annotated bibliography: personal project
What is an Annotated Bibliography?
An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources (may be any variety of materials, books, documents, videos, articles, websites, people, etc.) with an accompanying paragraph that describes, explains, and/or evaluates each entry in terms of quality, authority, and relevance.
An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources (may be any variety of materials, books, documents, videos, articles, websites, people, etc.) with an accompanying paragraph that describes, explains, and/or evaluates each entry in terms of quality, authority, and relevance.
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What is the Purpose of an Annotated Bibliography?
An annotated bibliography may serve a number of purposes, including but not
limited to:
The annotated bibliography may be selective or comprehensive in its coverage. A selective annotated bibliography includes just those items that are best for the topic while an exhaustive annotated bibliography attempts to identify all that is available on a subject.
An annotated bibliography may serve a number of purposes, including but not
limited to:
- A review of the literature on a particular subject
- Illustrate the quality of research that you have done
- Provide examples of the types of sources available
- Describe other items on a topic that may be of interest to the reader
- Explore the subject for further research
The annotated bibliography may be selective or comprehensive in its coverage. A selective annotated bibliography includes just those items that are best for the topic while an exhaustive annotated bibliography attempts to identify all that is available on a subject.
Elements of an Annotation
Information found in an annotation may include:
1. qualifications of author(s)
"Based on 20 years of study, William A. Smith, Professor of English at XYZ University...";
2. purpose/scope:
"...sets out to place John Turner in eighteenth century England and show the development of his philosophy in relation to contemporary social mores";
3. audience and level of reading difficulty:
"Smith addresses himself to the scholar, albeit the concluding chapters on capital punishment will be clear to any informed layman";
4. bias or standpoint of author:
"Turner gears his study more to the romantic aspects of the age than the scientific and rational developments"
5. relationship to other works in the field:
"Here Turner departs drastically from A. F. Johnson (Two will not, New York, Riposte Press, 1964) who not only has developed the rational themes of the eighteenth century but is convinced the romantic elements at best are only a skein through the major prose and poetry"
6. findings, results, and conclusions (if available).
Information found in an annotation may include:
1. qualifications of author(s)
"Based on 20 years of study, William A. Smith, Professor of English at XYZ University...";
2. purpose/scope:
"...sets out to place John Turner in eighteenth century England and show the development of his philosophy in relation to contemporary social mores";
3. audience and level of reading difficulty:
"Smith addresses himself to the scholar, albeit the concluding chapters on capital punishment will be clear to any informed layman";
4. bias or standpoint of author:
"Turner gears his study more to the romantic aspects of the age than the scientific and rational developments"
5. relationship to other works in the field:
"Here Turner departs drastically from A. F. Johnson (Two will not, New York, Riposte Press, 1964) who not only has developed the rational themes of the eighteenth century but is convinced the romantic elements at best are only a skein through the major prose and poetry"
6. findings, results, and conclusions (if available).
Sample of a MLA Annotated Bibliography
Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Anchor Books, 1995. Print.
Lamott's book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing life, complete with its insecurities and failures. Taking a humorous approach to the realities of being a writer, the chapters in Lamott's book are wry and anecdotal and offer advice on everything from plot development to jealousy, from perfectionism to struggling with one's own internal critic. In the process, Lamott includes writing exercises designed to be both productive and fun.
Lamott offers sane advice for those struggling with the anxieties of writing, but her main project seems to be offering the reader a reality check regarding writing, publishing, and struggling with one's own imperfect humanity in the process. Rather than a practical handbook to producing and/or publishing, this text is indispensable because of its honest perspective, its down-to-earth humor, and its encouraging approach.
Chapters in this text could easily be included in the curriculum for a writing class. Several of the chapters in Part 1 address the writing process and would serve to generate discussion on students' own drafting and revising processes. Some of the writing exercises would also be appropriate for generating classroom writing exercises. Students should find Lamott's style both engaging and enjoyable.
Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Anchor Books, 1995. Print.
Lamott's book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing life, complete with its insecurities and failures. Taking a humorous approach to the realities of being a writer, the chapters in Lamott's book are wry and anecdotal and offer advice on everything from plot development to jealousy, from perfectionism to struggling with one's own internal critic. In the process, Lamott includes writing exercises designed to be both productive and fun.
Lamott offers sane advice for those struggling with the anxieties of writing, but her main project seems to be offering the reader a reality check regarding writing, publishing, and struggling with one's own imperfect humanity in the process. Rather than a practical handbook to producing and/or publishing, this text is indispensable because of its honest perspective, its down-to-earth humor, and its encouraging approach.
Chapters in this text could easily be included in the curriculum for a writing class. Several of the chapters in Part 1 address the writing process and would serve to generate discussion on students' own drafting and revising processes. Some of the writing exercises would also be appropriate for generating classroom writing exercises. Students should find Lamott's style both engaging and enjoyable.
Sources:
Lucy Scribner Library, Skidmore University, http://lib.skidmore.edu/library/index.php/li371-annotated-bib
Purdue Online Writing Lab. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/03/
Lucy Scribner Library, Skidmore University, http://lib.skidmore.edu/library/index.php/li371-annotated-bib
Purdue Online Writing Lab. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/03/