Annotated Bibliography [Assignment/Rubric]
Kimberly Stelly
Overview
Follow the directions below to create an annotated bibliography featuring five sources. This assignment should be completed twice. In the first round, students should focus on five sources that support their viewpoint (i.e. a “for” annotated bibliography). For the second round, students will focus on five sources that oppose their viewpoint (i.e. an “against” annotated bibliography).
Each entry in both rounds of the assignment is worth 20 points. A breakdown of how these points are distributed is included in the directions that follow.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this assignment, students will
- analyze five sources that reflect a supporting or opposing stance on the student’s chosen topic.
- create an annotated bibliography that follows the conventions of the genre, such as following APA formatting guidelines, summarizing sources, evaluating source credibility, and explaining the relevance of each source to the research argument.
Thesis/Claim
Before you begin your annotated bibliography, state your position or stance in a complete sentence. What needs to happen? What do you want to happen? What should happen? Stating your thesis at the beginning will provide focus for your annotated bibliography.
APA Formatting
25 pts total, 5 points with each entry
Your annotated bibliography must meet the following requirements of APA formatting:
- Hanging indent with each entry
- Double-spaced throughout with no extra spaces between entries
- Correct title (e.g., Annotated Bibliography) bolded and centered, not underlined or italicized
- Correct pagination
- Alphabetical order of sources
- All bibliographical information is included and written in correct APA format
Summary
25 pts total, 5 points with each entry
Each entry of your annotated bibliography should include a summary. This summary should be thorough, ranging from at least 5-8 sentences. As you write, keep the following in mind:
- DO include the full name of the author and the title of the article.
- DO give a brief overview of the article.
- DO write in third person, present tense.
- DO NOT include direct quotes.
- DO NOT write “This article is about…”
Evaluation
30 pts total, 6 points with each entry
Each entry of your annotated bibliography should include an evaluation. This evaluation should consider the following components regarding the source’s credibility:
- The author. Who is the author? What authority does the author have to write on the topic? Identify the educational background of the writer. Include any pertinent information on why the author is an expert on the topic or why the author has the experience to write about the topic.
- The extent of the author’s research. Is the article well-researched? Are references cited? If so, provide proof or textual evidence. Name some of the sources. Who does the author refer to? Does the author include any experts?
- Any biases the author might have. Based on their background, does the author have any biases regarding the topic under consideration? Can the author be trusted to be fair and objective?
- Currency and relevance of the publication. What is the publication date of the article or book? The most relevant sources will not be more than five years old. No blogs, no student/college newspapers, no neighborhood newsletters, no doctoral candidates, etc. Your sources should be current, reliable, and relevant.
- Reliability of the publication. Blogs, student newspapers, neighborhood newsletters, and dissertations are less reliable due to their informality.
- Overall quality. Provide reason(s) for your judgment.
Explanation
20 pts total, 4 points with each entry
Explain why this source is relevant to your argument and specifically how this source will help prove the side you’re researching (e.g. the “for” or “against” side). You will need to include at least two reasons why this source is useful and at least two specific pieces of evidence or direct quotes. Each direct quote or paraphrased statement must be cited correctly.
Downloadable Resources (Assignment/Rubric)
Click here to download a Word doc of this assignment/rubric:
Annotated Bibliography assignment with rubric
Attribution:
Stelly, Kimberly. “Annotated Bibliography [Assignment/Rubric].” Strategies, Skills and Models for Student Success in Writing and Reading Comprehension. College Station: Texas A&M University, 2024. This work is licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).