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Contents
Preparing an Annotated
Bibliography
Additional Samples and Guidelines
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An annotated bibliography is a selected list of resources that are available in a given field (the bibliography), each one being accompanied by a brief description and critical assessment of the source (the annotation).
As in preparing a literature review, preparing a good annotated bibliography requires good searching. Look carefully at the list of indexes and databases that relate to your discipline. When searching them, use boolean operators such as AND and OR. Use truncation symbols, usually an asterisk (*), to return results having all forms of a root term (e.g. parent* to include parents, parenting, parental, etc.). Please see Research Help for additional information.
Your professor may offer specific instructions on how to format an annotated bibliography and what should be the special characteristics of the annotations. However, most annotated bibliographies have the following common format:
- An organized list of citations, using a consistent standard format (ALA, MLA, Turabian, etc.), just as you would for a 'Works Cited' page. The citations may be organized into categories and then arranged alphabetically within each category.
- An annotation following each citation. The annotation is usually no more than 150 words (or 4-6 sentences long) and does not have to be written in complete sentences. Depending on your assignment, annotations may include some or all of the following information:
- A brief statement describing the main focus of the work
- A brief statement about the author's credentials
- An explanation of the intended audience
- An explanation of why the work did or did not meet expectations
- Special features of the work that are unique or helpful
To locate examples of published annotated bibliographies, type the phrase "annotated bibliography" into the search box for the online catalog, or a specialized database. Several entries will appear. Review the full-text to read sample annotations such as this one, found in the Academic Search Premier database:
Barker, J. A. (1992). Future Edge: Discovering the new paradigms of success. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.
This book is a very quick read with 240 pages that discuss change in terms that are easily generalized to business, medicine, education or other applications. The text illustrates and discusses paradigm shifts in terms of how leadership, management, and staff are affected by change. Concepts are readily adapted to a school perspective. The strength of the book is in presenting concepts related to change that are not limited to education.
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Additional sample annotated bibliography entries, as well as additional guidelines, can be found at the following links:
How to prepare an annotated bibliography (Cornell)
Zool 250 – Sample annotated bibliography (Saint Anselm College Department of Biology)
Writing an annotated bibliography (Cal Polytech)
Writing an annotated bibliography (University of Minnesota Crookston)
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