Fillable Printable Sample Annotated Bibliography Example

Sample Annotated Bibliography Example

Annotated Bibliography Example – Teaching American History – Revised: 07/10/08 Page 1 of 3

Annotated Bibliography Example

Guidelines for Annotated Bibliography

Annotations vs. Abstracts

Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles

or in periodical indexes. Annotations are descriptive and critical; they expose the author's point of view,

clarity and appropriateness of expression, and authority.

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is

followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The

purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources

cited.

Annotated Bibliography

Below are some suggestions in helping you write your annotated bibliography. This document will be

posted on the web and part of your yearlong project. It covers an overview of recent (since 1990)

scholarship on the topic you have selected and it deals with primary, secondary, and other resources

which have been useful to you over the past year. Classroom books will be useful as well. Thus providing

your commentary and insights it becomes more valuable to fellow teachers who may use the material or

modify the material. In the suggestions area I have listed important elements that should go into your

comments. Thus you have provided a “value added” beyond simply a list. Your valuable experience as a

classroom teacher helps to make American history more meaningful in engaging both your students, to

other teachers and students who have seen your work on the web. So in that spirit of cooperation and high

standards, I offer this model to you. Your list will be more extensive. I have simply listed some of the

types you will encounter in putting together your list.

Suggestions for Writing Annotations

Content What is the resource about? Is it relevant to your research?

Purpose What is it for? Why was the book or article written?

Usefulness What does it do for your research?

Reliability Is the information accurate? Do other sources support the conclusions?

Authority Is it written by someone who has the expertise to author the information?

What are the author’s credentials?

Currency Is it new? Is it up-to-date for the topic?

Ease of use Can a “real person” use this resource? What is the reading level of the resource?

Annotated Bibliography Example – Teaching American History – Revised: 07/10/08 Page 2 of 3

Sample Citations and Annotations (Below are examples, but creatively made up)

Website example (with no known authors)

“How We Survived Camp Living” Revolutionary War Camping. 12 Oct. 2008. 25 Oct. 2008

<http://www.revolutionarywarcamping.html>

This site provided basic information about camp life. It does raise some important issues about gender

and status that may be useful for the classroom. It is a commercial site rather than an academic site, so it

provides some insight into the clothing that was used and may be useful for supplies. The impression I

had from the title of the site was that it would have primary documents. It does list some primary sources.

In general, I would not use this site in my research paper unless I could corroborate the information with

another more trustworthy source.

I accessed this resource through Google.com. The search terms I used were revolutionary camping and

camp life in eighteenth century.

Article example (with known authors)

Adams, Samuel, John Adams and Paul Revere and edited by G. I. History “The Importance of Beer and

Taverns in the American Revolution.” American Journal of Social History. 97.3 (2008), 354-382.

Social History Full Text. W. H. Wilson. Castleton State College, Calvin Coolidge Library. 25

Oct. 2008. <http://www.castleton.edu/tah>

This article discusses the importance of beer and taverns in bringing together discussion of the American

Rebellion. It draws on the first hand experience of three Revolutionaries and their experiences in the pub.

The article includes discussion of social class in where one would congregate. Written for a scholarly

audience, the article brings out that even though the Revolutionaries were fighting for Liberty, it was a

relative term and a dangerous one. The authors all had first hand experience in the Revolution and write

from different perspectives. The editor has provided a literature review as well as an extensive

bibliography. The summary and general discussion provided a useful overview of the conclusions drawn

by the authors and could be used in the research paper to support a conclusion.

I found this article through the Social Science Fulltext database. I searched using the keywords taverns,

beer and post roads.

Book example (with known authors)

Washington, George and Nathaniel Greene. Military Strategies: On a Limited Budget Boston: Colonial

Press, 1799

Geared for both a broad audience and professional military historians this book provides an insight into

the financial crises involved in the war. The authors show the importance and reliance on foreign

currency and support in the prosecuting of the war. The authors share their first hand experience of

deprivation and include a list of books that they used in planning military strategy. By common

consensus the authors were the best American generals and so their book is a valuable resource in

understanding the relationship between economics and strategy. Chapter Two of the book is particularly

useful since it contains Washington’s and Greene’s plans for the Battle of Manhattan.

I found this book in the Castleton State College Library online catalog. I searched for the term finances in

the Title field and sorted the results by most recently published. I found a couple of books that looked

good in the catalog but this one was the most useful once I got to the shelf.

Annotated Bibliography Example – Teaching American History – Revised: 07/10/08 Page 3 of 3

Book example (for young children)

Thoroughblood, Equus, That’s a Horse of a Different Color Boston: Green Dragon Press, 2008

This is a children’s book geared for grades 3-5. The author has selected famous horses in American

history and told their story. He mentions Paul Revere’s and William Dawes’ love of horses. The heroine

of the story is a young girl named Michelle who has a horse of her own and is taking riding lessons. She

then becomes familiar with the importance of horses. In addition to Revere’s and Dawes’ horses, the

author discusses Lee’s horse Traveler and Grant’s horse. And finally the author ends up discussing the

color of horses and the Wizard of OZ. This is a delightful book especially for young children who love

horses. At the same time it gives them an insight into history.

A fellow teacher in the Teaching American History Grant at Castleton recommended this book for my

third grade class. I have had great success with it and would recommend it for a fifth grade class that

might have slow readers.

Patrick, S, Green Grow The Rushes, Oh South Boston: Celtic Press, 2009 89 pages

This is a children’s book which deals with the Irish in the Revolutionary and Civil War in the United

States. The book by S. Patrick has many colorful illustrations of the time period which will be appropriate

for children in grades 3 to 5. It talks about the Fenian movement in the United States and Canada, thus the

book will be most appropriate for those countries. S. Patrick was a noted zoologist who collected snakes

before he became a children’s author. He has retired from that profession is now a full time children’s

author.

The book is useful for discussing ethnicity and immigration in the United States in the nineteenth century.

Children can dress up in period costumes and eat ethnic food. The book contains some recipes that might

be useful. I came across this book doing a search in the Castleton College on line catalog.

Hanover, George III, Michelle and Mary Serve Tea Boston: Colonial Press, 2005 120 pages

This is a children’s book of fiction appropriate for grade 5 reading level. This book tells the story from the

British viewpoint of the Boston Tea Party. Through the eyes of two good wives the English boycott of

goods in the American colonies is explained. While the story focuses on the American women as

Daughters of Liberty, the author makes it clear what the British position is and why the Americans are

provoking the situation. It gives a thought-provoking alternative view.

Robinson, Jonathan. Brenda and Judy Meet Elizabeth Cady Stanton Seneca Falls: Women’s Press, 2004

122 pages

In the tradition of meeting historical figures, two young women journey to Seneca Falls because they

have heard of the Women’s Rights convention. They are advocates of women’s rights. They meet

Frederick Douglass and other important delegates to the convention. The book brings out the role of

women in the 19

century and why there was a need of convention to address the rights of women. The

book should provide a thoughtful discussion and debate in class. It is appropriate for the 5

to 6

grade.