English 1B - Gavilan College
Annotated Bibliography

As you research, keep track of your findings in an annotated, MLA format bibliography.  An annotated bibliography contains all the pertinent bibliographic information about the source, with the addition of a few extra sentences (annotations) describing each source. The annotation for each source will be at least a paragraph, as you summarize the main ideas (include at least one quote that might be helpful to your paper) and discuss your response to those ideas, and your thoughts on how it might be of use to you in your paper.

For this research paper, you'll need at least 4 secondary sources.  Most sources are books, articles from a periodical, or a website.  However, if you want to do field research (interviews, surveys, experiments, etc) for one of the sources, feel free to branch out. 

To write the annotated bibliography:
1.  First, list all the important information for each source.  See the Hacker book, or check out the MLA Bibliography Template link. 
2. After you've typed in the information, write a few sentences on each of the following:
      1. Write a summary of the article or book, explaining the author's main idea/s and supporting points.
      2. Explain what information this source contains that will help you in your analysis of how that writer's life and times influenced his or her works. Why did you choose this source?

See these links for examples of an annotated bibliography entry:

• MLA Format for Annotated Bibliographies - Lesley University Library
• Sample Annotated Bibliography - Purdue University Online Writing Lab
• MLA Style Examples - UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center