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Black/African American Authors Project

In this guide you will find lists of authors, books, and other digital and print resources to complete the English 11 Black/African American authors project.

What is an Annotated Bibliography? (3:47)

Below are the most common types of annotated bibliographies:

  • Descriptive:  Annotation summarizes the content (e.g., the main idea, content, and plot) and explains its value to your research. When relevant to your research, concisely include the following information:

    • What is the purpose of this source? Is the author's intention to persuade, to inform, to analyze, to inform, or to argue for a point-of-view?

    • How did it help you understand your topic? How did you use it? Did its bibliography lead you to new sources?

  • Critical:  Annotation includes a description (see above), then evaluates the quality of your source related to others and the value of its information to your research.

    • What is missing or questionable?

    • Is there evidence of bias or distortion?

    • Are there errors or weaknesses?

    • How does this source fit with or compare to other sources used?

  • Combination: Uses a combination of some or all of the types mentioned above.

 

Sample MLA Annotated Bibliographies: