ENGLISH 10 – MLA ANNOTATION REVIEWER
Many annotated
r Bibliography
 is a listing of citations – usually including
the author, title, publication information,
etc. – of the sources that you have used
or plan to use for your research topic
 help the readers of your research find out
where you obtained your information
 used by instructors and others to assess
the validity of your research findings as
well as aid future researchers in
locating sources on similar research topics
 sometimes referred to as Works Cited
pages or References
r Annotated Bibliography
 a list of citations to books, articles, and
documents
 each citation is followed by a brief (usually
about 150-200 words) 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
 provides a short paragraph of
description/criticism/evaluation of each of
your sources
 help you remember specific information
contained in your source
 they may describe the author's point of
view, authority, or clarity and
appropriateness of expression
r Importance
 as a student, this method will help you
develop or hone your research skills,
providing you with practice not only in
locating sources but also in analyzing and
evaluating them for relevance and quality
 readers will gain insight into your research
abilities, as well, allowing them to assess
your work more thoroughly
r MLA Annotation
 An annotated bibliography might be an
overview of a topic, or it might be
something you write in preparation for a
specific research essay.
bibliographies include:
→ A citation to the article, chapter, or
other work
→ Mention of the methods the
authors used
→ Qualifications of the author or
authors
→ A summary of the argument and/or
findings
→ Evaluation of the work, for example
the logic of the arguments or value of
the evidence
→ How this work supports your own
research
Example: (see ppt to see proper formatting)
Battle, Ken. “Child Poverty: The Evolution and
Impact of Child Benefits.” A Question of
Commitment: Children's Rights in Canada. Ed.
Katherine Covell and R.Brian Howe. Waterloo, ON:
Wilfrid Laurier University Press. 2007. 21-44.
Ken Battle draws on a close study of
government documents, as well as his own
research as an extensively-published policy
analyst, to explain Canadian child benefit
programs. He outlines some fundamental
assumptions supporting the belief that all society
members should contribute to the upbringing of
children. His comparison of child poverty rates in a
number of countries is a useful wake-up to anyone
assuming Canadian society is doing a good job of
protecting children. Battle pays particular attention
to the National Child Benefit (NCB), arguing that it
did not deserve to be criticized by politicians and
journalists. He outlines the NCB’s development,
costs, and benefits, and laments that the
Conservative government scaled it back in favour
of the inferior Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB).
However, he relies too heavily on his own work; he
is the sole or primary author of almost half the
sources in his bibliography. He could make this
work stronger by drawing from others' perspectives
and analyses. However, Battle does offer a
valuable source for this essay, because the chapter
provides a concise overview of government-funded
assistance currently available to parents. This
 offers context for analyzing the scope and financial  Location of the source
reality of child poverty in Canada. (such as URL or page
r The Process range).
W Writing the Description  Summary or Analysis.
 The summary of an annotated
bibliography in MLA style may be
written either as short, direct
phrases or as complete sentences.
Annotations should include:
 the main points from the
source
 the topics covered
 the approach used and any
findings
 or your critical evaluation

 Take care not to include any

unnecessary details, as the goal is
to summarize each source as
succinctly as possible and, in
some cases, evaluate them.

W Template

 For each source, use this template

to guide you as you identify the
necessary details:
 Author (last name, first
name).
 Title of source.
 Title of the container,
 Other contributors (names
and roles),
 Version,
 Number,
 Publisher,
 Publication Date,