 4. Commentary on the intended audience. For whom was it written (general public/any reader, subject specialists, college

students)? What skill level or education level must the reader have?

5. Comparison or contrast between this work and another you have cited.

Types of Sources:

 You will need at least 6 sources for the research paper so your annotated bibliography must contain 6 as well (you may utilize more than 6 sources in your paper but you are not required to have more than 6. If you do include

more, they must be properly documented in the works cited and in the paper itself).

 Your sources should be credible and 3 of the six should be scholarly.

 Now more than 2 should be “internet” sources (note: this does not mean that all sources you find online are “internet” sources; only sources that appear exclusively online are considered to be such. You can find scholarly

sources and valuable material online that are NOT considered “internet” only sources.)

 You should show that you are able to evaluate credibility in the selection of your sources. Don’t simply choose sources that are “convenient” or pop up in a quick google search. Demonstrate with your research your ability to

be SELECTIVE about your material.

 Selected information should always be relevant to the central argument as well as quoted or paraphrased correctly to support each claim. They should also be well integrated into developed paragraphs and not just be dropped in

but contextualized.

 Finally you are allowed to use materials and readings from our class syllabus as part of your research. As with any other source you use, these must be appropriately documented.

Example of a Citation and Annotation, from the University of Missouri Libraries website: London, Herbert. "Five Myths of the Television Age." Television Quarterly 10.1 (1982): 81- 89. Academic Search Premiere. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.

Herbert London, the Dean of Journalism at New York University and author of several books and articles, explains how

television contradicts five commonly believed ideas. He uses specific examples of events seen on television, such as the

assassination of John Kennedy, to illustrate his points. His examples have been selected to contradict such truisms as:

"seeing is believing"; "a picture is worth a thousand words"; and "satisfaction is its own reward." London uses logical

arguments to support his ideas which are his personal opinion. He doesn't refer to any previous works on the topic;

however, for a different point of view, one should refer to Joseph Patterson's, "Television is Truth" (The Journal of

Television 45 (6) November/December 1995: 120-135). London's style and vocabulary would make the article of interest

to any reader. The article clearly illustrates London's points, but does not explore their implications, leaving the reader

with many unanswered questions.

Links with examples and further instruction regarding annotated bibliographies:

http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill28.htm

http://www.cynthiaclarke.com/Steps_All/122sample_step01_all.htm

http://guides.library.ucsc.edu/write-an-annotated-bibliography

http://www.english.lsu.edu/English_UWriting/FILES/item35403.pdf