What is it?
An Annotated Bibliography is typically the first product of your research efforts. It literally translates to "a list of books" and is the preliminary list of sources that you hope to use in your final research paper. While this list is not meant to be exhaustive or complete, the more work you do at this stage, the less work you have to do later in your research and writing process.
Overview
Each source in your annotated bibliography will likely have two components:
- The complete citation for the source
- The annotation.
Depending on the requirements of your assignment, the annotation may be a formal paragraph or a list with bullet points.
Your annotation might include:
- A brief summary of the source: What is the thesis or central idea in this source? What are the supporting claims? What are the key findings?
- Description of methods: Is this source presenting quantitative research? A qualitative study? A close reading or textual analysis? A review?
- Articulation of how/what this source contributes to your argument or understanding of the topic: What distinguishes this source from others you found? What does this source add to the scholarly conversation that is unique among your sources?
- Strengths and weaknesses: What are the main strengths of this source? What are its shortcomings, gaps, or oversights?
- Comparison to another source in your list: Does it confirm or refute the ideas in one of your other sources? Does it share key theories or questions with another source, but apply them to a different context or population? Does it update a study that has become outdated?
If you aren't sure what your annotations should include, be sure to ask your professor!
Sample Annotated Bibliography Entry for a Journal Article
The following example uses MLA style, 7th ed.
Moi, Toril. "`I Am Not a Woman Writer': About Women, Literature and Feminist Theory Today." Feminist Theory 9.3 (2008): 259-271. Print.
In this article, Moi attempts to understand why, in the new millennium, there is a lack of interest in women's writing and a hesitation on the part of women writers to embrace their identity as women. Moi also argues that Simone de Beauvoir's theory of sexism illuminates Woolf's claim that good writing can only happen when the writer stops thinking of herself as a woman, and simply thinks of herself as herself. In light of Beauvoir's theory, Moi claims that Woolf exhibits in AROO the fear of choosing either the One or the Other. Moi's discussion therefore asks important questions about why Woolf has not figured as prominently in feminist criticism as she did in the 1980s and 1990s and talks about how she can still be relevant.
