ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Please follow the format below for your annotated bibliography for 3 sources
minimum. For each source you will need the citation followed by three paragraphs
as shown below in the sample. Don’t forget a title for your annotated bibliography.
Alphabetize your sources by author or article title.
WHAT YOU NEED
Title of Your Annotated Bibliography
Author’s Name. “Article Title in Quotes.” Name of magazine or journal in italics. City of publication:
publisher, year.
●​ Summary: Some annotations merely summarize the source. What are the main arguments? What is the
point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about,
what would you say? The length of your annotations will determine how detailed your summary is.
●​ Assessment/Evaluation: After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. Is it a useful
source? How does it compare with other sources in your Bibliography/Works Cited? Is the information
reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source? Is the source credible?
●​ Relevance/Reflection: Once you've summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits into
your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your argument? How can you
use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
The Beatles: An Annotated Bibliography
MacDonald, Ian. "The Beatles." Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. 2001.
Accessed 18 Nov. 2023.
SUMMARY:
Ian MacDonald’s article is generally focused on two facets of The Beatles. The first, titled “Career,”
discusses the evolution of the group. It chronologically describes the history of the group, focusing on its
members, their meteoric rise, and the different periods of music they produced. The second, titled “Works,”
goes into depth about various factors of their music. These include contributions of the group members,
possible influences on their music writing, and individual musical strengths. The article includes a list of
authorship of the Beatles’ songs and also a list of their movies. Finally, there is a bibliography of related
articles.
EVALUATION:
The article goes into some depth, especially concerning the influences on the Beatles and their
songwriting strengths. The author seems to have extensive knowledge of the history of the group, especially in
light of the list of sources at the end of the article. Occasionally the article’s writing is too technical for a casual
musician to follow.
RELEVANCE:
This article will be somewhat useful to a paper about the influence of The Beatles upon their age in two
ways. One, the deep history of the Beatles’ careers provides a history of their influence both musically and
culturally. Secondly, the article’s closing paragraph is almost obsequious in its praise of the Beatles.
SEE WORKSHEET BELOW
PLEASE FILL IN THE INFORMATION BELOW FOR YOUR SOURCES - REPLACE WHAT I
HAVE PROVIDED BEFORE THE COLORED BOXES.
alphabetize your sources and replace the highlighted information with your
own info.
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Valentina Lip​
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Lip 1
Ms. Oldham
Ap Literature
5/19/25
Title of Your Annotated Bibliography
Source 1 (begin with the citation in proper MLA format [don’t forget to indent],
then write your three paragraphs)
Citation: (indent properly below)
Severn, Stephen E. "Linguistic Structure and Rhetorical Resolution in
Katherine Mansfield 'The Garden party'." Open Edition Journals, Stephen
Severn, 7 Apr. 2009, journals.openedition.org/jsse/951. Accessed 28 May
2025.
Summary:
The author’s main argument is that language is used to understand the
reinforcement of class divisions. When Laura is caught between the upper class or
the lower class world, it represents her being caught with how to speak. Laura
wanted to avoid reverting to the upper class linguistic style that her family embraces.
The upper class characters use their type of language to establish control. The
author speaks about how linguistic structures can impact one’s social identity. The
article dives into how the author utilizes speech to criticize social hierarchies since
Laura does not want to take part in the upper class structure.
Assessment/Evaluation:
This article was useful because it specifically centers around the linguistic
interpretation of the story that affects social hierarchy. The goal of the source is to
provide examples on how Laura felt she was an outsider from her upper class family,
by revealing the dialogue where the characters interacted with each other. The
information is reliable because the author argues a specific perspective, and had
support for their analysis which shows that it was not a biased opinion, but an
objective stance.
Relevance/Reflection:
The source was helpful with offering a perspective on how language affects social
classes, which is essential for research on social identity. It revealed how social
hierarchies are not only shown in how people act or appear, but how they interact
with others. It can help me shape my argument on how social hierarchies can shape
one's identity.
Source 2 (begin with the citation in proper MLA format [don’t forget to indent],
then write your three paragraphs)
Citation: (indent properly below)
Sorkin, Adam J. “KATHERINE MANSFIELD’S ‘THE GARDEN PARTY’: STYLE
AND SOCIAL OCCASION.” Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 24, no. 3, 1978,
pp. 439–55. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26281993. Accessed 28
May 2025.
Summary:
This article focuses on the sense of unity, and Laura shows this when she feels
empathy for others outside of her social class. She is stuck between the harsh reality
of her social class, and maturing into her own person with beliefs. In the social aspect
of this, Laura is wealthier and higher class than the neighbor, Scott. But in the lyrical
and symbolic aspect, she feels sensitive to others such as the workers, who may be
lower class than her. She still sees them as a person with value, and treats them with
respect solely for their character traits.
Assessment/Evaluation:
This is a useful source because it reveals the internal conflict that Laura goes through
when maturing into a young woman. She sees first hand how her family, who is upper
class, will dismiss an issue happening to a lower class neighbor. She feels guilt, and
confusion as to why they wouldn’t honor the death of their own neighbor who is a part
of the community. This information is reliable because this is from an academic
perspective that has been reviewed.
Relevance/Reflection:
This source was helpful to me because in my research, I want to analyze how Laura
wants to be freed from the societal norms in her class because she feels sympathetic
towards others who may not be from her class as well. This source shapes my
argument about how as Laura is maturing, she is realizing the type of society that she
has to live in.
Source 3 (begin with the citation in proper MLA format [don’t forget to indent],
then write your three paragraphs)
Citation: (indent properly below)
WALKER, WARREN S. “the unresolved CONFLICT IN ‘THE GARDEN PARTY.’”
Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 3, no. 4, 1957, pp. 354–58. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/26277103. Accessed 28 May 2025.
Summary:
The article discusses the ending of the story where it was left as an open ending.
Laura wanted to take charge of the arrangements of the party, and it clashed with her
mother’s mindset about continuing the party. In the end, it is not known whether or
not Laura is going to continue with her own mindset, or will she adapt to her
environment and blend in with society.
Assessment/Evaluation:
This information is useful compared to other articles because it discusses the
unknown about the story. The dilemma that Laura goes through is up to the reader to
figure out whether she switches to her mother’s perspective, or keeps her own.
Relevance/Reflection:
This article is useful for my research because it shows how Laura may not want to be
a part of the societal norms that she is being raised to follow, and it shows how she
has her own opinion as shes maturing about other people who are lower class.