Article links:
“Annotated Bibliography” provided by the authors
“Reflective Writing Prompt: Annotated Bibliography” by the authors
Chapter Preview
- Describe the citation and annotation of an annotated bibliography.
https://youtu.be/R0Hsnx0l1q4
Annotated Bibliography
provided by the authors
Earlier in the text, you explored a topic that you want to further research. in this section, you’re going to find sources using formal scholarly research, evaluate and write annotations for those sources, and use MLA citation to create works cited entries.
This second major assignment for English Composition II courses is called an annotated bibliography. For this assignment you’ll find a number of sources (some of which will be scholarly, peer-reviewed and compose works cited entries and annotations for these sources. The purpose of the annotated bibliography is to give a review of the most important research you’ve found and evaluate their worthiness to be included in your research project. Your instructor will have specific guidelines for the number and types of sources to be included in this assignment.
The annotations are divided into three parts: a summary, an evaluation, and a plan to use the source. The summary should give a quick, objective description of the source, usually involving the thesis and context for the source. After that, the bulk of the annotation should be an evaluation, which you’ll conduct a critical analysis of the source, judging its credibility, accuracy, and authority as a source. You’ll end the annotation with a plan to use the source in your own research project, telling how this source can support your argument and purpose.
The annotated bibliography as a whole will be formatted using MLA 8 citation. Each source will have a works cited entry followed immediately by the annotation.
For this section we focus on critical analysis and knowledge. Critical Analysis: “critical analysis is a careful examination and evaluation of a text, image, or other work or performance…[to] help us understand the interaction of the particular elements that contribute to a work’s power and effectiveness” (Richard Nordquist). Knowledge is “facts or ideas acquired by study, observation, or experience” (Merriam-Webster)
Context
Context is the circumstances surrounding an issue that the rhetorician must consider in discussing the issue. In other words, before we begin writing an argumentative research essay, we must first consider who needs to hear our message (audience), why they need to hear our message (exigence), and with whom we wish to confer in order to exchange ideas and information to form a solid foundation for our argument (discourse community).
Important Concepts
annotated bibliography
annotations
summary
evaluation
plan to use the source
context
Annotated Bibliography
In a two-part response OR [In the format of a dialogue, create a conversation that
includes you and several (2 – 3)] of your sources you selected for your Annotated
Bibliography. Create a conversation] that demonstrates how you learned from your
sources specific knowledge about the topic itself and the writing assignment. Use some
of the following questions to guide your thinking:
Part 1: In 300-400 words: what did you learn about writing with sources from
constructing this Annotated Bibliography? What kinds of rhetorical knowledge and
critical analysis skills did you draw on to produce this project? Using specific details
from your own writing, explain how your understanding of context contributed to your
final decisions.
Part 2: In 300-400 words, which of the key terms did you use to form the basis of your
theory of writing? For example, how did you draw upon an understanding of audience
awareness or genre (both important features of context) in your selection of source
materials? How do you see opportunities to apply this in other courses when asked to
write a research project?
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
Composing Ourselves and Our World, Provided by: the authors. License: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
- Video 1: What’s an annotated bibliography? by Brock Library. License: Standard YouTube License.
