COMM3300 Writing an Annotated Bibliography

COMM3300 Writing an Annotated Bibliography

This workshop covers the formatting & content of the annotated bibliography assignment. Remember that each source’s annotation contains three components (see Annotated Bibliography for detailed assignment instructions):

APA citation
Summary paragraph (1/2 to 1/3 of a page double spaced)
Critical evaluation paragraph (1/2 to 1/3 of a page double spaced)

In total, you should write one double spaced page per source. Your entire annotated bibliography should therefore not exceed five pages.

Formatting

Your annotated bibliography should follow the general formatting & style of APA’s 7th edition (see Purdue OWL APA Guide). In particular, you should format your document as follows:

DO NOT include a title page or abstract.
Place the title of your paper (Annotated Bibliography) at the top of p. 1 and begin your first entry below that. The title is bolded.
The header of your paper should include an APA running head (left-hand side) and page number (right-hand side). The running head is in ALL CAPS.
–Double space both your citations & annotation paragraphs (i.e., the entire paper). DO NOT skip extra lines between paragraphs or sources.
–Use standard 1” margins throughout the paper.
Citations use a ½” hanging indent. This means the first line of the citation is aligned with the margin and all other lines are indented a ½”.
Annotation paragraphs should NOT be additionally indented (i.e., they should look like standard paragraphs aligned with your left-hand margin).

Here is what your annotated bibliography should look like:

A pdf copy of this formatting sample can be found here: Annotated Bibliography Formatting

Writing Tips

Writing article summaries

–Focus on the source’s central ideas & findings
–Consider the following types of questions:
–What specific communication phenomenon or rhetorical artifact is being analyzed?
–How is it being analyzed (i.e., what method and/or theory is being applied to the artifact)?
–Why is it being analyzed this way (i.e., what question(s) is the author trying to answer; what is the author(s) purpose)?
–What is the thesis of the article (i.e., what is the author arguing or what did the author find out)?
–What are the key terms/concepts of the article?
–Paraphrase & summarize in your own words (i.e., only use direct quotes when absolutely necessary)
Writing critical evaluations
–Focus on the source’s strengths & weakness
–Consider the following types of questions:
–What are the limitations of the analysis?
–Does the author overlook any important aspect(s) of the case study?
–Are there portions of the analysis that need further explanation or discussion?
–How is the analysis novel?
–What contributions does the source make to a larger scholarly conversation?
How might this source be useful for your project in particular?
Evaluation must be reasonable considering when the article was published (i.e., can’t fault people for not being able to predict the future)