An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to articles, books, databases, data, and documents used in research to answer a research question or investigate a research topic. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 100-200 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph called an “annotation.” The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited for the research topic. First, locate and record citations to highly relevant web sites, periodicals, database information, and documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic. Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the text, article, or data. Include one or more sentences that (a) evaluate the authority or background of the author(s) or source, (b) comment on the intended audience, (c) compare or contrast this work with another you have cited, or (d) explain how this work illuminates your bibliography topic. You might evaluate several, if not all, of the following factors in the evaluation of the sources: the accuracy of cited facts and sources, the author’s expertise, intent, or bias, the publication type (scientific/scholarly, trade, popular), the publisher’s quality or motivations, the publication’s strengths, and/or its potential weaknesses, flaws, fallacies. Composition should formatted in Times 12 font in MLA Style using an MLA template and contain 750-1000 words (or more) and contain a minimum of seven cited sources.
