Currency - Is it up-to-date for the topic?.Authority - Is it written by an expert or knowledge keeper?.Reliability- Is the information accurate?.Usefulness - What does it do for your research?.Methods used to collect data - Where did the information come from?.Purpose - What is it for? Why was this written?.Content - What is the resource about? Is it relevant to your research?.A simple summary may be shorter than an annotation that contains analysis or evaluation: The length of your annotation will depend on its purpose. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?įor each citation in your bibliography, write a short paragraph beneath it, and consider the following questions. Reflect: Once you've summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research.Is it a useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source? Assess: After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it.What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? The length of your annotations will determine how detailed your summary is. Summarize: Some annotations merely summarize the source.The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) breaks annotations into several categories: They may also comment on the relevance of a source to your particular research. Annotations are descriptive and critical they may describe the author's point of view, authority, or clarity and appropriateness of expression.

AbstractsĪbstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 - 300 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. However, it’s up to you to ensure the information they provide is reliable and accurate.Īlways make sure to properly cite your sources to avoid plagiarism.An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Primary sources are often considered the most credible in terms of providing evidence for your argument, as they give you direct evidence of what you are researching. If you use one of these in your research, it is probably a primary source. Some types of source are nearly always primary: works of art and literature, raw statistical data, official documents and records, and personal communications (e.g. Are you directly analyzing the source itself (primary), or only using it for background information (secondary)?.Does the source provide original information (primary), or does it summarize information from other sources (secondary)?.Was the source created by someone directly involved in the events you’re studying (primary), or by another researcher (secondary)?.To determine if a source is primary or secondary, ask yourself:

A great example of an annotated article