early childhood education

Assignment: Annotated Bibliography

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and other resources. Each citation is followed by a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph: the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited. Annotations are

usually about 150 words.

Annotations vs. Abstracts

Abstracts are the descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in subscription databases. Annotations, on the other hand, are descriptive and critical; they discuss the author’s point of view, clarity, appropriateness of expression, authority, etc.

The Process

Creating an annotated bibliography calls for the application of a variety of intellectual skills: concise writing, succinct analysis, and informed library research. You will be retrieving websites, scholarly journal articles, and books relevant to a selected topic. You will create citations for these resources using the American Psychological Association (APA) format. You will write concise annotations that summarize the central theme and scope of the websites, articles, and books.

These annotations should include one or more sentences that:

1. Evaluate the authority, background, and education of the author(s)
2. Comment on the intended audience. For whom was it written (general public/any reader, subject specialists, college students)? What skill level or education level must the reader have?
3. Compare or contrast this work with another you have cited
4. Discuss how this work explains your selected topic

Example of a Citation and Annotation

London, Herbert. “Five Myths of the Television Age.” Television Quarterly 10.1 (1982): 81-89. Academic Search Premiere. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. (This is NOT APA)

Herbert London, the Dean of Journalism at New York University and author of several books and articles about the television industry, explains how television contradicts five commonly believed ideas. He uses specific examples of events seen on television, such as the assassination of John Kennedy, to illustrate

his points. His examples have been selected to contradict such truisms as: “seeing is believing”; “a picture is worth a thousand words”; and “satisfaction is its own reward.” London uses logical arguments to support his ideas. He does not refer to any previous works on the topic. London’s style and vocabulary

would make the article of interest to any reader. In comparison to Smith’s article, this source was easier to understand and more relevant to my specific topic.

There are several examples of annotated bibliographies available online.

You will be creating an annotated bibliography of 8 sources. You will be using the American Psychological Association (APA) format for your bibliography.

You must use this format consistently for each citation.

Selecting a Topic

Choose one of the following topics (below). You will be creating an annotated bibliography for this topic.

ï‚· Preschoolers vocabulary development

ï‚· Read-alouds preschoolers comprehension for

ï‚· Phonics instruction vs. Whole language instruction

Using a web search engine (such as Google), gain a basic understanding of your topic. Post, on the discussion board,the topic you have chosen and a concise summary of the topic (in your own words; minimum 150 words). Post topic by 6/30/11

Locating Internet Resources

Using a web search engine (such as Google), locate reliable websites relevant to your selected topic. Select 2 websites that are most relevant to your topic. Examine these resources and create a citation and an annotation for each website.

Locating Scholarly Journal Articles

Using an appropriate subscription database and appropriate search strategies, find scholarly journal articles relevant to your selected topic. Subscription databases and search strategies will be discussed in class. Select 4

scholarly articles that are most relevant to your topic. Credit will not be given for articles that are not from scholarly journals. “Scholarly” is also known as “peer reviewed” or “refereed.” These can be contrasted with “popular” magazines. These concepts will be discussed in class. Examine these resources and create a citation and an annotation for each article.

 Locating Books

Using the library’s online catalog, locate books that would help you gather more information on your selected topic. Select 2 books that are most relevant to your topic. Examine these resources and create a citation and an annotation for each source. Note: You need not read an entire book.

The Complete Annotated Bibliography

Correct all citations and annotations and compile all parts into one annotated bibliography. Use 1 inch margins for entire document and Arial font (12 point).

Your Name

EDCI 502

Your Topic: Annotated Bibliography

Citation

Annotation (annotation is single spaced)

Citation

Annotation (annotation is single spaced)

Citation

Annotation (annotation is single spaced)

 Citations with annotations should be alphabetized by author’s last name. If no author is given, consider the first letter of the first word of your citation when alphabetizing.

 Do not include section headings such as “books” or “websites”

 The annotated bibliography should be 1 cohesive document

 Use 1 inch margins

 Use Arial, 12 pt. font