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MMUF Workshop: Building a Bibliography, Managing Sources, and Notetaking

Principles of Annotation

The section entitled "Principles of Annotation" (4.7) in The Craft of Research offers a concise overview of marginal annotations and annotated bibliographies.

Annotated bibliographies are often a required component of research papers or longer projects, and for good reason. They help you articulate the main contributions of other scholars' work in your research and define your own position and voice in conversation with them. They can help you craft a literature review, which you likely will need to do at various stages in your research project.

They are also a common form of scholarly production in their own right. The Oxford Bibliographies database below is a particularly rich source for annotated bibliographies.

Oxford Bibliographies

Discussion Exercise

Under the major research areas/subjects listed in Oxford Bibliographies, identify two individual articles (annotated bibliographies) in topics that are relevant to you.
Which specific bibliographies did you find?

  • Who wrote them?
  • What sources on the list appear to be key texts?
  • Did you find any new sources that you were not aware of earlier?