An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources with a brief description or annotation for each source. The purpose is to provide a review of the literature on a topic and illustrate the quality of research done. Annotations typically describe the content and usefulness of the source, any limitations, intended audience, research methods used, and a reaction. Annotations follow bibliographic entries in a consistent style such as MLA and are usually arranged alphabetically by author's last name. Annotations are brief but include significant details about each source.

1. Writing an Annotated Bibliography

2. What is an annotated bibliography? This is an organized list of sources (references cited), such as books, journals, newspapers, magazines, Web Pages, etc., each of which is followed by an annotation or description of each item .

3. Annotated (an-o-tat-ed) n. 1. The act or process of adding commentary or notes. 2. A critical or explanatory note. Taken from The American Heritage College Dictionary…

4. Annotations may consist of all or part of the following items, depending on the assignment: describe the content (focus) of the item describe the usefulness of the item discuss any limitations that the item may have, e.g. grade level, timeliness etc. describe what audience the item is intended for evaluate the methods (research) used in the item evaluate reliability of the item describe your reaction to the item

5. What is the purpose of an annotated bibliography? Depending on the assignment, the annotated bibliography may serve a number of purposes. Including but not limited to:

6. a review of the literature on a particular subject illustrate the quality of research that you have done provide examples of the types of sources available describe other items on a topic that may be of interest to the reader explore the subject for further research

7. What does the annotated bibliography look like? You write and arrange the bibliographic entries (citations) just as you would any other bibliography. This is usually arranged alphabetically by the first word, which is typically the author’s last name. Follow the MLA writing style outlined in your compact handbook The annotation may then immediately follow the bibliographic information or may skip one or two lines depending on the style manual that is used. Remember to be brief and include only directly significant information and write in an efficient manner.

8. This is an example of what an MLA annotated bibliography may look like for a magazine article. Checkley, K. (1997, September). The first seven . . . and the eighth: A conversation with Howard Gardner. Educational Leadership, 55, 8-13. In this interview, Gardner discusses criteria for determining the intelligences, highlights the Naturalist Intelligence, and explodes a number of myths about multiple intelligences theory. He distinguishes between learning styles and multiple intelligences. This distinction has helped me in my teaching, looking at how children respond to different learning situations.

9. This is an example of what an MLA annotated bibliography may look like for a video. Gardner, H. (Writer), & DiNozzi, R. (Producer/Director). (1996). MI: Intelligence, understanding and the mind [Motion picture]. Los Angeles: Into the Classroom Media. Gardner presents his theory of multiple intelligences, outlining the original seven as well as the eighth, Addressing these intelligences in the classroom gives more students access to profound understandings rather than mere factual knowledge. I enjoyed seeing Gardner "in person" and found new insight into the issues of learning for understanding.

10. This is an example of what an MLA bibliography should look like for a book. Taylor, Monica and Mal Leicester. Ethics, Ethnicity and Education . Bristol, PA: Taylor and Francis, 1992. This book is an important and inherently controversial collection of papers that discusses the major moral issues in multicultural school education. Topics discussed include the ethical aspects of the separate schools debate, strategies for establishing a democratic school and preparing teachers to be more moral educators, and consideration of the values implicitly antiracist/ multicultural education.

11. This is an example of what an MLA annotated bibliography would look like for a journal. Waite, Linda J., Frances Kobrin Goldscheider, and Christina Witsberger. "Nonfamily Living and the Erosion of Traditional Family Orientations Among Young Adults." American Sociological Review 51 (1986): 541-554. The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of non-family living.

12. Where does it go? The Annotated Bibliography goes in the same place as your “Works Cited” page at the end of your Research Paper. It is not counted in your word-count. The page must be titled: Works Cited, and your annotations listed in alphabetical order just as you did your other Works Cited pages in the first two essays. You are required to have 10 or so sources for your Research Paper and your annotations should be at least 5 sentences.