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Annotated Bibliographies

Summarizing Steps

After citing, start your annotation with a summary or anlaysis of the information resource. 

This provides information on what the source is about.

Try to answer these questions:

  • What is it about?
  • What topics are covered?
  • What are the main arguments?
  • What claims are the authors making?
  • What types of evidence are they using to support these claims?
    • Did they do original research?
    • Did they review the research of others?

Students often struggle with summarizing or paraphrasing information without accidentally plagiarizing. Some steps to help with this process:

  1. Read the source- remember you don't have to read it from beginning to end, you can skip around to better understand the content. 
  2. Take Notes- write down the main idea and important details. Try:
  3. Think about what you've read.  Take time to think about how it compares to other information you've read.
  4. Write using your own words. Read over your notes and add specific details to support the main ideas. 

Annotations versus Abstracts

Many scholarly articles start with an abstract, which is the author's summary of the article to help you decide whether you should read the entire article.  This abstract is not the same thing as an annotation.  The annotation needs to be in your own words.

How to Paraphrase (short video)

Paraphrasing Overview

This short video will give you a quick run-down of how to paraphrase something.

Summarize Example

1. Citation:

Newman, P.A., Fantus, S., Woodford, M.R., Rwigema, M. (2017). “Pray that God will change you”: The religious social ecology of bias-based bullying targeting sexual and gender minority youth—A qualitative study of service providers and educators. Journal of Adolescent Research, 33(5), 523-548. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558417712013

2. Summary:

This study, which concludes that religion plays a role in homophobia, documents bullying trends towards LGBTQ+ teens in Canada through interviews with teachers and therapists.

Note that annotations are written as one cohesive paragraph. Headings are provided in this example for clarity.