Write Outside: Annotated Bibliography Example

Russian Comfrey by Suzanne Schroeter
Included under Creative Commons License

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources a writer or research group might potentially wish to use for a research paper or project. An annotated bibliography is more than just a list, however. It includes annotations, or notes, that help the writers capture the qualities and main ideas of a source. The annotated bibliography can be used by writers during the outlining and drafting parts of the writing process as a bank of information from which source content can be pulled.

For writers who've never written an annotated bibliography, the task can seem herculean. Breaking the annotated bibliography entries into their component parts can make it much more achievable. 

Breaking the annotated bibliography into smaller tasks can help beginners learn to cite sources, identify claims and evidence, evaluate the content's rhetorical appeals, and plan their next steps.

Annotated Bibliography Example

The following table in an example entry that's been broken into its component parts on a table. For this example, the research question is "What are the practical and safe medicinal uses of the comfrey I grow in my backyard?" This example table includes the prompts necessary to properly evaluate and annotate an article called "Three Travelers," written by Katherine Yvinskas and published in The Herbarist in 2010. 

Prompt	Responses
Where did you find your source and why did you choose it? Provide the complete MLA citation for the source.	I found my first source in the GGC Library databases. I searched for the term “comfrey” in the database called Academic Search Complete (and updated my citation to include the name of the database instead of the name of the service, Ebscohost). This source was on the third page of results, and I chose it because I am interested in the medicinal properties of comfrey and this was published in a journal called Herbalist. Yvinskas, Katherine. “Three Travelers.” Herbalist, no. 76, Nov. 2010, pp. 16–20. Academic Search Complete, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=a9h&AN=79329981&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=gwin
Research and explain each author’s credentials and authority. If there is no author, provide information about the organization or publisher. Think about how the author’s credentials affect the intended audience’s acceptance of the information.	There is a short bio in the article that explains the author’s credentials. Although her main vocation is as an artist, it seems she is also a self-taught herbalist. This might be a concern, but she has also been acknowledged as a Master Gardener. “Katherine Yvinskas is a member at large of The Herb Society of America. She is an artist, Master Gardener and herbalist living in New Jersey. She has created many original works inspired by plants and nature. Katherine received her MFA in 1981 from Northern Illinois University and is a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists. Her work has been widely exhibited and published” (20).
Quote or paraphrase the main idea (thesis, enthymeme, or hypothesis and findings).   If there is an abstract, you may also wish to quote it here.	Thesis: "I’ve called them ‘The Three Travelers’ in honor of their centuries-old reputation as journeymen having healing abilities that affect the lungs, bones, ears, digestive system, and support wound healing. Imagine seeing comfrey, mullein and coltsfoot standing together, taking on various ailments that come their way. A mighty trio! And they can grow in your own garden, as they do in my home herbal apothecary" (18). Abstract: “The article offers information on coltsfoot, comfrey and mullein, which are called the three travelers due to their ability to treat diseases. Coltsfoot is a spring bloomer and is dubbed Filius ante patrem. It treats coughs, asthma and bronchitis. Comfrey is high in calcium, potassium, phosphorus and other minerals and its leaves are rich in vitamins A and C. Mullein can grow anywhere, was used as toilet paper in the wild, or placed in the holes of shoes or if the feet were tired from walking.”
Summarize or quote each section’s or paragraph’s main idea sentence or main idea (if it’s implied). Be sure to point out where the most relevant information appears.	Each section describes the three plants and explains their herbal uses. Most relevantly, the article answers my research question on page 19 by saying that comfrey is best used as a healing cream and as a poultice. It is used externally.
Identify the main types of evidence the author(s) used. Use the list that’s been provided for you. Types of evidence may vary by paragraph or section. Please see “types of evidence” at the end of this document. Think about how the types of evidence affect the intended audience's acceptance of the information.	The author uses visual descriptions and verifiable, cited facts throughout the article, including in the section on comfrey. The references and bibliography for the cited information will be very helpful for continuing my research.
Explain how the source does or does not demonstrate each of the three main rhetorical appeals: ethos, logos, and pathos. What will you do to overcome any weaknesses presented in the source’s rhetorical appeals? Think about how the use of rhetorical appeals can affect the intended audience's acceptance of the information.	Ethos: The lead-in to the article is the author’s narrative about having the plants in her garden, which, by virtue of her experience, establishes a level of ethos. Because of the discrepancy between the author being an artist and being a self-taught herbalist, however, I want to find additional information to confirm and validate the information in her article, especially the idea of the herbs being called “three travelers.” Does this originate with her? Logos: Although the information is in a coherent order (categorical order in an expository essay format), and is presented with a bibliography, none of the information is timely, so there may be new information available. I will need to look for more up-to-date information. Pathos: The author has done a good job introducing the article with a narrative that includes positive connotations of the plants without exceeding the limits of a proper use of pathos.
Define unfamiliar words or phrases (up to 10). Include the original sentence from the source that contains the word or phrase. Be sure to attribute the source of the additional information in case you want to use it in your research project. These words may help you learn more about your topic.	Pyrrolizidine alkaloids : “Early leaves or cuttings harvested in the spring will contain high levels of dangerous pyrrolizidine alkaloids whereas the later cuttings and mature leaves have much smaller amounts” (18). I found more about this phrase in a source called Safety Issues Affecting Foods: Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon (http://www.itmonline.org/arts/pas.htm): “Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are of special interest currently because several of them have been shown to cause toxic reactions in humans, primarily veno-occlusive liver disease, when ingested with foods or herbal medicines. Comfrey, a well-known medicinal herb characterized by U.S. FDA researchers as having been ‘one of the most popular herb teas in the world,’ contains PAs that are capable of causing liver damage (10).”

Glossary of Key Words and Phrases

Annotate: Take notes on a text to help establish meaning and context. Annotations should be substantive enough to use as notes for a paper without having to look back at the original.

APA Format: The American Psychological Association’s guidelines for how to format a paper and its source content; emphasizes the author and publication date of a work with content page numbers if available. Generally used when the publication date is important in establishing ethos or logos, as in papers about medical advances or new technology.

Attribution: Giving credit to the original source of the information within the context of the sentence; usually requires transitions like “according to” or “Source states.”

Credentials: Qualifications, achievements, qualities, or aspects of a background, typically used to indicate suitability.

Enthymeme: Argumentative thesis statements work best with the idea of enthymeme. An enthymeme is a relationship between reason and conclusion. In thesis statements, this takes the form of making a clear connection between an assertion (claim, opinion) and the reasons used to support that assertion. “Recycling should be required nationwide because . . . .”

Hypothesis: In science, a hypothesis is an idea or explanation that is tested through study and experimentation. Outside science, a theory or guess can also be called a hypothesis. A hypothesis is something more than a wild guess but less than a well-established theory. “Planting carrot seeds in the fall may lead to greater yields the following summer.” Findings are generally found at the end of a paper that begins with a hypothesis.

MLA Format: Modern Language Association’s guidelines for how to format a paper and its source content; emphasizes the author and title of a work with content page numbers, if available. Generally used when the publication date is not important in establishing ethos or logos, as in papers about Hamlet.

Modes of Persuasion: Ethos, or ethical appeal, means to convince an audience of the author's credibility or character or by use of expert testimony. Pathos, or emotional appeal, means to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions, usually using sensory description or narration. Logos, or the appeal to logic, means to convince an audience by use of logic or reason, verifiable facts, statistics, real examples, and descriptions or personal observations.

Paraphrase: A paraphrase is about the same length as a quotation, usually one or two sentence (in a short essay). The words are changed to fit stylistically into a paper, with any original words or phrases placed in quotation marks.

Quotation: The exact words used by another writer. Use the exact words only when no other word will express the same idea. Always enclose quotation in quotation marks except in the case of a block quotation.

RRAT: We have to ask ourselves if sources include reliable, relevant information, if the author, publisher, or editor is authoritative and credentialed. We also ask, “Is it timely?” It is timely if the content uses information with an appropriate publication date.

Summary: To summarize is to take a longer piece of writing and condense it into its main ideas. You summarize an article by restating its thesis and topic sentences or its findings. Although a summary can be followed by an evaluation, a summary is not the same as an evaluation. An evaluation rates an article’s worth, and a summary just explains its main ideas.

Thesis: A thesis statement is a sentence that states the topic and purpose of a paper. A good thesis statement will direct the structure of an essay and will allow your reader to understand the ideas you will discuss within your paper. “Students should take Composition courses their freshman year.”

Types of Evidence: Evidence includes 1. real and 2. hypothetical examples, 3. verifiable facts and 4. statistics, 5. testimony from experts and 6. laypersons, 7. logic and reason, 8. chronological narratives, 9. sensory descriptions, and 10. personal observations. 

Want to learn more about research and writing?

Annotated Bibliography Assignment for Students

Evaluating Source Content

Write Outside: Outdoor Activities and Writing Prompts for English Composition

Copyright Amy Lynn Hess. Please contact the author for permission to republish.