Annotated Bibliography Assignment

Classical Jewish History

For the first part of your semester research assignment, you will compile an annotated
bibliography consisting of ten entries (articles and/or books). The topic will match the one that
you choose for the research paper.
I have included useful guidelines on writing annotated bibliographies in the pages below. In
short, I am asking you to annotate, that, is, summarize, your bibliographical entries with the
following information:
1. What is the question or problem that the author sets out to address in this article?
2. What is the thesis or main idea of this article?
3. What is the evidence or data that the author uses in support of his/her thesis or main idea?
4. Do the conclusions of this article coincide with or deviate from those found in the other
articles on your bibliography?
5. What do you think is new, useful, or important about this article?
Your bibliographical entries may not exceed 250 words. This assignment is designed to force you
to read academic writings with an eye on the big picture; distill large amounts of information into
their most critical elements; and reflect critically on the scholarly work of others.

http://www.cgu.edu/pages/836.asp

Writing Annotated Bibliographies

by Allison Ikeda
Annotated bibliographies provide basic bibliographical information in a standard style of
documentation, as in a regular bibliography or works cited page; the only difference is that
each citation is annotated with a brief statement about the text. This statement can range in
length from a sentence or two to a full paragraph, but it always contains a description or
summary of the text, and it often includes an assessment of its use, value, and/or significance.
The purpose of the annotations determines their length and focus. Some assignments specify
what kind of information needs to be provided, as well as how long and detailed the statements
should be. However, if you are not given explicit directions about purpose and detail, consider
the following:
Audience

For whom is this text intended?

Use

What could this information be used for?

Significance

Why is this text important? What does or could it add to discussions in your field?

Value

Does this text offer a particularly intelligent and complex argument, an useful update to earlier
editions, or an exceptionally clear, detailed, or comprehensive treatment of its subject? Why or
why not?

Reliability

Is this an original source, an accurate testimony, a well-researched and logical argument, etc.?

Theory

Does this text useor is it influenced bya particular theory? What are its underlying
assumptions? What methodology does it use?

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/

Annotated Bibliographies
Summary: This handout provides information about annotated bibliographies in MLA, APA,
and CMS.
Contributors:Dana Bisignani, Allen Brizee
Last Edited: 2011-07-06 09:59:37
Definitions

A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, websites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for
researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called "references" or "works cited" depending
on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic
information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).
An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation.
Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the
sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of
the following:

Summarize: Some annotations merely summarize the source. What are the
main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are
covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you
say? The length of your annotations will determine how detailed your
summary is.

For more help, see our handout on paraphrasing sources.

Assess: After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. Is it a

useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography?
Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal
of this source?

For more help, see our handouts on evaluating resources.

Reflect: Once you've summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask
how it fits into your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help
you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research
project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?

Your annotated bibliography may include some of these, all of these, or even others. If
you're doing this for a class, you should get specific guidelines from your instructor.

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

Write an Annotated Bibliography

1. Definition
A bibliography is usually thought of as an alphabetical listing of books at the end of a written
work (book, book chapter, or article), to which the author referred during the research and
writing process. In addition to books, bibliographies can include sources such as articles, reports,
interviews, or even non-print resources like Web sites, video or audio recordings. Because they
may include such varied resources, bibliographies are also referred to as 'references', 'works
cited' or 'works consulted' (the latter can include those titles that merely contributed to research,
but were not specifically cited in text). The standard bibliography details the citation information
of the consulted sources: author(s), date of publication, title, and publisher's name and location
(and for articles: journal title, volume, issue and page numbers). The primary function of
bibliographic citations is to assist the reader in finding the sources used in the writing of a work.
To these basic citations, the annotated bibliography adds descriptive and evaluative comments
(i.e., an annotation), assessing the nature and value of the cited works. The addition of
commentary provides the future reader or researcher essential critical information and a
foundation for further research.
2. Composition
While an annotation can be as short as one sentence, the average entry in an annotated
bibliography consists of a work's citation information followed by a short paragraph of three to
six sentences, roughly 150 words in length. Similar to the literature review except for the shorter
length of its entries, the annotated bibliography is compiled by:

Considering scope: what types of sources (books, articles, primary

documents, Web sites, non-print materials) will be included? how many (a
sampling or a comprehensive list)? (Your instructor may set these guidelines)
Conducting a search for the sources and retrieving them

Evaluating retrieved sources by reading them and noting your findings and
impressions

Once a final group of sources has been selected, giving full citation data
(according to the bibliographic style [e.g., APA, Chicago, MLA] prescribed by
your instructor) and writing an annotation for each source; do not list a
source more than once
6

Annotations begin on the line following the citation data and may be composed with complete
sentences or as verb phrases (the cited work being understood as the subject)again at the
discretion of the instructor. The annotation should include most, if not all, of the following:

Explanation of the main purpose and scope of the cited work

Brief description of the work's format and content

Theoretical basis and currency of the author's argument

Author's intellectual/academic credentials

Work's intended audience

Value and significance of the work as a contribution to the subject under

consideration

Possible shortcomings or bias in the work

Any significant special features of the work (e.g., glossary, appendices,

particularly good index)

Your own brief impression of the work

Although these are many of the same features included in a literature review, the emphasis of
bibliographic annotation should be on brevity.
3. PURPOSE
Not to be confused with the abstractwhich merely gives a summary of the main points of a
workthe annotated bibliography always describes and often evaluates those points. Whether
an annotated bibliography concludes an article or bookor is even itself a comprehensive, booklength listing of sourcesits purposes are the same:

To illustrate the scope and quality of one's own research

To review the literature published on a particular topic

To provide the reader/researcher with supplementary, illustrative or

alternative sources

To allow the reader to see if a particular source was consulted

To provide examples of the type of resources available on a given topic

To place original research in a historical context

http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/AnnBib_content.html

What goes into the content of the

annotations?
Below are some of the most common forms of annotated bibliographies. Click on a link to see
examples of each.

Indicative
This form of annotation defines the scope of the source, lists the significant topics included, and
tells what the source is about.
This type is different from the informative entry in that the informative entry gives actual
information about its source.
In the indicative entry there is no attempt to give actual data such as hypotheses, proofs, etc.
Generally, only topics or chapter titles are included.

Informative
Simply put, this form of annotation is a summary of the source.
To write it, begin by writing the thesis; then develop it with the argument or hypothesis, list the
proofs, and state the conclusion.

Evaluative
In this form of annotation you need to assess the source's strengths and weaknesses.
You get to say why the source is interesting or helpful to you, or why it is not. In doing this you
should list what kind of and how much information is given; in short, evaluate the source's
usefulness.

Combination
Most annotated bibliographies are of this type.
They contain one or two sentences summarizing or describing content and one or two sentences
providing an evaluation.