Writing an Annotated
Bibliography
RHET 201
Fall 2011
A list of citations of books, articles, and
documents related to a research question
or topic.
 Each citation is followed by descriptive
and evaluative paragraph or two, the
annotation.
 The purpose of the annotation is to inform
the reader of the content of the source,
its significance, relevance, POV, accuracy,
and quality.

WHAT IS AN ANNOTATED
BIBLIOGRAPHY?
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First: Define your topic or research question.

Search for sources related to this topic.

You will primarily be looking for scholarly books and articles, but
your search may also include credible and substantial newspaper
and magazine articles, films and videos, white papers and other
materials from NGOS or government organizations, and even blog
entries in some cases.

EVALUATE the credibility and usefulness of the sources you find
and the relevance to your project.

Then choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives
on your topic.
Process

Cite the book, article, or document using MLA style.

Write a concise annotation that:
1. Summarizes the thesis or central theme and scope of the book or article and
the perspective from which it is written.
2. Evaluates the types and qualities of support/evidence used in the article.
3. Comments on the intended audience, and possibly the authority and
background of the author, if significant.
4. Compares or contrasts this work with another you have cited
5. Explains how this work is related to your research question.
Process
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Where is it published?
Who wrote it?
Where did you find it?
How does it relate to other materials on the
topic/issue?
What is the quality of the support used?
What types of sources are cited?
For more info see:
How to Critically appraise information sources
http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/ski
ll26.htm
How to evaluate & analyze
sources

Waite, Linda J., Frances Kobrin Goldscheider, and Christina
Witsberger. "Nonfamily Living and the Erosion of Traditional
Family Orientations Among Young Adults." American Sociological
Review 51.4 (1986): 541-554. Print.

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 nonfamily living.
Sample

Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (not) Getting by in America. New York:
Henry Holt and Company, 2001.
Set in the late 1990’ this book of nonfiction sets out to investigate the impact
of the 1996 welfare reform on the "working poor" in the United States. It is based on
the journalist's experiential research, as the author, Barbara Ehrenreich, attempts to
ascertain whether it is currently possible for an individual to live on a minimum-wage
in America. Taking jobs as a waitress, a maid in a cleaning service, and a Wal-Mart
sales employee, the author documents, summarizes and reflects on her work, her
relationships with fellow workers, and her financial struggles in each situation. These
experiences serve as the basis for the implicit argument that it is nearly impossible
for minimum wage workers in America to maintain a decent standard of living.
An experienced journalist, Ehrenreich is aware of the limitations of her
experiment and the ethical implications of her experiential research tactics and
reflects on these issues in the text. The author discusses her methods and
supplements her experiences with scholarly research on her places of employment,
the economy, and the rising cost of living in America. In the end she concludes that
someday, low-wage workers will rise up and demand to be treated fairly, and when
that day comes everyone will be better off. This book will be useful to my research on
the debate about the minimum wage in the US because it provides first hand
experience of the challenges of living on a minimum wage job as well as the difficult
working conditions of many low wage jobs. The scholarly data included is out of
date now, but it gives me ideas about the kinds of statistics I should look for in more
recent articles.
Sample

Amer, Salah El-Din, and Magdy Hefny. "Egypt and the Nile Basin." Aquatic
Sciences 67.1
(2005): 42-50. Print.

Salah El-Din Amer, Professor of International law, Cairo University, and Magdy
Hefny, Director, Regional Center for Studies and Research on Water Ethics, use
data from the Web of Science; and they are generally talking about the
problem of water in Egypt and the other countries as they will face lack of
water if they don’t save water. They also mention that there are some conflicts
between them, and also there are a lot of policies and deals according to the
water of the Nile “On the water resources development side, the strategies are
more focused on enhancing cooperation among the Nile Basin countries in
order to implement joint projects that could increase the countries water
budget from the Nile.” They said that there are a lot of policies between these
countries such as the 1929, and 1959 agreements. So it will help me in the
recent conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia and the other countries as it will
show the demands of each country, and who has the right in this conflict and
what are the causes that lead to this conflict after deals between them. It is
different for the other articles as it discuss the ways of cooperation between
the Nile Basin countries such as the NBI and its objectives.
Student Sample
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Salem, M. et al. “Studies On John's Disease In Egyptian Cattle.” Journal Of Veterinary
Medicine Series B 52.3 (2005) : 134-137. Web. 26 Mar 2011.
In this paper, the authors discussed the incidence of a disease called John’s Disease in
Egyptian cattle. This disease is a form of tuberculosis that affects cattle. The authors said
that Egypt was thought to be free of JD but, the study performed by the authors showed
Egypt has a large percentage of cattle that are affected by this disease. Their study was
done on 160 Egyptian cattle and samples from their feces were analyzed to determine
whether they are diseased or not. Fecal samples were used because the disease operates
in the intestine so, large populations of the bacterium are found in feces. The data used by
the study is mainly statistical as well as some scientific jargon and methodologies.
The study showed that 51% of the samples that were taken from cows exhibiting
symptoms were positive and 44% of the samples from animals exhibiting no symptoms
were positive. The study also showed that the incidence of JD was highest in Ismailia
followed by El Monefeia and Cairo, El Giza and El Gharbeiah reported no positive results for
JD. I believe that this study is of relative importance to my argument because it shows the
effect of the spread of pollution and the use of pesticides on the crops. JD is an intestinal
disease therefore the most probable cause of its spread is from polluted food and the
pollution is most probably caused by the excessive use of highly toxic pesticides. The
correlation between the JD disease and pesticides are not mentioned in the study but they
can be inferred from the data and the nature of the disease.
Student Sample