What is an annotated bibliography?
Film: Good Will Hunting
Introduction
An annotated bibliography is your works cited list, with added information for each source. In addition to the citation, each annotation should include a concise summary of and evaluation of each of the sources. Each annotation should be a strong paragraph (about 150 words), double spaced. The annotations should be alphabetized by citation, just as you would alphabetize your works cited.
Directions
- NOTE: You will work on this assignment individually, but once you have completed it, you will share it with your group
- Before you begin the assignment, click on Unit 4 Resources and read all of the materials about the Annotated Bibliography. Also review carefully “How to Get Started With Your Film Research”.
- Create an MLA formatted Annotated Bibliography that lists and annotates FIVE scholarly and/or critical articles on the film you are writing about. One of the five sources may be a scholarly article on the film; another may be an article that discusses the American Dream in general but it must to be relevant to Dream’s portrayal in your film; yet another article may be a credible film review.
NOTE: You may NOT have more than TWO film review sources. Make sure you review your sources carefully to be sure they are credible!
(Note: you will also cite your film but that will not be counted as your required five source. - Submit the Annotated Bibliography in the group forum to share with your peers.
Purpose
This assignment will help you to analyze, summarize, and evaluate various types of research material.
Grading
I will evaluate this assignment to see if the chosen sources are substantial, pertinent and credible; if they are in the correct MLA format; and if the annotations demonstrate effective critical research evaluation. (50 points)
Annotated Bibliography
What is an annotated bibliography?
An annotated bibliography is your works cited list, with added information for each source. In addition to the citation, each annotation should include a concise summary of and evaluation of each of the sources. Each annotation should be a strong paragraph (about 150 words), double spaced. The annotations should be alphabetized by citation, just as you would alphabetize your works cited.
Why write an annotated bibliography?
As you must know, when researching sources for a research paper, one of the key steps in the process of research is to evaluate a source to see whether it is relevant to the ideas you intend to develop, so that you can use it to support your ideas. Otherwise the source would be irrelevant. The annotated bibliography is a formal, expanded version of this source evaluation.
Writing an annotated bibliography can help you gain a good perspective on what is being said about your topic. By reading and responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you’ll start to see what the issues are, and what people are arguing about. Just collecting sources for a bibliography is useful, but when you have to write annotations for each source, you’re forced to read and evaluate each source more carefully.
What is the process to build an annotated bibliography?
- Determine your argument/theme/key idea. For instance, in this upcoming essay, you already know that you will need sources that will show you how the film you are working with relates to the idea of the American Dream. Tip: You may not find any sources that use this term explicitly, but it may implicitly suggest ideas that relate to thisconcept.
- After you find a relevant source, readwhat it say and takes critical notes. This is what you will include in your notes/explanation:
- Summarize briefly what the article/reviewis about.
- Determine how it hints at or suggests the concept of the American Dream.
- Jot down some ideas of how this source may supportsome key ideas in your own essay.
What does an annotation look like?
The THREE Parts of an Annotation:
Cite: Provide relevant publication information in MLA format.
Summarize: 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 lengths of your sources will determine how detailed your summary is.
Evaluate: Once you’ve summarized the source, consider how it fits into your research. How is this source helpful to you? How does this source fit into your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?
NOTE: When you write your essay, you will use ONLY the citations in your Works Cited NOT the annotations. The annotations are only for your benefit—to help you evaluate your sources. Also, you will change the title of the document from Annotated Bibliography to Works Cited.
Help with formatting an Annotated Bibliography
- Sample Annotation for a Annotated Bibliography.pdf
- Purdue OWL: Annotated Bibliographies (Links to an external site.)
- Annotated Bibliography: You Get to Criticize (Links to an external site.) from Webster
