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Mini Lesson
Annotated Bibliographies
An annotated bibliography consists of a list of entries providing facts on the sources you will be
using to do your research. Its purpose is to provide information on “the relevance, accuracy, and quality of
the sources cited” (Engle, 2010). Each entry has two parts to it- the first is the correct citation
information of a source (author, title, place/date/company of publication, etc.). This is followed by a
short paragraph called an annotation that both describes and evaluates the source. You are providing “a
sentence or two about why and how a particular book or piece of information is valuable to your research…
If you cannot state why a book is helpful to you or helps prove your thesis, then you should not consult
that particular book” (Stark, 2002). By the time you move up into serious research papers, the writing can
be approximately 150 words in length, though for our purposes, we will set a goal of two to three
sentences.
Example:
- Miller, Sue. President Kennedy's White House Staff. London: Oxford University Press, 1989.
This book is critical to understanding White House policy in the last days of President
Kennedy's term because it provides full, unedited interviews with several of President
Kennedy's key staff members. In addition to interviews with policy makers of the time, it also
provides a comprehensive, chronological listing of Kennedy's policies and legislation during his
presidency and includes excerpts from Kennedy's own diary.
Notice how this write-up does not provide the specific facts that are stated in the book, such as
the names of the people, the list of policies, or his exact thoughts and feelings. It does, however, show
that the information will come from three areas: unedited interviews, a chronological listing, and personal
diary entries. This shows the reader that information taken from this source will be factual and
reliable. He or she will be able to know right away how valuable the book will be in supplying information on
the topic without having to go read the actual book itself. A teacher will be able to check these
annotations and know whether you have enough sources and strong enough facts to really succeed in your
research. It will also be obvious from your citations whether the sources themselves will be reliable.
For example, Wikipedia is not a strong supply of factual information because anyone can change the
information on it.
One thing to watch out for is making your writing too personal. “Don't write, ‘I really liked this book
because it was so cute and colorful and full of fun interviews.’ An annotated bibliography is not an
individual, personal, or informal review. Be professional and use formal language; assume a tone of
authority and respect for your reader. Also, be sure to state not only whether or not a particular source is
helpful, but how it is helpful. Include details and be specific” (Stark, 2002).
SOURCES:
Engle, Michael, Amy Blumenthal, and Tony Cosgrave. "How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography." Olin & Uris Libraries- Cornell
University. Olin Reference, Research & Learning Services, 12 Feb. 2010. Web. 08 Mar. 2011.
<http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill28.htm>.
Stark, Rachel. "Writing an Annotated Bibliography, a Historiography, and an Abstract: Research Paper Study Guide”. Research & Writing
Skills Success in 20 Minutes A Day. Education.com - An Education & Child Development Site for Parents. Learning Express,
LLC, 2002. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://www.education.com/study-help/article/writing-annotated-bibliography-historiographyabstract/>.
Activity Directions:
Read the article below and mark items in the text that show this source to be useful if someone were
doing a report on Feudalism. Then use at least two of these points in an annotation in the space below.
Remember, you are not providing the details about Feudalism! You are explaining what type of information
can be found in the article that will be valuable to a person’s research. Here is a hint: you would definitely
include the fact that it provides a visual explanation (image) of the chain of command.
How did the Feudal System work?
Once William became king of England, he had to decide
how he was going govern the country. He did not want the old
English nobles to keep their estates, because they would be
powerful and might try to overthrow him. Anyway they had to
make room for William's supporters who had been promised
land in return for helping him.
William was very careful not to just give land away. His
supporters were rewarded, but they had duties to perform as
well. This system of duties and rewards was called the Feudal
System. In Normandy when barons or bishops were given land
they had to swear an oath of loyalty to the lord who was giving
it. This called doing homage. The barons or bishops then
became tenants-in-chief and agreed to provide knights
The
(mounted soldiers) to guard castles or fight in wars for their
lords. The more land the baron was given, the more knights he had to provide.
Feudal System
The tenants-in-chief sometimes had their knights living with them in their castles. Usually,
however, they gave some of their own land to the knights, who in return did homage and agreed to fight
when asked. The knights became under-tenants. They kept some land for themselves and shared the rest
among the peasants who farmed it. The peasants did homage to the knights who, in turn, promised to
protect them.
The feudal system proved idea for distributing the land of newly conquered England. William could
have a large army whenever he like, without the expense of keeping soldiers at his royal court. He also
made sure that his supporters were rewarded, and the same time stayed loyal to him.
Annotated Bibliography:
Boughey. ""How Did the Feudal System Work?"" SchoolHistory. Web. 8 Mar. 2011.
<http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year7links/1066/FeudalSystem.pdf>.
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