Annotated Bibliographies

Photo by Alexandre Duret-Lutz. 2006. flickr.

What Are AnnotatedBibliographies?

Lists of citations to books, articles, and documents that include a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph for each source.

The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

Adapted from How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography. Michael Engle, Amy Blumenthal, and Tony Cosgrave. Cornell University Libraries. Revised 6 March 2007.http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill28.htm

What do I need to do?

informed research concise summary succinct analysis

Adapted from “How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography”. Michael Engle, Amy Blumenthal, and Tony Cosgrave. Cornell University Libraries. Revised 6 March 2007.http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill28.htm

What steps do I need to take?

Cite the book, article, or document using MLA 8th Edition style. Citation can be done with EasyBib or other templates, but you will still need to know the correct information to enter into the template. Write a concise and informative annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the book or article and its relevance to your project. MLA 8th bibliographic citations and annotations should be double-spaced.

Adapted from How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography. Michael Engle, Amy Blumenthal, and Tony Cosgrave Cornell University Libraries. Revised 6 March 2007.http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill28.htm

Example: Book (MLA 8th Edition)Hilliard, David. This Side of Glory. Little, Brown Co.,1993.

David Hilliard was the national leader of the Black Panther Party at the time Hampton was a member. Hampton met with Hilliard shortly before Hampton’s death to discuss Hampton taking on a greater national role in the Panthers. This book contained firsthand accounts of what the Panthers were like after the Hampton raid, as well as other key events leading to the organization’s decline.Adapted from “Fed by Fear: The FBI’s Crusade Against Fred Hampton and

the Black Panthers” by Sam Bouman (2003).http://www.chicagohistoryfair.org/4_Hampton_NHD_paper.pdf

Example 2: Book (MLA 8th Edition)Newton, Huey P. Revolutionary Suicide. Writers and Readers Publishing,1973.

This book gives an idea of what the Black Panther Party is really about, from the point of view of its cofounder. Though it is very biased, it gives an idea of what the BPP did right from the start.Adapted from “Fed by Fear: The FBI’s Crusade Against Fred Hampton and the Black

Panthers” by Sam Bouman (2003).http://www.chicagohistoryfair.org/4_Hampton_NHD_paper.pdf

Example: Article from a GBS Newspaper Database (MLA 8th Edition)

"A List Is a List. " New York Times, 14  Dec. 1970, p.42. ProQuest Historical Newspapers, search.proquest.com/docview/118893719?accountid=5352.During McCarthyism, several were ‘blacklisted’ due to their

red pasts. This strategy of ‘blacklisting’ continued throughthe height of HUAC and beyond. This article notes that keeping fileson alleged Communists invades their privacy, and the use ofblacklisting remained a major objection to the committee’saction. The Committee claimed to be documenting ideas andevents, but there was danger in this form of compilationbecause of how it was used.

Adapted from "HUAC and the Stamler-Hall Case," By Aruj Chaudhry. http://www.chicagohistoryfair.org/images/stories/pdfs/4_Aruj_HF_biblio.pdf

Example: Article from a GBS Online Reference Database (MLA 8thth Edition)

Ventura, Elbert. "McCarthyism." Issues & Controversies in

American History, 22 Mar. 2006, icah.infobaselearning.com/

icahfullarticle.aspx?ID=107316.

This article provides a concise but thorough overview of the subject. It discusses the post World War II environment in which fears of communism arose in the U.S. and the emergence of McCarthyism. It describes the events that led McCarthy’s political rise and fall. The article explicitly addresses major arguments for and against McCarthyism as an effective approach to the threat of communism at that time.