Writing an Annotated Bibliography of Books

This exercise contains many research skills you will need to be an effective researcher in college:

1. Finding books

2. Citing sources

3. Summarizing information

4. Evaluating materials for your research need

A bibliography is a list of sources that were used as resource material for the paper or project at

hand. For this exercise:

Search the library catalog for your topic.

Find five books on your topic and retrieve them.

Examine the books you found and determine whether or not they are appropriate for your

topic.

If they are not appropriate, go back to the library catalog until you have identified five

appropriate books.

Print out the full bibliographic record from the catalog for each of the five books. Next,

photocopy the title page of each of the books.

On a separate piece of paper, following the example provided below, type the citation for

each book, providing all relevant information. The citation should follow this format:

Last name of Author, First name. The Title of the Book is capitalized and put in italics: The

Subtitle is also included. City: Publisher, Year.

Beneath each citation, using your own words, type an annotation. An annotation is a brief

descriptive and evaluative note that provides enough information about the book so a person can

decide whether or not to consult the book.

To write an annotation, you will comment, in paragraph form, on the following elements:

Content—What's the book about? Is it relevant to your research?

Purpose-—What's it for? Why was this book written?

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Methods used to collect data—Where did the information come from?

Usefulness—What does it do for your research?

Reliability—Is the information accurate?

Authority—Is it written by someone who has the expertise to author the information?

Currency—Is it new? Is it up-to-date for the topic?

Scope/Coverage/Limitations—What does it cover? What does the author state that he or

she will cover? What doesn't the book provide that would be helpful?

Arrangement—How is the book organized? Are there any special "added-value" features?

Ease of use—Can a "real person" use this book? What reading level is the book?

Here is a sample citation and annotation to get you started:

List, Carla J. Information Research. Dubuque, la.: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., 2002.

In this book, Carla List, an award-winning teacher and librarian, defines and describes information

and provides step-by-step instruction on doing research. In seven chapters, she covers the

organization of information, information technology, and the presentation, analysis, evaluation,

and citation of information. A bibliography, glossary, and index are included. This book is aimed at

the college-level student and is useful to the inexperienced researcher.

Burkhardt, Joanna M., Mary C. MacDonald, and Andrée J. Rathemacher. Teaching Information Literacy: 35 Practical,

Standards-based Exercises for College Students. Chicago: American Library Association, 2003, pp. 57-58 (Exercise 25).