The Annotated Works Cited

“An annotated bibliography provides specific information about each source you have used. As a researcher, you have become an expert on your topic and have the ability both to explain the content and to assess the usefulness of your sources for those not in the know. Think of your essay as part of a conversation with others interested in the same things you are; the annotated bibliography allows you to tell readers what to check out, what might be worth checking out in some situations, and what might not be worth spending the time on. It’s kind of like providing a list of good movies for your classmates to watch and then going over the list with them, telling them why this movie is better than that one or why one student in your class might like a particular movie better than another student would. You want to give your audience enough information to understand basically what the movies are about and to make an informed decision about where to spend their money based on their interests” (“Annotated Bibliography”).

Essentially, this assignment consists of two elements that will be blended together:

• A Works Cited page in MLA format that lists all of the research sources you have found and evaluated thus far for your final essay
• A paragraph-long summary immediately following each of source citation that explains each source’s thesis or overall focus.

An MLA example, using the source for the above quote:

  Your final annotated works cited will have 4 sources listed.

Entries should be organized in alphabetical order by last name of author (or by title, if there is no author name).  We are using MLA 8th edition formatting, for the works cited as well as the final essay.