Annotations vs. Abstracts

Annotations in an annotated bibliography usually perform two functions, describe the source and evaluate the source. The annotation is a concise description of a particular source, including important aspects of content not evident in the title. It enables the researcher to establish the relevance of a specific journal article, book, research report, or government document, etc. and to decide whether to consult the full text of the work.

Abstracts, such as those found in various periodical databases or those accompanying scholarly journal articles are usually just descriptive summaries.

1. Bibliography must include citations and annotations for six sources written in MLA format. These sources must include:
   • At least two periodical article from an online database such as Academic Search Premier or LexisNexis.
   • Two web pages from authoritative sources with substantial information on your topic. You must turn in a copy of the first page of each web site you use.
   • One statistical source which can be either a book from the library or a web site from an authoritative source. (Reliable sources for statistics can be found on this web page.)
   • One book or other traditional source.
2. Alphabetize the citations by the first element of the citation (author, unless there is no author). The annotation should follow the citation directly and should be indented.
3. Double space throughout. Do not put extra spaces between entries.
4. Use the hanging indent feature of Word to indent the second (and third) lines of the citation.
5. Annotations must be 100-125 words each.
6. Annotations should include the following:

   • Author’s background and credentials

   • Purpose or thesis of the document

   • Method of research (survey, questionnaire, interview, research, experiment) - if applicable

   • Author’s writing style (educated/scholarly, easy to)

   • Author bias

   • Intended audience (who is the author writing for: general public, scholars, children, etc.)

   • Coverage - is the source comprehensive, or simply covering a small aspect of the topic

   • Conclusions drawn by the author

   • Significant features (charts, tables, statistics, bibliography, photographs)

   • Relevance to the topic you are researching

Examples (NOTE: these should be double spaced throughout - I can't do this easily in a web page. SAMPLE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY FORMAT)

Burton, Kelly. "Bush Stands Pat on Stem Cell Policy." CNN. 13 August 2001.17 August 2001 <http://www.cnn.com/2001/stem.cell/index.html>.This is the annotation of the above source. In this example, I am following MLA guidelines for the bibliographic information listed above. If I was really writing an annotation for this source, I would now be offering a brief summary of what this book says about stem cell research. After a brief summary, it would be appropriate to assess this source and offer some criticisms of it. Does it seem like a reliable and current source? Why? Is the research biased or objective? Are the facts well documented? Who is the author? Is she qualified in this subject? Is this source scholarly, popular, some of both? The length of your annotation will depend on the assignment or on the purpose of your annotated bibliography. After summarizing and assessing, you can now reflect on this source. How does it fit into your research? Is this a helpful resource? Too scholarly? Not scholarly enough? Too general/specific? Since "stem cell research" is a very broad topic, has this source helped you to narrow your topic?

Lange, Karl P and James Smith. "Native American Medicines and the Lewis and Clark Expedition." Journal of  Western American History 51 (1992): 534-568. Lange, a Doctor of Naturopathic medicine at Eastern State University, presents a convincing argument that the Lewis and Clark expedition would have failed had they relied solely on the medicines in common use in the United States at the time. Lange supports his arguments with numerous passages from the published journals and letters of expedition members. This is a very informative article which provides an extensive inventory of native medicines including how they were used by the expedition. The article is well illustrated with numerous diagrams of native plants used by the expedition and contains an extensive bibliography of additional resources.