Research Paper Survival Guide - Fayette County Schools

Annotated Bibliographies (continued)
Why do I have to write an annotated bibliography?
Annotated bibliographies help you learn about your topic. Sometimes they are the end
product of a research assignment, and sometimes they are the preliminary research for
a longer research paper. When you summarize and evaluate your sources, you are
reading the information you have found critically to decide if it will be useful when you
write your research paper. Even when you are not assigned an annotated bibliography
before you write a research paper, you should still summarize and evaluate your
sources before deciding to use them. The skills you learn writing annotated
bibliographies in middle school and 10 th grade will help prepare you to conduct research
in your junior, senior, and college classes.
What should my annotated bibliography look like?
Your annotated bibliography will be in MLA manuscript form with a citation, a summary,
and sometimes an evaluation. Use the guidelines on this handout for the format of your
annotated bibliography. Be sure to check with your teacher to make sure you include all
the elements that are required in your annotated bibliography.
Where can I find more information on annotated bibliographies?
The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University has information on how to write annotated
bibliographies and some samples written on the college level.
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Research Paper Survival Guide