3.0 Annotated Bibliography Overview

Student Outcomes: As a result of this unit and assignment, students will be able to:

• Navigate library databases in search of academic sources 
• Choose 5 sources for their research papers based on the criteria of reliability, readability, and relevancy to the paper topic 
• Write an annotated bibliography for their 5 sources featuring: 
• APA reference page citation 
• Summary of the source
• Explanation of relevancy of the source to paper topic
• Explanation of reliability of the source

Assignment Description

The annotated bibliography is a formal "note sheet" documenting and explaining the 5 sources students are considering for their IRP (Individual Research Paper). Each of the sections asks the students to apply specific writing skills and research skills from unit 3 lessons.

The Annotated Bibliography contains the following 4 elements for each source: 

• APA reference page citation 
• Summary of the source (3-5 sentences) 
• Relevancy statement (3-4 sentences) - Describes how the source is specifically relevant to different parts of the paper 
• Reliability statement (2-3 sentences) - Explains why the source is reliable and credible 

Choosing Sources: Students should choose their own sources for the IRP Annotated Bibliography; however, teachers are encouraged to briefly check and approve of several sources for each student to make sure that they are “on the right track.” Students must use 5 sources for the bibliography and the organization website does not count as one of those sources. Because choosing sources is one of the most difficult and time-consuming tasks for the students, they should have a week and a half to find and decide on their IRP sources.  

Sources that students submit for this assignment do NOT need to be the sources that they use in the final paper - it is very normal for the students to switch sources later in the process. If they do switch sources they do not need to write new annotations for those sources.

Student Assignment Prompt and Grading Rubric

Annotated Bibliography Template

Student Sample

Supplementary material: Searching Online Journals and Databases.