Annotated Bibliography
What is an annotated bibliography?
An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each
citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words), descriptive, and evaluative paragraph;
the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy,
and quality of the sources cited.
What the annotation includes?
Generally, annotations should be about 50-75 words (or 3-5 sentences long). They should be
concise and well-written.
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Main focus or purpose of the work.
Intended audience for the work.
Usefulness or relevance to your research topic (or why it did not meet your
expectations).
Special features of the work that was unique or helpful.
Background and credibility of the author.
Conclusions or observations reached by the author.
Conclusions or observations reached by you.
Basic Questions:
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What is the article about?
Why did I choose this article?
What type of source is it? (Primary, reference, etc)
Structure of an Annotation:
Person: The third person is the standard, however 1st person is acceptable
Format - Sentences: Whole sentences
Format - Paragraphs: Annotations should be one paragraph long. The paragraph should
contain a statement of the work's major ideas from which the rest of the sentences can
develop.
YOUR NAME
Works Cited
Ellmann, Richard. James Joyce. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982. Print. This
biography of Joyce includes several sections which discuss “The Dead” and Irish
nationalism, as well as details of Joyce’s life that will be pertinent to my thesis. Ellmann
is a well-regarded critic and this is considered by many the definitive biography on Joyce.
I found the source by searching the library’s WorldCat local catalog. I conducted a
subject search using the author’s last name, and limited the content type to ‘biography’.
Loeffler, Toby H. "'Erin go bragh': 'banal nationalism' and the Joycean performance of Irish
Nationhood." Journal of Narrative Theory 39.1 (2009): 29. Literature Resource Center.
Web. 19 May 2010. This article investigates the implicit nationalist notions that inform
Joyce's work, which will support my thesis that Joyce was a nationalist in a progressive
sense and that this is not at all at odds with his reputation as a cosmopolitan and broadly
European (rather than just Irish). I couldn’t find out much about Loeffler, his background
and credentials, or other books or articles he has written. But the article is scholarly in
tone and content, stands on its own merits, and is found in a reputable database. I
discovered the article in Literature Resource Center by choosing the search option
“Person by or about” and using the author’s last name.
Munich, Adrienne Auslander. “Form and Subtext in Joyce’s ‘The Dead.’” Modern Philology
82.2 (1984): 173-184. JSTOR. Web. 19 May 2010. This is a scholarly journal article
published several years after the story. A quick internet search of Munich reveals that
she has published many books and articles on Victorian and other literary topics and is a
professor at SUNY New Brooke. In this article she analyzes certain themes which …
This is just a sample of the basic layout and format you should follow for your annotated bibliography.