ELC 550Annotation Strategies

A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, Web sites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called "References" or "Works Cited" depending on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).

Bibliography

An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources.

Annotation

The Cornell University Library has defined an annotated bibliography as:

a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

(Michael Engle, Amy Blumenthal, and Tony Cosgrave. Olin Library Reference. Research & Learning Services. Cornell University Library. Ithaca, NY, USA

Annotated Bibliography

Creating an annotated bibliography calls for the application of a variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis, and informed library research.

First, locate and record citations to books, periodicals, and documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic. Briefly examine and review the actual items.

Then choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.

Cite the book, article, or document using the appropriate style. Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme

and scope of the book or article. Include one or more sentences that (a) evaluate the authority or background of the author, (b) comment on the intended audience, (c) compare or contrast this work with another you have cited, or (d) explain how this work illuminates your bibliography topic.

THE PROCESS

ANALYSIS SAMPLE.docx Writing_a_Critical_Analysis.pdf

Sample analysis

ELC550 SampleTest 2014.pdf ELC550 SampleTest AnswKey2014.pdf ELC550 SampleTest Cvr 2014.pdf

Sample test

Sample critical analysis for A Whale of a Survival Problem: “A Whale of a Survival Problem,” a selection from the textbook The Nature of Life by Postlethwait and Hopson, informs the student audience about the size of the blue whale

and the challenges it faces. Since the article is from a textbook, it has gone through both a peer-

editing process and an editorial board, which makes it fairly reliable. The authors, using a serious

tone, present a great deal of statistics to emphasize the massive size of the blue whale

compared to both humans and other animals. In addition, the authors use factual information about

the blue whale to write their article and keep their opinions to a minimum. It is very apparent that

the authors are impressed by the blue whale by their opening comments in Paragraph 1. It is

there that they dramatize the whale’s size to attract the readers’ attention. Overall, the

authors do a fine job of letting the incredible facts about the blue whale speak for themselves.” From

ELC550 Sample Exam Paper.doc ELC550 Sample Exam Paper - coverpage.do

c ELC550 Sample Exam AnsKey.doc

Sample Exam Paper

WE_Writing-an-annotated-bibliography.pdf Purposes Format Writing style Example

Writing an annotated bibliography

The task of compiling an annotated bibliography will help the researcher think about the relevance and quality of the material on a topic. Does the information meet the requirements of the topic? Is the information from a reliable and academically respected source?

Purposes

This will depend on the lecturer’s requirements for the task. The bibliographical information may be descriptive (see points 1-3 below); or descriptive+evaluative (see points 1-5 below). The format should follow this order: Descriptive steps 1-3

Descriptive and evaluative steps 1-5 1. Citation details (set out in the same style as a reference list item)

2. A short statement that explains the main focus or purpose of the work 3. A short summary of the theory, research findings or argument (e.g. intended audience,

subjects covered, major arguments supported, research methods, conclusions reached, special features)

4. Consideration of the usefulness and/or limitations of the text for your research (e.g. reliability of the text, credibility of the author, poor features, left-out content, weaknesses in argument)

5. An evaluative comment on the work that may take into account how this work will fit into your research on a topic (e.g. critical comment, critical reflection that describes the usefulness or relevance of the information for your writing task).

Format

An annotated bibliography is a piece of formal academic writing and follows the general rules for all academic writing:

Arrange in alphabetical order Write in a SINGLE paragraph (usually about 100-300 words, depending

on the format but check with your lecturer) Write in full sentences using academic writing style Use transition words (e.g. furthermore, moreover, however, therefore

…) Be concise – mention only significant details in your summary Use examples from other annotated bibliographies to guide and check

your writing style Do NOT repeat information (e.g. the title) that is already in your

citation Do NOT cross reference i.e. use any in-text references as you are only

writing about a single text.

Writing style

The parts of a bibliography entry Examples Descriptive steps 1-3 1 The citation information should be in the same format as it would be in the reference list - leave a line BELOW the

citation Example of an APA reference Griffiths, T. (1996). Hunters and collectors: The antiquarian imagination in Australia. Melbourne, Australia: Cambridge University Press. For more information, see Academic Skills fact sheets on Referencing for the style required in your subject area. 2 A short statement of the author’s viewpoint Example of sentence starters *In this article, Johnson reviews . . . *This article examines . . . *The authors describe . . . *The author’s purpose is to challenge . . . 3 A short summary of the theory, research findings or argument Example of sentence starters *The main ideas expressed are . . . *Support for these claims is documented . . . *Smith has conducted a thorough investigation of . . . *The author’s research focuses on . . . Descriptive and evaluative steps 1-5 4 Comments on the usefulness and/or limitations of the text for your research Example of sentence starters *The author provides a strong theoretical . . . *The writing style considers a range of audiences . . . *Theories are supported by well-known researchers in this field, such as . . . *There is a lack of supporting evidence . . . *The main limitation of the website . . . 5 An evaluative comment on the work, taking into account how this work will fit into your research on a topic Example of

sentence starters *This article is useful for my research topic . . . * Because the information is up-to-date and from a reliable source . . . * It is relevant to my thesis because . . . * In particular, this article will assist . . .

Example

McFarlane, J.K. (1973). Standards of care—what do we mean by care? Nursing Mirror. 143(23), 40–42.

The article examines the meaning of the word ‘care’ within a nursing context. The responsibility of nurses to provide care is legitimised in numerous documents, and the author goes on to identify key concepts related to nursing care. In particular, these concepts include assisting, helping and giving a service; offering this service to people who need help with daily living activities and to others who are affected by health deviations or illness of some kind. Moreover, the nurse’s caring role is legitimised by the patients. Finally, the article concludes by relating how these concepts are put into operation by using the steps of the nursing process — assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating the patient’s need for nursing care. The main limitation of the article is that the research was only conducted in large city hospitals. Therefore, while the article is useful for an analysis of nursing care, the limitations of its research base will require some adaption to meet the needs of this assignment that requires a commentary on services in both city and country area hospitals. (172 words)

Example