Format:

• Project formatting:
  • Document format: Word (DOC or DOCX) only.
  • Layout: 1" margins with 1/2" paragraph indentation, single-spaced (with one space between entries), 12-point Times Roman or Calibri font.
    • Note: On older versions of Microsoft Word, the default margins are 1.25" — you must change this (from the "File" menu, select "Page Setup...").
• The top of your first page begins with a working title followed underneath by "Annotated Bibliography", your name(s) in alphabetical order, the course number. Do not use a separate title page.
• You must cite a minimum of one class and eight outside references.
  • Note: this is an absolute minimum for submission. Simply meeting the minimum does not earn you full or partial credit. Think double-digits!
  • Note: these must be relevant references (not just any you can find right now). You must use at least SIX of them in your final project. You will lose 1 point for each reference, below six, not used in your project. Don't get stuck with sources you can't use later on! Do the work now!
• You must use the APA citation style. List your references alphabetically by author (or by organization when there is no specific author noted).
• Each reference must include 1) a brief description of the literature, and 2) a discussion of why it is relevant to your work.
• While you may use a broad spectrum of relevant material for the project itself, the references in the annotated bibliography should be limited to MAJOR academic literature* in the field (not just ANY literature— no newspaper or magazine articles!). Use the citations in your texts as source guides.
• Finally, the bibliography should help direct and focus your research. To that end, you must include a concluding paragraph that 1) summarizes what you learned from your literature search; and 2) develops some thesis or hypothesis to pursue in your research.
  • This differs from the standard annotated bibliography. For us it serves as a lead-in (sort of a stepping stone) to your full-blown research project.

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*For POLS 4113, Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report is considered an acceptable source, even though it is not strictly "academic"

Click here for a SAMPLE of what your Annotated Bibliography should look like.

Helpful Links (but don't forget that OURs requires a concluding paragraph, which is different from the standard annotated bibliography):

• Annotated Bibliographies, Purdue University Online Writing Lab.
• Annotated Bibliography links, Rio Salado College Online.
• How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography, Cornell University Library.
• Writing an Annotatede Bibliography, University of Minnesota, Crookston.