Guidelines: Annotated Bibliography

To get your research project going, I’m asking you all to compose a short annotated bibliography. Annotated bibliographies are a very common academic genre and are meant to kickstart your research process, and to give you a better idea of the scholarly conversations in the discipline you’re studying (in this case, writing center studies). Following are some basic guidelines. Remember that every piece of writing you do for this class can be revised at the end of the semester if you’d like to do so. Feel free to ask me for feedback any time.

• Your Annotated Bibliography should have at least five references. (More might be helpful.)
• All references must be from peer-reviewed journals or books found in the library databases, CompPile, WAC Clearinghouse, or one of the other sources listed on the handout given out in class. (If you can’t find a book in the library, ask me. I may have a copy, or there may be a copy available in the Collab.)
• Each entry should consist of a citation in APA format and an annotation in paragraph form. (A title page, running head, and abstract are not needed for this assignment.)
• The annotation paragraph should cover three things:
  • a brief summary of the source (What are the main ideas of the source?
    What is the main argument? What special features are exhibited in the source that might not be found in your other sources?)
  • a brief analysis of the source’s methodologies and rhetorical choices (How does the author discuss your topic? What angle does the author take? How does the author’s methodologies impact the meaning and efficacy of the text? What rhetorical strategies does the source exhibit?)
  • a brief but specific analysis of how the source might help you get closer towards answering your question (More than just “it gives me info about X”; BE SPECIFIC – What draws you to this source? How does it help you narrow down and focus your research question at this point? What part of your inquiry might this source be good for?

Looking for an example of an Annotated Bibliography? Here is one I worked on for a graduate class project.