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Annotated
Bibliographies
What is a an
annotated bibliography?
An annotated bibliography
is a list of books, journal articles, web sites, or other
sources with
descriptive or evaluative paragraphs.
Why are they
useful?
In the current
information age when no one can read everything, annotated
bibliographies
are invaluable to researchers. By providing information concerning
the content, authority, accuracy, relevance, and quality of sources,
they lead
the reader to the best most relevant sources, and save them time
and frustration.
Some examples
from the Reference Collection in Stapleton Library:
-
Civil War in the North: A Selective Annotated
Bibliography.
New York : Garland Pub., 1987.[REF] Z1242 .M87 1987
-
Macbeth: An Annotated Bibliography. New York, NY:
Garland
Company, 1990. [REF] Z8812.M12 W44 1990.
Steps to preparation.
-
Search online catalogs,
journal indexes, and web sites and locate
materials.
-
Record citations to
sources that may contain useful information.
-
Retrieve items.
-
Examine what you find.
-
Cite the items using
the appropriate bibliographic style.
-
Write annotations.
Format for bibliographic
citations.
The format used
for bibliographies varies with the discipline and your instructor
will
probably have one that they prefer. There are a number of different style
manuals or books that show you how to cite materials that you need to document.
They all provide agreed upon ways to write the information necessary to
identify
a source bibliographically. Commonly used styles include
MLA,
APA
and
Turabian.
The following style manuals can be found behind the reference desk at Stapleton
Library and provide extensive information on how to cite information sources
but
also how to write and organize writings for classes and publication.
-
Achtert,
Walter S. and Joseph Gibaldi. MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers.
[REF] LB 2369 G53 1999
-
Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association.
[REF] BF76.7 P83 2001
-
The
Chicago Manual of Style. [REF]
Z253 .C57
-
Turabian,
Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers,
Theses, and Dissertations.
[REF] LB2369 .T8 1973
MLA Style Bibliography
Builder
-
Easybib.com--
try this site to build your bibliography using MLA Style.
Citing Electronic
Documents
As with print
sources, there are different styles for citing electronic sources.
New
editions of the major style manuals will include sections on how to site
electronic information. Many sites on the web provide information about
citing
information found there. Check the following sites for the styles
for MLA and others.
Writing the
annotations.
Useful annotations
are brief and to the point and usually contain the
following elements:
-
summary of the central
theme of the work and its scope
-
evaluation of the
authority or background of the author
-
intellectual level
of the book
-
comparisons with this
work and other on the bibliography
-
relevance of this
item to the topic being discussed.
Sample Annotations:
Brockett,
L.P., and Mary C. Vaughan. Women’s Work in the Civil War: A
Record
of Heroism, Patriotism, and Patience. Philadelphia: Zeigler, McCurdy
and Co., 1867.
Written shortly after the close of the war, this work celebrates the
contributions
of Northern women. It contains over eighty biographies of women
as well as chapters on women's activities in the significant philanthropic
organizations that provided needed supplies and services to soldiers.
Includes numerous contemporary illustrations.
Clinton,
Catherine, and Nina Silber. Divided Houses : Gender and the Civil War.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
These essays, authored by leading Civil War writers, explore gender, class,
and race through issues such as elite women's experiences on hospital
transports,
women as spies, changing marital relations, sexuality, women's
war work, and the
political impact of women's writing. Articles are
well-documented and an extensive
bibliography is included.
Young,
Agatha. The Women and the Crisis: Women of the North In the Civil War.
New York: McDowell, 1959.
Popularly written account, though somewhat dated, provides a readable
introduction to the activities of women in the North prior to and during
the war.
Substantial coverage is offered on women's participation in soldiers'
aid societies
and on those who traveled to the front to provide relief
supplies and medical
services to troops. Includes footnotes and chronologies.
Useful web
sites:
Writing
Annotated Bibliographies
How
to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography
Bibliographic Management Software
IUP has a site license to two bibliographic management tools. Each is
available free
charge to all IUP users.
- WriteNote--
is a web-based bibliographic management tool that allows users to to collect
and
organize references and to format citations and footnotes or for a
bibliography. It is only available
on-campus or off-campus via the
VPN [Virtual Private Network] from
http://www.writenote.com .
- EndNote--client software the enables
users to search online bibliographic databases,
organize reference and images, and create bibliographies and figure lists
instantly.
IUP users can pick up a copy of EndNote software with an I-card. Faculty and
staff
at
IT Support Center
Suites on Grant - Lower, Suite G35
Phone: 724-357-4000
Email: it-support-center@iup.edu
web site: www.iup.edu/itsupportcenter
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