CITB01 Canadian Cities and Planning
Course Instructor: Dr. Ahmed Allahwala
Assignment I: Annotated Bibliography
Students are required to write an annotated bibliography of five (5) peer- reviewed
journal articles on one of the urban planning issues listed below.
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Sustainable urban growth
Participatory planning
Multicultural planning
Public transit
Urban revitalization
What is an annotated bibliography?
An annotated bibliography gives an account of the research that has been done on a given
topic. Like any bibliography, an annotated bibliography is an alphabetical list of research
sources. In addition to bibliographic data, an annotated bibliography provides a concise
summary of each source and some assessment of its value or relevance.
Deadline: October 20 (in class)
Format:
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3-4 pages (approximately 750-1000 words)
Include page numbers
Put your name, student number, course code and title on the top of the first page (to
save trees, no cover page is necessary)
Provide a title of your bibliography, or example, “Annotated Bibliography: Public
Transit”
Indicate somewhere at the end of the assignment which citation style you have used
Learning objective of the assignment:
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To develop library/database research skills
To develop critical reading skills
Components of the assignment:
A brief statement of the research topic (50-100 words): Outline in a couple of sentences
what the overarching theme of your bibliography is (See announcement “Assignment I: The
next step” on Blackboard.
Bibliographical data and annotations for five (5) peer-reviewed journal articles: You
can choose any citation style you like (the Writing Centre has information handouts for
various styles (MLA, APA, ASA, etc.) available on its website and as hard copies at the
Centre). Provide full bibliographical data for each article; make sure all components
required by the style guide you have chosen are included. Each entry is followed by an
annotation. Make sure that all annotations are roughly the same length (approximately 150200 words). Each annotation should achieve three objectives: (1) summarize the article
and (2) describe the author’s argument in a concise way. The last sentences of your
annotations should (3) assess the value of the article for you as a researcher. For this last
part, try to answer the question “In what way does the article deepen my understanding of
the subject outlined in the statement of research topic?” Please note that you don’t
necessarily have to agree with the author’s argument to include an article in your
bibliography. Like in a non-annotated bibliography, your selected readings must be listed in
alphabetical order.