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Annotated Bibliography
For this assignment you will need to include the following information:
1. A question
2. Ten properly formatted bibliographic entries (using MLA format) with
a one-paragraph summary. You can only have 5 internet or database
sources. 5 sources must be print sources taken from professional
journals/publications and/or you may use personal interviews.
3. A cover sheet that synthesizes your annotated bibliography approximately one page in length.
4. A summary of your group’s discussion.
What’s an annotated bibliography?
Annotated Bibliography Information (University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center):
There are four common ways to write annotations:
1. Informative (summary) – tell us what the main findings or arguments are in the source
2. Evaluative – tell us what you think of the source
3. Indicative (description) – tell us what is included in the source
4. Combination – tell us all sorts of stuff!
Ok, what’s next?
 I want you to use the combination form of annotation. In this form you need to
summarize (remember the rules for writing a summary) or describe the content and
provide an evaluation of the source.
 No need to repeat the article’s title (you’ve included that in the bibliographic info at the
top). Refer to the author by last name.
 Start with the author’s claim – don’t identify the topic.
 Include only major supporting points. There is no need to include details or examples
unless they are crucial to understanding.
The Annotation:
Below is an example of the type of annotated bibliography you should write for this assignment.
When using the combination form of annotation, you must write a full, coherent paragraph.
Sometimes this can be similar to the form of a bibliographic essay. It goes without saying that
you need to use complete sentences. You might want to make them clear and concise too – just a
thought!
Voeltz, L.M. (1980). Children's attitudes toward handicapped peers. American Journal
of Mental Deficiency, 84, 455-464.
As services for severely handicapped children become increasingly available within
neighborhood public schools, children's attitudes toward handicapped peers in integrated
settings warrant attention. Factor analysis of attitude survey responses of 2,392 children revealed
four factors underlying attitudes toward handicapped peers: social-contact willingness, deviance
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consequation, and two actual contact dimensions. Upper elementary-age children, girls, and
children in schools with most contact with severely handicapped peers expressed the most
accepting attitudes. Results of this study suggest the modifiability of children's attitudes and the
need to develop interventions to facilitate social acceptance of individual differences in integrated
school settings.
(example from Sternlicht and Windholz, 1984, p. 79)
The cover synthesis
In the cover synthesis, highlight the main information contained in the annotated bibliography.
The following information may be included:
 The topic being discussed in the sources.
 The basic arguments being made about the topic.
 Any interesting similarities among the sources.
 Any interesting differences among the sources.
Cover Synthesis Sample:
This annotated bibliography contains summaries of articles on the issue of Title IX
as it relates to the issue of collegiate sports. Title IX is designed to provide gender
equality in all areas of collegiate life, but the largest controversy has arisen in
athletics. The authors included here fall into two main categories: (1) those who
believe that Title IX should be enforced because it offers increased opportunities to
women athletes and future women athletes, and (2) those who believe that Title IX
should be abandoned because it hinders the progress of male athletes or to the
money-earning potential of college athletic departments. Interestingly, five of the
six authors invoke the issue of fairness, even though they do not all have the same
opinions on Title IX. In addition, most of the authors include personal stories of
actual athletes in order to make the issue seem more real for readers…
Obviously, this synthesis is not complete. Your synthesis will be somewhat longer and may or
may not include specific references to any of the articles contained in the bibliography. Your
synthesis should be a page to a page and a half in length. Below is another example submitted by
a student (font size reduced to save space).
Annotated Bibliography
By: Former Student
This annotated bibliography is about the pros and cons of the Endangered Species Act of
1973. The Endangered Species Act lists the plants and animals that are in danger of extinction
and gives guidelines for the species recovery. Recently the Act has come up for revision in
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Congress and it has been replaced by the Threatened and Endangered Species Act of 2005. This
new law reforms the original act by giving the NAR back up provisions to enhance conservation
programs, it uses peer-reviewed scientific data to make listing decisions, it improves notification
and participation of property owners, and it strengthens the role of state and local governments.
All of the authors agree that The Endangered Species Act is important. The more environmentally
conscious, such as the World Wildlife Foundation, refuse to believe that a new law could ever
replace the original act, while those who are economically conscious believe that there could be a
middle ground between property owners rights and endangered species. The original Endangered
Species Act has been facing serious problems ever since Clinton was in office. Clinton relied on a
No-Surprise policy to help landowners maneuver around the Endangered Species Act. These NoSurprise polices allowed developers to destroy critical habitats and kill off endangered species as
long as they promised to move so the species as a whole was no worse off. Since that time the
effectiveness and cost of the Endangered Species Act has been called into question. All of the
authors agree that the Act should be changed in some way they just disagree on what way to
change it. Liberal minded authors think that the old act just needs more money while conservative
minds believe in creating a new law. This Act has been around for three decades and has kept 227
species from extinction, both internationally and in the United States. The Act is considered one
of the most powerful environmental laws by all of the authors. In 1973 when it was passed it went
threw Congress unanimously with little debate or discussion. Since then it has been amended 15
times, each time gaining strength. The Act is so strong it is even able to help endangered species
outside of U.S. borders. Because of the Endangered Species Act a ban has been places on beluga
caviar from Caspian which has saved the species from almost inevitable extinction. All of the
authors agree that saving endangered species is beneficial to everyone, they just don’t agree on
what way to do it.