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Annotated
Bibliography
What is an annotated
bibliography?
An annotated bibliography is a tool for organizing and
evaluating sources. First you must read your sources carefully, then decide how to
summarize them in just one or two sentences. In your annotation, state the author's
thesis, and make note of any especially interesting or relevant points. (For example, note
how the following annotations single out certain chapters that should be helpful in the
writer's research.) Also, include any comments that might help you later; for example, you
might write, "This source will be essential in my essay." or "This source
will probably not be useful in my research."
Examples:
Abelman, Robert. "Television Literacy for Gifted
Children." Roeper Review 9 (1987): 166-69. Television is "a potentially
useful and powerful tool" for classroom teachers. The introduction of
"television literacy" into the curriculum will encourage critical thinking and
imaginative responses, especially by gifted students.
Bryant, Jennings, and Daniel R. Anderson, eds.
Children's Understanding of Television: Research on Attention and Comprehension. New
York: Academic, 1983. Several essays, including one by the editors, discuss the effects of
television on children. An essay by D. Anderson and Lorch, chapter one, defends the active
participation of children in answer to those critics who say children are too passive. The
essay by J. Anderson, chapter twelve, defends the technical skills required for
watching television.
Hodge, Robert, and David Tripp. Children and
Television: A Semantic Approach. Stanford UP, 1986. This book on children and
television explores the social aspects primarily, and it features one chapter,
"Television and Schooling," that discusses television as a "hidden
curriculum" that teachers should not ignore.
THE PREVIOUS EXAMPLES OF ANNOTATED
BIBLIOGRAPHY ENTRIES ARE TAKEN FROM JAMES LESTER'S Writing Research Papers (102-3).
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