Annotated Bibliography (07)

ENG3UI Unit 3 – Literature and the “Real World” Feb/March 2007

Media Synthesis Assignment

The Annotated Bibliography

Like all good scholars, you will include an Annotated Bibliography with your research.

A Bibliography makes a list of all the significant and relevant works you have consulted during the process of your research. This is different from a Works Cited List, which lists the works that you end up actually making reference to in your essay.

This annotated bibliography will make reference to six to eight sources, among which must be the following:

Your annotations will be approximately 100-125 words, including:

• • a BRIEF description of the contents – overview and outline of specifics

  • a concise evaluation of the resource as it pertained to your needs.

The entries will be formatted according to the expectations for bibliographic entries (alphabetization, punctuation, layout, etc.)

Take a look at the examples below:

• • Each entry begins with a correctly-formatted bibliographic entry outlining the details of the publication, according to the guidelines in your Style Guide.

  • This part provides an overview of contents.

  • This part provides some notable details that the article focuses on.

  • This part evaluates why this article has been useful in this project, or not (some articles may have a mixture of useful and irrelevant elements).

PRINT MAGAZINE ARTICLE:

Bjerklie, David, Andrea Dorfman, Dan Cray et al. “Global Warming.” TIME Magazine 3 April 2006: 31-38.

With contributions by reporters from seven cities across the United States and Europe, this article is a giant and detailed overview of climate change, exploring all its causes and effects. It begins by proving that global warming exists, and then describes the damage it has caused in all areas of the planet and determines what humans are doing and should be doing about the problem. The article was most useful for the many figures and statistics it provided. It is also easy to read and navigate as it is organized with sub-headings such as “CO2 at the poles” and “Drought”.

ARTICLE FROM AN ONLINE VERSION OF A NEWSPAPER:

Oziewicz, Estanislao. “Strapped UN agency cuts Darfur rations”. The Globe and Mail, 29 April 2006.  The Globe and Mail Online Archives.  3 May 2006.  <www.theglobeandmail.com>.

            This article, though it is an editorial, gives a great deal of information about the lack of relief funds in the Sudan. The author lists statistics and quotes officials to demonstrate the need for donations, describes the deteriorating situation for refugees, and predicts what will happen in the next few months if more aid is not received.  He also raises the question of whether Canada has fulfilled its promises of aid to the country, and gives some brief information outlining the causes of the conflict. This article is one of few that outlines the need for financial aid to displaced citizens as being at least as important as physical and political intervention in the area.

ARTICLE FROM ONLINE PERIODICAL DATABASE:

“U.S. calls Darfur ‘genocide’”. The Toronto Star, 10 September 2004.  EBSCO Host Research Databases. The Rose Grier Library Information Centre, Toronto, ON, 8 May 2006. <http://search.epnet>.

            This article is quite outdated, but it is from a very reputable source and gives lots of good information about the political side of the genocide issue.  The article quotes American government officials and gives an insightful explanation of the political significance of calling the Darfur situation a “genocide”.  It also outlines the problems that have arisen in the international community surrounding international intervention.  These insights were very astute, and the problems outlined have become clear since the article was published.

Note: In the above example, the student has provided all the necessary elements in her annotation, even though she has presented that information in a different order. This is perfectly acceptable – the contents of your annotation need not be formulaically presented.

Evaluation: concise and insightful evaluation of sources; accurate bibliographic format