Annotated Bibliography Assignment

English 2112 Dr. Lorena A. Sins
Annotated Bibliography Assignment Spring 2021
For your research essay, you will need to compile and turn in an annotated bibliography
containing sources that are relevant to your research question.
–You need to have at least four sources that you will be using in your essay, not counting
the primary sources. You will need to have more than four sources on your annotated
bibliography. Researchers cannot use every source that they locate and review in their
research essays; some of them may have to do with the general subject of the essay, but
will not be relevant to the topic being explored. The researcher may determine that other
sources are not credible or in a format that can be used in a research essay. Therefore,
you will have to have more sources on your annotated bibliography as you are required to
cite in your research essay. The annotated bibliography will not be identical to the Works
Cited page of your essay, because you will not be using all the sources that you will be
looking at as you do your research.
You need to have at least four secondary sources on your annotated bibliography,
since you need to include quotes or paraphrases from at least two sources in your
final draft. You may need to find more than four secondary sources to find two that
you can use. You may include more than two secondary sources in your final draft,
but the minimum number is two.
The actual literary work that you are writing about is a primary source. You
should not include it in your Annotated bibliography.
–The annotated bibliography will be due on April 4. Please turn it in through
GeordiaView in the folder titled “Annotated Bibliography”.
–Follow the guidelines below to ensure that your annotated bibliography is done
correctly.
Taken, in part, from The Owl at Perdue
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/
Annotated Bibliographies
This resource was written by Geoff Stacks and Erin Karper.
Last full revision by Dana Lynn Driscoll.
Last edited by Allen Brizee on September 3rd 2008 at 9:33AM
A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, websites, periodicals, etc.) one has used
for researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called “references” or “works cited”
depending on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes the
bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).
An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation.
Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the
sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more
of the following:
 Summarize: Some annotations merely summarize the source. What are the main
arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone
asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? The length of your annotations
will determine how detailed your summary is.
 Assess: After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. Is it a useful
source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information
reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source?
 Reflect: Once you’ve summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits
into your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your
argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you
think about your topic?
Your annotated bibliography should include all of these for each source.
Why should I write an annotated bibliography?
To learn about your topic: Writing an annotated bibliography is excellent preparation for a
research project. Just collecting sources for a bibliography is useful, but when you have to
write annotations for each source, you’re forced to read each source more carefully. You begin
to read more critically instead of just collecting information. At the professional level,
annotated bibliographies allow you to see what has been done in the literature and where your
own research or scholarship can fit. To help you formulate a thesis: Every good research paper
is an argument. The purpose of research is to state and support a thesis. So a very important
part of research is developing a thesis that is debatable, interesting, and current. Writing an
annotated bibliography can help you gain a good perspective on what is being said about your
topic. By reading and responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you’ll start to see what the
issues are, what people are arguing about, and you’ll then be able to develop your own point
of view.
Format
The format of an annotated bibliography can vary, so if you’re doing one for a class, it’s
important to ask for specific guidelines.
The bibliographic information: Generally, though, the bibliographic information of the
source (the title, author, publisher, date, etc.) is written in either MLA or APA format.
The annotations: The annotations for each source are written in paragraph form. The lengths
of the annotations can vary significantly from a couple of sentences to a couple of pages. The
length will depend on the purpose. If you’re just writing summaries of your sources, the
annotations may not be very long. However, if you are writing an extensive analysis of each
source, you’ll need more space.
I would strongly suggest that you include quotes and paraphrases (with the page numbers
on which they appear in the sources) in your annotated bibliography. The recording of quotes
and creation of paraphrases will take you a long time, but by the time you finish, you will have
thoroughly synthesized the source material in your brain, which will enable you to easily
incorporate it into your essay. In the long run, including quotes, paraphrases, and notes to
yourself about ideas you’ve had about how to use this material will save you time and make
your essay better.
You can focus your annotations for your own needs. A few sentences of general summary
followed by several sentences of how you can fit the work into your larger paper or project can
serve you well when you go to draft.
The following pages contain a sample annotated bibliography. Please use this example as a
model for your own annotated bibliography. You should make one change, though: the
example does not have a header containing the student’s name and the page number. Please
include a header with your last name and the page number in the upper right hand corner of
each page.
KXXXX FXXXXX
Professor Sins
English 1102-30
12 March 2015
Annotated Bibliography
Bradbury, Wilhelm, Malte Friese, and Fritz Strack. “Impulse and Self-Control From a
Dual-Systems Perspective.” Galileo. Perspectives on Psychological Science
(Wiley-Blackwell), 1 Mar. 2009. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
“Impulse and Self-Control From a Dual-Systems Perspective” illustrates the
desires and self-control of human beings. It offers the idea of a dual-system perspective
in order to help with self-control and natural impulse. However, natural human behavior
is a constant “tug-of-war” between the two (171).
After reading this source, I think it will be helpful when talking about the
problems with unrestrained sexual urges and behaviors. The authors offer good facts
about human behavior and instinct.
In our society, every day we see the result of not restraining sexual urges and
behavior. It is human nature to naturally crave the sexual urge. Negative sexual behavior
has become a typical act because self-control is absent. This article provides good
information to support my ideas. “This insight may be important for the study of selfcontrol
situation in which people are torn between their long-term goals to restrain
behavior and their immediate impulses that promise hedonic fulfillment” (162). This
sentence as a whole, sums up our society’s daily struggle. The article continues on by
saying humans are constantly between two antagonist forces: “one force calls on us to do
what we believe is reasonable, whereas the other urges us to do what pleasure dictates”
(162). If society had restrictions on sexual urges and behavior, many of these statements
could be argued against.
“Burdens and Benefits of Arranged Marriages.” GoodTherapy.org Therapy Blog. N.p., 12
Apr. 2013. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.
“Burdens and Benefits of Arranged Marriages” gives a valid argument stating the
pros and cons of an arranged marriage. When people choose their own spouse, problems
may arise. This article provides information on why arranged marriages may cause fewer
issues.
This source will be helpful with my research paper. It provides information on
why arranged marriages are more successful.
Several things that are said in this source could be helpful when arguing what
problems occur when people choose their own marital partner. People get married at such
a young age in our society. This brings about the issue of young adults being too
immature and inexperienced to make a life changing decision such as getting married.
“Parents who favor arranged marriages believe that they are more experienced and
objective than their children. They will be able to make better, less impulsive choices
regarding a compatible, and often financially supportive mate than their child will” (1).
This article goes on to say, “According to some research conducted in India, couples in
arranged marriages have more extended periods of being in love than partners who
choose their own mates. And arranged marriages end in divorce about 10 times less often
than non-arranged marriages” (1). All these quotes will be helpful in my research paper.
Epstein, Robert, Mayuri Pandit, and Mansi Thakar. “How Love Emerges in Arranged
Marriages: Two Cross-Cultural Studies.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies
(n.d.): n. pag. Galileo. 1 May 2013. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
This journal article offers the idea that in many cases of an arranged marriage,
love follows after becoming a married couple. The authors conducted two studies in
which gives insight as to why couples that were forced to marry, have fallen deeply in
love with one another. Even though they were unable to choose who they married, this
study proved that majority of people ended up loving one another due to the commitment
they shared.
Although I will be looking at different aspects of arranged marriages, this article
is not helpful to me. I am looking for in depth information about why an arranged
marriage is an opportunity to prevent people from making the same mistakes they would
if they had chosen their own spouses.
Eun, HaeYoung, Young Woo Sohn, and Suran Lee. “The Effect of Self-regulated
Decision Making on Career Path and Major-related Career Choice Satisfaction.”
Journal of Employment Counseling (n.d.): n. pag. Galileo. 1 Sept. 2013. Web. 9
Mar. 2015.
This article discusses the idea behind a self-regulated decision making process
and career choice. A study is done to convince readers that people who self-regulate their
own decisions had a higher chance of being satisfied with their career. Their findings
proved such.
I will not be citing this article in my research paper. It contradicts my point of
convincing the reader that self-regulated decisions cause problems.
Ferry, Natalie M. “Factors Influencing Career Choices of Adolescents and Young Adults
in Rural Pennsylvania.” Journal of Extension 44.3 (n.d.): n. pag. Factors
Influencing Career Choices of Adolescents and Young Adults in Rural
Pennsylvania. June 2006. Web. 06 Mar. 2015.
In this journal article, Ferry describes many aspects that go into the decision
making process of being a young adult and having to choose a career on your own.
Before revealing her findings, she organized an experiment in which she would interview
students. From the interviews, she found emerging themes that were conflicts when
students were thinking about their future career.
I find this a credible source therefore; it will be useful in my paper. I plan to write
a few paragraphs on the effects of choosing one’s own career and this article will provide
information to help me support my ideas.
In today’s society, young adults are extremely pressured to make the right
decision when it comes to their occupation. Many things throughout the course of their
life help sculpt their decision. A few of these are family, friends, social factors, “ideal
job,” barriers, etc. (1). All of these influences originate stress in a young adult, which
could be avoided by having their careers chosen for them. Ferry says, “A major turning
point in adolescents’ lives involves the career choice that they make while in high school”
(1). I plan to go into detail about each of the influences and issues with choosing one’s
own career.
Hall, Melissa, and Joshua Hall. “The Long-Term Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse:
Counseling Implications.” American Counseling Association, 2011. Web. 9 Mar.
2015.
This article describes the long-term effects on children who are sexually abused as
a child. Each form of sexual abuse is acknowledged and how each affects the young
child.
This source will be very useful in my research paper. I plan to present the idea
that having regulations on sexual urges would help prevent sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse is a tragic experience many young children have to endure. If
society had restrictions on sexual behavior and urges, fewer children would have to go
through being abused. Once a child has been abused, the effects are carried with them for
all of their lives. “Childhood sexual abuse has been correlated with higher levels of
depression, guilt, shame, self-blame, eating disorders, somatic concerns, anxiety,
dissociative patterns, repression, denial, sexual problems, and relationship problems” (2).
This article has many statics about abused children that would also be very helpful in my
research paper.
Kingston, Drew A., Pamela M. Yates, and Philip Firestone. “The Self-Regulation Model
of Sexual Offending: Relationship to Risk and Need.” Law and Human Behavior
36.3 (2012): 215-24. Galileo. US: Educational Publishing Foundation. Web. 9
Mar. 2015.
This article serves to show the relationship between self-regulation and sexual
offenders. Each sexual offender had different motives and strategies as to why they
offended. It also reviews the treatment of sexual abuse among individuals.
After reading this article, it is not useful for my research paper. I am focusing on
reasons there should be regulations on sexual matter. This article does not address this
topic.
Kunnen, Saskia E. “The Effect of a Career Choice Guidance on Self-reported
Psychological Problems.” Galileo. Frontiers in Psychology, 1 May 2014. Web. 9
Mar. 2015.
Kunnen briefly summarizes the effect on career guidance in relation to
psychological problems. At the beginning of her study, she assumes that late adolescents
with career choice problems also have psychological problems. Once her study is
concluded, she finds that solving identity and career problems will help decrease
psychological disorders in adolescents.
After reviewing this source, I have concluded it is not relevant to my research
paper. This source is comparing the stress of career choice and psychological problems;
therefore, this source will not be used.
Lavner, Justin A., Benjamin R. Karney, and Thomas N. Bradbury. “Relationship
Problems Over the Early Years of Marriage: Stability or Change?” Journal of
Family Psychology 28.6 (n.d.): 979-85. Galileo. US: American Psychological
Association, 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
This article gives a clear depiction of how free choice marriages change over
time. Several studies are shown to prove that marriage satisfaction decreases over the
years. Throughout the article, it is argued whether marital problems change over time.
The authors conclude that even though people are less satisfied throughout the course of
their marriage, their problems remain consistent and stable.
After reviewing this source, I find it valuable and helpful for my research paper.
Studies and statistics are a vital part of proving a point and this article offers many studies
and facts.
Parts of this source could easily be incorporated in my paper. One study shows
even though marital problems remained stable, “marital satisfaction underwent
significant declines” (983). I will use this quote to give an example of a common problem
when choosing your own spouse. Another useful piece of information is, “husbands and
wives rated showing affection as increasingly problematic over time” (979). Most
marriages are, at first, based on love. This causes a problem later in life because once the
“in love” feeling is absent; people are unhappy which could lead to divorce. However,
when having an arranged marriage, people tend to fall in love later in the marriage. This
lessens the chance of divorce.
Reay, Barry, Nina Attwood, and Claire Gooder. “Inventing Sex: The Short History of Sex
Addiction.” Sexuality & Culture 17.1 (2013): 1-19. Galileo. 1 Mar. 2013. Web. 9
Mar. 2015.
This article offers information on the history and origin of sex. Additionally, it
describes the concept of sex addiction and its history. Studies are done in the article to
support the thesis statements.
This article will not be of any use for my research paper. It is too vague and
shallow for the arguments I have chosen to present.