Annotated Bibliography Assignment

An annotated bibliography is an alphabetized list with summary information of all the sources which you find helpful in your research.  It serves as a record of the extent of your research and an overview of the types of information you found. (The Works Cited list which will accompany your paper includes only those sources cited in the paper.)

The easiest way to compile the annotated bibliography is to make the annotation immediately after previewing or reading the source.

Begin with the correct Works Cited listing for the source; use the citation format that your final paper will use.  Follow this information with 1) a brief descriptive summary of the source and 2) a statement of the source’s use to you.  You might even include brief quotations here that you plan to incorporate into your essay. Think of this compilation of source information as a reference tool for your work:  you can use it to review your research and to remind you of where specific types of information may be found.

Here is an example:

Tien, Chang-Lin. “A View from Berkeley.” New York Times 31 March 1996: Rpt. in Perspectives on Argument. Ed. Nancy V. Wood. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 2004. 51-54. Print.

Example of an insufficient annotation:

Tien gives his opinion about affirmative action.  Although he did not benefit from it, he thinks it is good.  I liked his personal stories.

Example of a helpful annotation:

Berkeley Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien explains why he believes it is too soon to end affirmative action in higher education.  He understands why some might think it unnecessary but uses his own experience with racism and the current diversity at Berkeley to support his opinion.  He presents admissions statistics to prove that factors other than grades are always an issue.  He also writes about The Berkeley Pledge program which hopes to encourage and prepare minority youth for college.

The article is helpful because the author is both a university chancellor and an Asian-American so he has a personal perspective on the issues.  His personal examples have a strong appeal to pathos and the data about Berkeley could be good support for my claim.  I may want to use The Berkeley Pledge program as an example of a solution.

Your Annotated Bibliography for the Persuasive essay must have at least 5 sources, and your Annotated Bibliography for the Synthesis essay must have at least 7 sources.