Annotated Bibliography
Guidelines
• Find Sources
• Scan Sources
• Evaluate Sources
Annotated
Bibliography = list of
sources with notes.
A bibliography is a collection of
readings or sources.
(annotated means “with notes”)
Annotated Bibliography
Your entries will look like this on google docs:
Author name. Title of Source. Publication
information, especially from the TCC LRC
databases. Date you accessed the source.
All sources will be formatted MLA style.
Underneath each source you will be including a
“notes” paragraph describing the source. The more
detailed your “notes” paragraph, the better. The
slides that follow in these lecture notes describe
the guidelines for finding the sources and writing
the notes. It is especially important to use
appropriate sources when doing academic research.
Purpose
• The purpose of an annotated
bibliography is to provide an
opportunity and motivate
(read: gently push) students to
look up information about their
topics.
Purpose
• An annotated bibliography also
provides a starting point when
researching a topic you want to
discover more about.
Starting the process
• Your Annotated
Bibliography is the
starting point for
research. As you look for
information, make a list
of the sources you
find and evaluate each
one.
Starting the process
• You may want to print out any
internet sources and highlight
information that you find
interesting. Print only if this
strategy helps you.
Annotated Bibliography
• You should begin exploring the the
internet in search of sources for
your Annotated Bibliography.
• You should begin collecting
sources and taking notes.
• You will need to find 2-3 sources for
your practice Annotated
Bibliography.
• Never underestimate the power of a
real book from the library.
Annotated Bibliography
• To illustrate what to do for the
Annotated Bibliography, the next
few slides will present an example
of a source for an Annotated
Bibliography about “38 Who Saw
Murder.”
• The sample article was found in
an internet Academic Search
Complete database.
Jot it down!
The following guidelines are good to follow for any research process:
• As you explore sources,
make certain to write down
the following information
about any sources you are
considering…
Jot it down!
 Author’s name, title, and credentials
 Title of the article
 Publication information, including:
• name of database
• newspaper/ magazine/ journal/ encyclopedia/
anthology name…
• Volume numbers
• city of publication, publisher
• organization connected to the source
• date of publication, date viewed by student, page
numbers, website address
Jot it down!
Example source on
“38 Who saw Murder”
• Author’s name, title, and credentials
– Jim Rasenberger
– author & journalist for The New York Times
• Title of the article:
– “Nightmare on Austin Street.”
• Publication information
– American Heritage
– 57.5 (2006): 65-66
– Marvel database: Academic Search Complete.
EBSCO
Plug information in to MLA format
in Easy Bib in google docs:
Notice how Easy Bib formats the
citation for your, especially
with indentations. This is a
VERY helpful new tool.
See the next slide for the source
formatted MLA style
Plug information in to MLA format
• Here is the source in MLA format:
Rasenberger, Jim. “Nightmare on Austin Street.”
American Heritage. 57.5 (2006): 65-66.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Nov.
2009.
Once you have your
sources formatted MLA
style, it’s time to write
your
NOTES.
The Notes
Write 4–6 complete sentences that
accomplish all/most of the following:
The Notes
• Provide the background and
credibility of the author
• State the main focus or
purpose of the work.
• Briefly describe the contents.
The Notes
•Indicate the possible
audience for the work.
•Point to any defect,
weakness, or suspected
bias. (fallacy)
The Notes
• Describe any special features of the
work that were unique or helpful
• Mention important conclusions or
observations reached by the author
• Evaluate the usefulness or
relevance to your research topic
(will you use this source? &/or why it did not
meet your expectations..)
The Notes
• A sample notes paragraph:
Jim Rasenberger, an author and journalist for the New York
Times, asserts that the events as described by Gansberg in “38 Who
Saw Murder” could not have happened the way Gansberg described
them. Rasenberger states that although 38 people may have heard
or seen the initial attack, Genovese was attacked three times. The
most serious attack occurred in the back foyer of her apartment
building, and could have been witnessed by five or six people at
most. He concludes his article by saying that if Gansberg’s account
had been accurate, countless articles and books would never have
been written about the incident and Americans’ apathy would not
have been studied as thoroughly. He seems pleased that the initial
and most famous account was flawed. Rasenberger’s article is
interesting, but contains few facts and little research to support his
assertions. The article is helpful as a starting point for a critical view
of Gansberg’s article.
• On the next slide, you will see the
same paragraph color-coded by
specific criteria…
Background & credibility of author Possible Audience
Main idea
Contents
Usefulness to my topic/research
The Notes
Jim Rasenberger, an author and journalist for the New York Times,
asserts that the events as described by Gansberg in “38 Who Saw
Murder” could not have happened the way Gansberg described them.
Rasenberger’s assumes his audience is familiar with Gansberg’s famous
and widely published article. Rasenberger states that although 38 people
may have heard or seen the initial attack, Genovese was attacked three
times. The most serious attack occurred in the back foyer of her
apartment building, and could have been witnessed by five or six people
at most. He concludes his article by saying that if Gansberg’s account
had been accurate, countless articles and books would never have been
written about the incident and Americans’ apathy would not have been
studied as thoroughly. He seems pleased that the initial and most
famous account was flawed. Rasenberger’s article is interesting, but
contains few facts and little research to support his assertions. The
article is helpful as a starting point for a critical view of Gansberg’s
account of events.
Background & credibility of author
Main idea
Contents
Possible Audience
Usefulness to my topic/research
Completed Example Annotated Bibliography entry
Rasenberger, Jim. “Nightmare on Austin Street.” American Heritage. 57.5 (2006): 65-66.
Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. (Use Easy Bib on docs to do this)
Jim Rasenberger, an author and journalist for the New York Times, asserts that the
events as described by Gansberg in “38 Who Saw Murder” could not have happened the way
Gansberg described them. Rasenberger states that although 38 people may have heard or seen
the initial attack, Genovese was attacked three times. The most serious attack occurred in the
back foyer of her apartment building, and could have been witnessed by five or six people at
most. He concludes his article by saying that if Gansberg’s account had been accurate, countless
articles and books would never have been written about the incident and Americans’ apathy
would not have been studied as thoroughly. He seems pleased that the initial and most famous
account was flawed. Rasenberger’s article is interesting, but contains few facts and little
research to support his assertions. The article is helpful as a starting point for a critical view of
Gansberg’s article.
Annotated Bibliography
Your Mission…
Your Mission:
• Locate 2-3 sources on your topic.
• Write an MLA Works Cited style entry for each source.
(some people keep their notes on index cards—if this helps you, great!)
• Look for any biographical info./credentials you can find
about the author and note them.
• Scan the source and note the content on your own copy
of the research notes document.
• Look at a few specific passages that catch your eye—
summarize them. Do you detect any bias? Is the source
written for a particular audience (scholars, professionals
in the field, general adult audience, educators, social
workers, parents, teenagers, the poor, religious etc…)?
• Write your annotated bibliography from your notes.
FAQ’s – frequently asked questions
Q: Should I turn in 2 or 3 sources?
Why turn more than 2?
A: About the number of sources--Bibliographies with fewer
than 2 sources will automatically receive a 2. A
bibliography with 2 sources should have welldeveloped notes. A 3-source bibliography may have
(slightly) shorter notes. The more you give me, the
more I can provide in return, so if you need help with
research/MLA, your annotated bibliography will show
me what you’re doing correctly and incorrectly. If
you’re looking for a higher score, having more (and
well-written) entries is what you should aspire to. (Doing
the absolute bare minimum rarely results in excellence.)
FAQ’s – frequently asked questions
Q: Do my notes have to look like the
ones in the example?
A: No, not exactly. However, the sample notes are
excellent--very comprehensive, well written, and
perceptive—definitely “4” level work. So...if you’re
looking for an “4” (exceptional, demonstrated excellence
in effort and ability), your notes should look similar.
That said, I don’t expect everyone’s notes to look just
like the sample. I do, however, expect you to write as a
college student in any college would. Bibliographies
with extremely brief or missing notes will receive a 2.
FAQ’s – frequently asked questions
Q: What types of sources are you looking
for? Can we use any sources we want?
A: As a soon to be college-level scholar, you should
expect that require knowledge and use of relevant,
scholarly sources rather than information from any website
that pops up on Google or Yahoo.
Your state tax dollars pay for access to huge
databases filled with reviewed, scholarly sources that indicate
to teachers that you know what you’re doing when you
conduct research.
All of these great sources are right at your
fingertips, accessible anywhere!
Sources
Where can students find
reliable, scholarly sources?
Old habits…
• Many students do “research” by
using a general search engine
such as Google or Yahoo.
• This type of search is a habit that
does not work well when doing
research.
Why not Google or Yahoo?
On the Internet….
•No selection process:
Documents do not undergo
any selection process but
rather are placed there at
will by anyone with access
to a web server.
Why not Google or Yahoo?
•No standards: There is no
overall effort, nor any rules or
standards, to organize
information to facilitate retrieval.
Often, commercial sites or
sites soliciting donations
dominate search results.
Why not Google or Yahoo?
• No validation: No
one reviews sites for
accuracy. The internet
is filled with hoaxes,
scams, parodies, and
hate speech disguised as
“fact.”
Sources
• university studies (.edu)
• Marvel databases http://libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/
• government sources/publications (.gov)
obtained from the original source are fine.
• Newspapers, magazines
• Google scholar
Sources
NO WIKIPEDIA!!!
While Wikipedia is NOT a valid research site and should
NEVER appear on a works cited page, there are ways
to use it to help your research.
Type in your topic into Wikipedia and scroll to the
bottom of the page where it lists the resources. There
are often valuable resources there to use. Always go
to the original source.
Final Notes…
Your Librarians are excellent sources for help.
Your Easy Bib on google docs can show you
quickly how to do MLA. Use it, ut’s a great
tool.
End of Presentation