Annotated Bibliography
The Process
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Find a topic
Compose a research question
Find sources
Create citations for those sources
Create annotations for those sources
Submit a rough draft of your Annotated
Bibliography
Turn in a final draft of your Annotated
Bibliography
Keeping Your Research Organized
Keep a folder (electronic or hard) labeled “ENC1101
Research”
 Within that collect copies of all the articles and books,
etc. that you think may be useful for your argumentative
essay
 You want to find sources that are biased as well as those
that are objective
 You want sources that offer differing perspectives on
your research question
 You want to find popular and scholarly sources
 You want to use at least one primary source
(an interview, survey, or observation)
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Keeping Your Research Organized
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As you read each source, take notes on the information
you are looking to summarize in the annotation:
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What kind of source it is (article from a journal, book, DVD, etc.)
What type of source it is (scholarly or popular)
The perspective(s) on your research question it discusses
The credibility of the author and the publication
The main idea or claim of the source (will depend on if source is
biased or not)
 The logic of the source:
– support for the main idea, claim, or perspective(s)
– Evidence used for the perspective(s)
– Assumptions made about your issue
– Words or phrases that indicate bias or objectivity or too much
reliance on emotion
– How useful this source might be for you in building an argument
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Sources: Types of Publications
Remember you have to identify in your annotation what type of source it is: scholarly
or popular
Scholarly
 Peer Reviewed
 The author’s tone is more
objective
 More jargon/technical
terms
 Authors are experts in
that field
 More research is included
 Citations obvious
 Usually lots of text / not
many pictures
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Popular
Editor publishes
May be more subjective
Laymen’s terms/everyday
words used
Authors are often
reporters
Often little research
Citation method often
unclear
Often has pictures/graphs
The Credibility of the Source
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Credibility or ethos: The author and
publication’s credibility
– How much do you trust the source?
– What credentials or experience does the
source have regarding this issue?
– Is the figure well-known?
– Is there any reason you shouldn’t trust the
author or publication?
Emotional Appeal
Does the author use emotional reasoning?
 If so, what emotions does he/she rely on?
 Does the author responsibly use emotional
appeals or does the writer try to overly
rely on them?
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Logos
Part of evaluating logic involves analyzing
the reasoning of an argument
 Logos provides an overall framework of
which ethos and pathos are a part
 Although logos may not inspire people as
much as ethos and pathos it often keeps
people from acting rashly or foolishly
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Parts of an argument
Claim: Central argument (p. 141)
 Grounds: Support for argument in the
form of reasons
 Evidence: examples, authorities’
statements, statistics, facts, theoretical
examples
 Assumptions: belief that connects the
claim and grounds
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Reasons
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Reasons are statements that can be
factual or opinionated
– Claim: You should wear a heavy coat today
– Reason: Because it is snowing.
– Assumption: ?
Assumptions
 Claims
 Reasons
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Assumptions
Arguments, even with clear claims and reasons,
often don’t make much sense without
assumptions
 They are the glue that hold the reasons to the
claim
 They are sometimes explicitly stated but more
often implied
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Identifying Assumptions
Claim: Bill Clinton was a good president.
Reason: He was skilled at foreign policy.
Assumption: Any president who is skilled at
foreign policy is a good president.
Identifying Assumptions
Claim: You should visit Paris.
 Reason: They have the world’s best art
museums.
 Assumption: You should visit a place that
has the best art museums.
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Assumptions
(a.k.a. “warrants”) refer to the values and
beliefs people hold
 Are opinions, not facts
 Are shaped by our family, culture,
education, region, friends, ideas, etc.
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Practice
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Practice identifying the claim, reason, and
assumption(s) behind a source