NARRATOR: So you've been assigned to create an annotated bibliography. I'm sure you're overjoyed. But it's actually not as bad as it sounds. To create one, you find a source, you cite it, you summarize it, and then you evaluate it. Each time you do those three things, you produce an entry. Repeat for 6 or 10, or however many sources your instructor requires, and you've got yourself an annotated bibliography. 

This might sound tedious. However, like most things that are worth doing, you get something in exchange for your effort. Annotated bibliographies are actually time-savers in the long run, and they help you produce better work. That's because they augment your memory when you're working on a research project. 

See, human memory stinks. You know what the least reliable form of legal evidence is? Eyewitness testimony. It's true. Look it up. Memory just can't be trusted. So in the same way that it's easier to shop for groceries if you have a list, it's helpful to make a record of the sources you find and to scribble down what you think they're good for. That way, you don't have to constantly be rereading your sources. 

Annotated bibliographies consist of a series of entries. In turn, each entry consists of three parts-- a citation, a summary, and an evaluation. On paper, it will look something like this, depending on your assignment. The citation comes first and, more or less, acts as the header for that entry. The summary and evaluation cozy up and hang out together in this chunk of text down here. 

The citation has its own line at the top of the entry and should be properly formatted, like MLA, APA, or whatnot. Copying and pasting in just a title or a web address and calling it done does not cut it. With citations, details matter. 

If you want a hand with formatting a citation, there is plenty of help out there. Ask a librarian, either online or in person, or use NoodleTools, which is SCC's online citation tool. Oh, and by the way, it also includes the ability to create annotations and note cards. It's a great resource and highly recommended. 

The summary is a brief restatement in your own words of the source's main ideas. Brief means one to three sentences in length. Your own words means you have to explain, without copying someone else's words or their sentence structure, what you think that source was all about. Also, for a summary to be good, it has to maintain a neutral perspective. You're writing down what the source was about, not your opinion of it. 

The evaluation is where your opinions go, but not just any opinions. It should be your opinions about what the source is good for in relation to your project. You don't need to write a novel here. You just need to answer a few questions about the source, like these, and write down the answers. There's also a good chance your instructor will have some suggestions. 

Let's recap. Annotated bibliographies are lists of sources you plan to use in a research project. Each source gets its own entry, and each entry consists of a citation, a summary, and an evaluation. Citations must be properly formatted. Summaries briefly restate the source's main ideas from a neutral perspective. And evaluations contain your opinions about what each source is good for. 

Creating one of these things, it can be tedious, but they save you time, even if it doesn't feel like it, and they can help you improve the quality of your work because human memory is something I can't quite recall. Hmm. And don't forget to stop by SCC's library to get some help with those annotated bibliographies.