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WRITE 95, ENGL 101, and College 101 Learning Community (LC 1): Davison, C. & Hunt, B. (Fall 2024): Annotated bibliographies

This guide contains starting points for research for students' annotated bibliography and final project in Professor Davison and Professor Hunt's Learning Community (LC1).

Annotated bibliography for LC 1

As part of your final research project, you will write an annotated bibliography in MLA format that includes at least one credible source (see the Is it credible? tab of this guide above to help you determine if a source is credible and appropriate for your assignment). The resources and examples below will help you to complete your assignment.

What is an annotation?

An annotation is a brief description and/or evaluation of the content, purpose, and usefulness of a source. Annotations can be written for a variety of purposes, though generally they are written as a way to help those interested in a topic find reliable information on that topic. As a student, writing annotations can help you:

  • Increase your awareness of different kinds of resources available about your topic

  • Identify, describe and perhaps evaluate the content, purpose and usefulness of different kinds of sources

Your annotations should:

Describe what YOU found out about a source and what YOU think of its usefulness.

Your annotations should NOT:

Be a collection of text copied from that source. The annotation is only helpful if you are the one describing and evaluating the source in your own words.

Annotation example

Sample MLA Annotation: 

Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Anchor Books,1995.

Lamott's book offers honest advice on the nature of a writing life, complete with its insecurities and failures. Taking a humorous approach to the realities of being a writer, the chapters in Lamott's book are wry and anecdotal and offer advice on everything from plot development to jealousy, from perfectionism to struggling with one's own internal critic. In the process, Lamott includes writing exercises designed to be both productive and fun.
 
Lamott offers sane advice for those struggling with the anxieties of writing, but her main project seems to be offering the reader a reality check regarding writing, publishing, and struggling with one's own imperfect humanity in the process. Rather than a practical handbook to producing and/or publishing, this text is indispensable because of its honest perspective, its down-to-earth humor, and its encouraging approach.
 
Chapters in this text could easily be included in the curriculum for a writing class. Several of the chapters in Part 1 address the writing process and would serve to generate discussion on students' own drafting and revising processes. Some of the writing exercises would also be appropriate for generating classroom writing exercises. Students should find Lamott's style both engaging and enjoyable.
 

In the sample annotation above, the writer includes three paragraphs: a summary, an evaluation of the text, and a reflection on its applicability to his/her own research, respectively. If you were writing in APA style, the annotation would look the same however, you would use an APA style citation at the top.

NOTE: Instructor's expectations on what to include in an annotation may vary. Check with your instructor for their specific guidelines.

Annotated bibliography resources

Professor Davison and Professor Hunt's expectations

The format and expectations for an annotated bibliography can vary depending on your instructor and the assignment. The following are Professor Davison's and Hunt's expectations:

For each of your sources you will:

  1. Provide a citation of your source using MLA or APA format.
  2. Then, you will:
    • provide a brief, informative summary of the source/article.
    • provide a brief analysis of the sources article, and
    • provide an explanation of how the source/article informs your research.

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