ELC 550

Annotation Strategies

Bibliography

A bibliography is a list of sources (books,

journals, Web sites, periodicals, etc.) one
has used for researching a topic.
Bibliographies are sometimes called
"References" or "Works Cited" depending on
the style format you are using. A
bibliography usually just includes the
bibliographic information (i.e., the author,
title, publisher, etc.).

Annotation
An

annotation is a
summary and/or evaluation.
Therefore, an annotated
bibliography includes a
summary and/or evaluation
of each of the sources.

Annotated Bibliography
The Cornell University Library has defined an
annotated bibliography as:
a list of citations to books, articles, and
documents. Each citation is followed by a brief
(usually about 150 words) descriptive and
evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The
purpose of the annotation is to inform the
reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality
of the sources cited.
(
Michael Engle, Amy Blumenthal, and Tony Cosgra
ve. Olin Library Reference. Research & Learnin
g Services. Cornell University Library. Ithaca

THE PROCESS

Creating an annotated bibliography calls for the application of a

variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis,
and informed library research.
First, locate and record citations to books, periodicals, and
documents that may contain useful information and ideas on
your topic. Briefly examine and review the actual items.
Then choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives
on your topic.
Cite the book, article, or document using the appropriate style.
Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme
and scope of the book or article. Include one or more sentences
that (a) evaluate the authority or background of the author, (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.

Sample analysis
ANALYSIS SAMPLE.docx
Writing_a_Critical_Analysis.pdf

Sample test
ELC550 SampleTest 2014.pdf
ELC550 SampleTest AnswKey2014.pdf
ELC550 SampleTest Cvr 2014.pdf

Sample critical analysis for A Whale of a Survival Problem:

A Whale of a Survival Problem, a selection from the textbook The Nature of Life by
Postlethwait and Hopson, informs the student audience about the size of the blue whale
and the
challenges it faces. Since the article is from a textbook, it has gone through both a peerediting
process and an editorial board, which makes it fairly reliable. The authors, using a serious
tone,
present a great deal of statistics to emphasize the massive size of the blue whale
compared to
both humans and other animals. In addition, the authors use factual information about the
blue
whale to write their article and keep their opinions to a minimum. It is very apparent that
the
authors are impressed by the blue whale by their opening comments in Paragraph 1. It is
there
that they dramatize the whales size to attract the readers attention. Overall, the authors
do a fine
job of letting the incredible facts about the blue whale speak for themselves.
From

Sample Exam Paper

ELC550 Sample Exam Paper.doc
ELC550 Sample Exam Paper - coverpage.do
c
ELC550 Sample Exam AnsKey.doc

Writing an annotated
bibliography
WE_Writing-an-annotated-bibliography.pdf
Purposes
Format
Writing style
Example

Purposes

The task of compiling an annotated

bibliography will help the researcher think
about the relevance and quality of the
material on a topic. Does the information
meet the requirements of the topic? Is the
information from a reliable and
academically respected source?

Format

This will depend on the lecturers requirements for the task. The
bibliographical information may be descriptive (see points 1-3 below);
or descriptive+evaluative (see points 1-5 below). The format should
follow this order: Descriptive steps 1-3

Descriptive and evaluative steps 1-5 1. Citation details (set out in the same style as a reference list

item)
2. A short statement that explains the main focus or purpose of the work
3. A short summary of the theory, research findings or argument (e.g. intended audience,
subjects covered, major arguments supported, research methods, conclusions reached,
special features)
4. Consideration of the usefulness and/or limitations of the text for your research (e.g.
reliability of the text, credibility of the author, poor features, left-out content, weaknesses in
argument)
5. An evaluative comment on the work that may take into account how this work will fit into
your research on a topic (e.g. critical comment, critical reflection that describes the usefulness
or relevance of the information for your writing task).

Writing style

An annotated bibliography is a piece of formal academic writing and

follows the general rules for all academic writing:
Arrange in alphabetical order
Write in a SINGLE paragraph (usually about 100-300 words, depending
on the format but check with your lecturer)
Write in full sentences using academic writing style
Use transition words (e.g. furthermore, moreover, however, therefore
)
Be concise mention only significant details in your summary
Use examples from other annotated bibliographies to guide and check
your writing style
Do NOT repeat information (e.g. the title) that is already in your citation
Do NOT cross reference i.e. use any in-text references as you are only
writing about a single text.

Example

The parts of a bibliography entry Examples

Descriptive
steps 1-3 1 The citation information should be in the same format as it would be in the reference list - leave a line BELOW the citation
Example of an APA reference
Griffiths, T. (1996). Hunters and collectors: The antiquarian imagination in Australia. Melbourne, Australia: Cambridge University Press.
For more information, see Academic Skills fact sheets on Referencing for the style required in your subject area.
2 A short statement of the authors viewpoint Example of sentence starters
*In this article, Johnson reviews . . .
*This article examines . . .
*The authors describe . . .
*The authors purpose is to challenge . . .
3 A short summary of the theory, research findings or argument Example of sentence starters
*The main ideas expressed are . . .
*Support for these claims is documented . . .
*Smith has conducted a thorough investigation of . . .
*The authors research focuses on . . .
Descriptive and evaluative
steps 1-5 4 Comments on the usefulness and/or limitations of the text for your research Example of sentence starters
*The author provides a strong theoretical . . .
*The writing style considers a range of audiences . . .
*Theories are supported by well-known researchers in this field, such as . . .
*There is a lack of supporting evidence . . .
*The main limitation of the website . . .
5 An evaluative comment on the work, taking into account how this work will fit into your research on a topic Example of sentence
starters
*This article is useful for my research topic . . .
* Because the information is up-to-date and from a reliable source . . .
* It is relevant to my thesis because . . .
* In particular, this article will assist . . .

Example

McFarlane, J.K. (1973). Standards of carewhat do we mean by care? Nursing

Mirror. 143(23), 4042.
The article examines the meaning of the word care within a nursing context.
The responsibility of nurses to provide care is legitimised in numerous
documents, and the author goes on to identify key concepts related to nursing
care. In particular, these concepts include assisting, helping and
giving a service; offering this service to people who need help with
daily living activities and to others who are affected by health
deviations or illness of some kind. Moreover, the nurses caring role is
legitimised by the patients. Finally, the article concludes by relating
how these concepts are put into operation by using the steps of the
nursing process assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating
the patients need for nursing care. The main limitation of the article
is that the research was only conducted in large city hospitals.
Therefore, while the article is useful for an analysis of nursing care,
the limitations of its research base will require some adaption to
meet the needs of this assignment that requires a commentary on
services in both city and country area hospitals. (172 words)