What type of writing is it? What is the purpose for writing the article/book? Who is the intended audience? (one or two sentences)

ASSIGNMENT

• Compile an annotated bibliography of at least 4 sources you intend to cite in your paper. For each source, provide the following information:
  • Bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.). Use the appropriate MLA or APA style handbook.
  • The rhetorical context of the source: What type of writing is it? What is the purpose for writing the article/book? Who is the intended audience? (one or two sentences)
  • A summary of the source: What is the point of this book or article? What are the main arguments? What topics are covered? The summary should be written in the third person. (three to four sentences)
  • An evaluation of the source: Assess the reliability and credibility of the source, and state how it fits into your research. (one sentence)
• Your summary should be written in the third person and in the present tense. Use MLA format for your bibliographic information.

SAMPLE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Schmoe, Joe S. “Liquor Ads Take a Licking.” Beverage World, www.beverageworld.com/liquor-ads-taking-a-licking. Accessed 11 Oct. 2016.

This news article is written specifically for members of the liquor industry.

Schmoe chronicles the latest public and political actions and threats against

televised liquor advertising, including recent statements by the FCC, FTC,

President Clinton, and a number of consumer advocacy groups. The article uses

statistics to document the increase in the media coverage of the issue since the

lifting of the voluntary ban in November 1997. Schmoe also outlines some

options, aside from increased regulation, to respond effectively to such “media

menaces.” Schmoe shows a bias in favor of liquor advertising, but he includes

quotations from authorities on both sides. This is a good source of evidence about public opinions on the liquor advertising debate.

PURPOSE

• To learn about your topic: Writing an annotated bibliography is excellent preparation for a research project. Just collecting sources for a bibliography is useful, but when you have to write annotations for each source, you are forced to read each source more carefully. You begin to read more critically instead of just collecting information.
• To evaluate your sources for credibility, reliability, and relevance.

· To help you formulate a thesis: Every good research paper is an argument. The purpose of research is to state and support a thesis. Therefore, a very important part of research is developing a thesis that is debatable, interesting, and current. Writing an annotated bibliography can help you gain a good perspective on what is being said about your topic. By reading and responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you will begin to see what the issues are, what people are arguing about, and how to effectively develop your own point of view.

LENGTH

Each summary and evaluation should be approximately 100 words (generally, it should be proportion to the length of the article you’re summarizing and evaluating).

WRITING RESOURCES

You may find the following resources helpful: OWL Research and Citation – https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/