Calculate Annotated Bibliography Example for College Writing
Many students are puzzled when they have to write an annotated bibliography. This task is not a very common one and may appear difficult due to lack of experience of dealing with it. However, if you spend some time to understand the main rules and to read some tips, you can see there’s nothing really difficult in completing the task.
Here we’ve collected some interesting samples of an annotated bibliography. They are parts of different texts and different assignments. That’s why you may notice that the structure and the main aim of the texts are not the same.
Some annotations are explaining main facts about a book, while others give an evaluation to a source. Depending on the task, some annotations may also tell how the information presented on the source can be used for future investigations.
Writing an annotation you need to take into consideration all the requirements and guidelines given by your teacher. It’s good if you find an example that reflects the main aim of your own task. However, in the case the sample differs from the one you are supposed to write, you can easily adjust the final text to your requirements.
Annotated Bibliography Examples
Annotated Bibliography Example № 1 (Style: MLA)
Book name: Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Anchor Books, 1995.
The book is a guide for authors that gives a very honest insight of a writer’s life. It tells about those unpleasant moments, like crisis and struggles that are familiar to many authors, however, very rarely are spoken or discussed. Having a great sense of humor, Lamott uses a lot of jokes and entertaining comparisons.
The author included a lot of practical lessons and exercises. The tips and tasks are aimed to help a reader in developing greater writing skills and allow working productively on a writing style improvement. However, they are also very helpful for overcoming some psychological barriers and fighting one’s writer’s block. While being aimed to have some practical value, the book is also very entertaining and interesting to read. Most readers will appreciate the adorable simple style that creates a feeling of talking to a close friend, kind humor, bright jokes and witty language even more than practical exercises and professional tips.
The book can be partly used for college classes or other educational practices. Some paragraphs of the Chapter 1 can be used as topics for discussion during a class or meeting of a literature club. Vivid, down-to-earth humor and simple language will be especially interesting to young students.
Practical exercises can also be used for developing writing skills. They can be used during a class.
Comment: this annotation includes three basic parts that have different aims and meanings. The first part is a laconic informative summary of a book and its plot. The second part is the evaluation of the book. While the third part tells how the information presented in the book can be applied for the purposes that were primarily discussed in a student’s writing work.
Annotated Bibliography Example №2 (Style: APA)
Book name: Ehrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and dimed: On (not) getting by in America. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
Ehrenreich describes his own journalist’s experience. The book was based on several experiments aimed at discovering how people with low income and unstable life position live in the USA. The book includes several parts that describe different lifestyles of approximately the same layers of society. The author found different jobs with low salary: a waitress, cleaner, shop assistant. The book describes several aspects like personal life, entertainment, health, social possibilities, relationships with colleagues and other people.
Ehrenreich understands and explains that social experiments are limited and can’t be applied universally. The result could be different according to possibly different ethnicity, gender, family and cultural background of the participant. However, the experiment is very informative and illustrative, and can be used for further social study and for developing a better governmental system of support and integration of certain groups of people in society.
Comment: The annotation is both informative and evaluative. The first paragraph describes the plot of the book, while the second one evaluates the author’s work and tells how the information can be used. However, there’s no information about the book’s connection to the main topic of a student’s writing work.
Annotated Bibliography Example № 3 (Style: Chicago)
Book name: Davidson, Hilda Ellis. Roles of the Northern Goddess. London: Routledge, 1998.
The book is a description of different pagan goddesses that were parts of ancient religions and rituals. The author analyses the roles of the goddesses both in early pre-scientific practices, religion, culture, and routine life. The information is supported by archeological and historical facts. Book also includes a set of black and white photographs and illustrations.
Comment: this annotation is very laconic, short and informative. It includes a brief summary of the book’s plot and some facts about the author’s work.