A bibliographic work usually includes information such as the following:
The purpose of an annotation is to describe, critically, the cited material. It is a brief descriptive note that should provide sufficient information about the book or article so that the reader can readily determine if the sources is credible, accurate, and relevant (with reference to the specific subject), and weather it warrants consideration. Annotations help to clarify the book or article, and they will often provide evaluative information as well.
Creating an annotated bibliography calls for the application of a variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis, and informed library research.
It begins with a citation of the work. It is important to use a consistent, standard format (MLA, Turabian, etc.) as you would for a "Reference" page.
An Annotated Bibliography will have a similar format to a Bibliography page, but with three differences:
Annotations are concise, economical summaries, written in sentence fragments (if necessary); if related, fragments are connected with semicolons. The commentary begins on a new line, indented slightly from the preceding line.
Annotations can be any length, but they are typically about 100 to 150 words.
There are at least three types of annotations:
For some works, it may be important to indicate a location (library, archive, Internet site), or means of obtaining the citation; some documents - especially primary sources in archives - may be difficult to find.
Critically evaluate each work to determine if it is suitable for your topic. For guidelines on this process, see:
Ormondroyd, Joan. Critically Analyzing Information Sources. Updated, edited and Webified by Michael Engle, and Tony Cosgrave, Reference Services Division, Olin Kroch Uris Libraries, Cornell University Library.
Bibliographic entries (citations) may be arranged just as in any other bibliography. This is usually arranged alphabetically by the first word, which is typically the author's last name. Some Annotated Bibliographies are divided in to sections, by topic.
Cite the book, article, or report using an appropriate style: Turabian, MLA, APA, Chicago, CBE, others. Consistent with the style you are employing, note the edition or if a publication has been reprinted.
The annotation may then immediately follow the bibliographic information or may skip one or two lines depending on the style manual that is used. Remember to be brief and include only directly significant information and write in an efficient manner.
Examples of What Your Bibliography Should Look Like:
Graybosch, Anthony, Gregory M. Scott and Stephen Garrison. The Philosophy Student Writer's Manual. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998.
Designed to serve as either as a writing guide or as a primary textbook for teaching philosophy through writing, the Manual is an excellent resource for students new to philosophy. Like other books in this area, the Manual contains sections on grammar, writing strategies, introductory informal logic and the different types of writing encountered in various areas of philosophy. Of particular note, however, is the section on conductng research in philosophy. The research strategies and sources of information described there are very much up-to-date, including not only directories and periodical indexes, but also research institutes, interest groups and Internet resources.
Martinich, A. P. Philosophical Writing: An Introduction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1989.
An excellent introduction to the peculiarities of philosophical writing, ranging in difficulty from elementary to moderately advanced. Martinich maintains that half of good philosophy is good grammar and the other half is good thinking and his book is geared toward helping students to write clear, precise and concise philsophical prose. The book includes a crash course on basic concepts in logic, a catalogue of the types of arguments typically found in philosophical writing, and an examination of the structure of a philosophcial essay. Of particular interest is Martinich's discussion of the concepts of author and audience as they apply to academic writing.
Rosenberg, Jay F. The Practice of Philosophy: A Handbook for Beginners, 2nd Edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1984.
Intended as a general-purpose introduction to the practice of philosophy in the "analytic" style, Rosenberg's book includes quite a lot on philosophical writing. In effect, Rosenberg divides the class of philosophical essays into four main types: critical, adjudicatory, problem-solving and essays expositing an original thesis. A variety of critical and argumentative strategies are provided in connection with the first three types.
Examples of What Your Bibliography Should Not Look Like:
Marshall, Philip. RWU Preservation Research Fall 2002, Annotated Bibliography. Retrieved 28 August 2003 from web site of Philip Cryan Marshall, Professor of Historic Preservation, Roger Williams University.
Michael Engle, Amy Blumenthal, and Tony Cosgrave (Revised 3 March 1998). How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography. Reference Services, IRIS, Cornell University Library.
Ormondroyd, Joan. Critically Analyzing Information Sources. Updated, edited and Webified by Michael Engle, and Tony Cosgrave. Retrieved 29 October 2002 from Reference Services Division, Olin Kroch Uris Libraries, Cornell University Library.