Information Literacy Lesson
Elizabeth Gagnon
LESSON PLAN: How to Write an Annotated Bibliography
SUBJECT OF THE LESSON
The lesson teaches history undergraduate students how to write an annotated bibliography. This includes a
discussion of what an annotated bibliography is, as well as preparation steps for compiling an annotated
bibliography including how to find and evaluate information resources. Students are asked compare an
annotation and an abstract to demonstrate the difference between a summary and an evaluation.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES ((Covers ACRL Standards One, Two and Three)
•
•
•
Participants will be able to identify a variety of types and formats of potential sources of
information.
Students will be able to think critically about selecting quality resources, and will be able to
implement a search strategy on various databases to acquire relevant scholarly resources.
Participants will be able to recognize the difference between abstracts and annotations, and
will evaluate sources critically to produce an annotated bibliography.
Standard One: The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information
needed.
Standard Two: The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.
Standard Three: The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and
incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.
METHODS
*Address different learning styles by using handouts, lecture, text, pictures, and charts.
* Ensure student comprehension by stopping and asking for questions and rephrasing or re-iterating as
needed.
* Incorporate active learning by asking students to compare an annotation and an abstract.
Outline
I. Introduction

What is an annotated
bibliography?
II. Selecting the Sources
Lesson Details
1. Pre-test: Has anyone ever completed an annotated bibliography
before?
2. What is an annotated bibliography?
3. Purpose of an annotated bibliography – why write one?
4. Your assignment.
1. Identify your research topic.
2. Construct a search statement.
3. Introduce the library website. Demonstrate how to find relevant
databases.
i. Search tips and tricks for building a bibliography.
III. Evaluating
Information Sources
1. Components of an annotation.
2. Topics to consider when reading your information sources.
Skills Practice
1. Post-test: Conduct a comparison exercise where students take 1-2
minutes to read an abstract and an annotation on the same
resource, and consider the difference between the two.
2. Students will then be asked to highlight the components of an
annotation. What is the main difference between an annotation
and an abstract?
Wrap Up
1. Review the steps to preparing an annotated bibliograph, reiterating
what we’ve covered in this presentation.
2. Avoiding plagiarism
3. Where to go for citation management help:
http://library.algomau.ca/main/?q=node/1274
Reference List
Lesson Planning
University of Texas at Arlington. Active Learning Techniques. Accessed May 16, 2015. Retrieved from:
http://activelearning.uta.edu/FacStaff/ALtechniques.htm.
University of Waterloo. LINC Toolkit. Accessed May 16, 2015. Retrieved from:
http://subjectguides.uwaterloo.ca/linctoolkit
Annotated Bibliography Resources

http://seneca.libguides.com/c.php?g=20659&p=160657

http://www.aacc.edu/library/file/annotatedbib.pdf

http://www.lib.uwo.ca/tutorials/annotatedbibliographies/

http://www.lib.uoguelph.ca/get-assistance/writing/specific-types-papers/writing-annotatedbibliography

http://help.library.ubc.ca/planning-your-research/how-to-write-an-annotated-bibliography/