This step will help make sure your know how to reference your articles. It is also the first step in reading the articles, ensuring they are scholarly, and summarizing how the article may be useful t

WHAT IS AN ANNOTATED REFERENCES (bibliography)?

An annotated bibliography is a reference list of your books, articles, and documents. Each reference is followed by two (2) brief (usually about 150- 300 words each) descriptive and evaluative paragraphs, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited. Annotations are descriptive and critical; they expose the author's point of view, clarity and appropriateness of expression, and authority.

First, create a citation for each of your articles in a references page.

Then, under each reference, write 2 complete paragraphs: a summary and a rhetorical analysis, answering the questions below. Be specific. For example, do not simply state, “The author logic is consistent.” Instead, state how it is consistent or inconsistent. Give specific examples.

I. Read and Summarize the Article

In paragraph form, summarize the essential theme/main point/ideas of the article/site.
Include specifically the article’s answers to your research question

II. Rhetorical Analysis of Article

Who is the author? To whom is the author writing and why? What is the motivating occasion?
How do the publication and genre of the text influence the author’s choices about structure and language?
What angle of vision shapes the text and accounts for what is included, emphasized, and excluded?
How logically developed and consistent is this text? Is the author’s argument well supported with relevant evidence? Does it follow logically? Give example.
How fair, reliable, knowledgeable, and authoritative does the author appear to be? Why do you say this? Prove your point.
How well does the author appeal to readers’ emotions, imaginations, and values?
Do you share the values of the author and his or her intended audience? How?

See below for SAMPLE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ENTRY for a journal article and an online article in 7th ed APA.

References

Davis, K. (2017, June 22). The effects and hazards of LSD. MedicalNewsToday.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/295966

This is the annotation of the above web site source. In this example, I am following APA

guidelines for the bibliographic information listed above. If I was really writing an

annotation for this source, I would now be offering a brief summary of what this article

says about my question about LSD. I would give only the main points that answer my

question and that I will use in my research. The summary should be 150 – 300 words.

After a brief summary in a new paragraph of 150 – 300 words, analyze the article

rhetorically, offering some criticisms of it. Does it seem like a reliable and current source? Who is the author? How fair, reliable, knowledgeable, and authoritative does the author appear to be? What is the author’s angle of vision? What does the author emphasize? What does the author exclude? Is the author’s argument well supported with relevant and well documented evidence? How logical are the author’s ideas? Where is he or she not logical or inconsistent? Where is the author showing bias? How well does the author appeal to the readers’ emotions, imagination, and values? Do you share the values of the author and his or her intended audience? How?

Modak, T., Bhad, R., & Rao, R. (2019). A rare case of physical dependence with psychedelic LSD – A case

Report. Journal of Substance Use, 24(4), 347-349.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14659891.2019.1581286

You will then have the annotation for you next cite under the reference

and continue on in the same manner. Write a 150-300 word summary of the article in paragraph

form. Then write a 150 – 300 word paragraph rhetorically analyzing the article.

Learning how to determine the relevance and authority of a given resource for your research is one of the core skills of the research process.