Your annotations should have a section for each of the following:
Summarize: Basically, you will first paraphrase the main ideas of the text. What are the
main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If
someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say?
Assess: (Wood calls this response) After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to
evaluate it. Is it a useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your
bibliography? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the
goal of this source? Here you want to consider many of the questions on page 55-56 of
Wood.
Reflect: (indication of usage) Once you’ve summarized and assessed a source, you
need to ask how it fits into your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it
help you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research project?
Has it changed how you think about your topic? What evidence will it provide? How will
it function in your paper?
Your annotated bibliography must include at least 75 words for each of these
paragraphs.