Annotated Works Cited

Honors 11 Cape Ann Project
annotated bibliography, or

Annotated works cited

Annotated Bibliography Partial Draft (three annotated citations) due Friday, May 2

Annotated Bibliography Final Draft (all ten annotated citations) due Friday, May 9

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WHAT IS AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (OR ANNOTATED WORKS CITED)?

• A bibliography (or works cited page) is a list of citations of books, articles, and documents.
• An annotation is a brief (usually about 100 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited. Annotations are descriptive and critical. They summarize the information provided by the source, and they analyze the author's point of view, clarity and appropriateness of expression, and authority.

• An annotated bibliography is, essentially, a works cited page in which each citation is followed by an annotation.

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WHAT WILL YOU DO?

• You will write an annotated bibliography that includes ten reliable and informative sources that represent a diverse range of perspectives on your topic. A draft of three will be due Friday, May 2. A final draft will be due Friday, May 9.

· You will cite your sources—books, articles, documents, web pages, etc.—using MLA format.

o The Landmark Project Citation Machine (http://www.citationmachine.net) will help with this step.

o The Compass and the handout available in the library may also help.

o Finally, consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (a copy of which can be found in the high school library).

· You will write a concise annotation (of about 100 words) beneath each citation. Each annotation will:

o (1) summarize the content of the source. (In other works, what is the book, article, web page, etc. about, what particular information related to your topic did you find there, and what conclusions does the source come to with regard to your topic?),

o (2) analyze and evaluate the content of the source:

§ (a) evaluate the reliability of the source, which have to do with authority or background of the author and/or organization or with a bias or lack of professionalism you perceive in the source (Does the source seem reliable? Why? Why not?),

§ (b) comment on the intended audience (Is the source intended for a general reader? An expert only?),

§ (c) compare or contrast this work with another you have cited,

§ (d) discuss any limitations or difficulties the source may have (Is it written clearly?, Is it written with jargon?, Is it up-to-date?, etc.),

§ (e) explain how this work relates to your topic (How does it provide useful information or insights about your topic?).

[Notice that there are essentially two steps to the annotation: summarizing the source (1) and analyzing the source (2: b-e). Also, [a] and [e] are most important.; [a-d] can often be covered in a sentence or two.]

· You will arrange the annotated citations into alphabetical order based on the first word in the citation.

· Your citations should use a “hanging” indentation. (See Hamlet example.)

· Your annotations should be indented. (See Hamlet example.)

· For this project, citations and annotations should be double spaced.

[Note: MLA format for citations is the same throughout the U.S. However, format for annotations varies from college to college.]

· You will create a title for your annotated bibliography that reflects your topic.