An annotated bibliography is one way in which a researcher can keep good track of what he or she has read.  It's a quick summary to be sure, but it's also something more than that.  A good annotation reminds the researcher what the text was about, but it also suggests what audience or project the text might be best suited for. 

In that regard, an annotated bibliographic entry has two components:  a summary and an evaluation.  It likewise has two implied audiences:  the researcher who has read it, and an unknown other who wants to know about the text.  You must address both needs as you write these entries.

You must also maintain absolutely correct MLA form, which I assume at this point in your English major career you're able to find and follow on your own.

A 25-page essay ought to utilize 15-20 sources (more or less), so I expect a minimum of ten entries submitted on the Annotated Bibliography due date.

SAMPLE ENTRY

This is the collection of MacDiarmid's letters and, as such, ought to be² a useful reference. He corresponded both with close friends and with writers such as Ezra Pound and TS Eliot³; the letters give insight into not only his life but also his position as an early twentieth-century writer. There are also numerous letters to lesser personalities from earlier in his career which are nonetheless useful because they document his feelings on language⁴, especially the distinction between Scots and English. However, though this volumes is complete, it is a mess.⁵ Bold's refusal to categorize the letters any more than by whom they were written to, and the lack of an index, means that readers will end up doing a lot of hunt and peck research rather than being able to use it as a ready reference.⁶ 

 

WHAT I DID:  The Elements of the Entry
(Remember, though, this is explanation only on my part; your responsibility is to generate the entries alone.)

 1.                 Citation. Follow new MLA format explicitly. It's simply a matter of getting the form straight and we're giving you the forms, always.  This is why I made you buy the MLA Handbook, after all.

2.                  I'm setting up a critical assessment of this volume with this verb phrase. Though I don't want to expand upon it right now because I want to note the book's content first, I want to hint at my opinion from the start.

3.                  Give important elements/connections that you might need later. These names are biggies and MacDiarmid's conversations with them could prove useful in any study of him.

4.                  My essay is to focus on MacDiarmid's language, so I want to address exactly how this text addresses issues of  "language."

5.                  Transition from the possible uses and content of the text to my opinion of it. The "it's a mess" is probably a bit informal for an annotated bibliography, but it's nonetheless a true characterization, so I'll keep it. (Just watch your diction as you're doing this.)

6.                   Finally, I give a sentence to let other readers know whether it'll be useful for them; here, I'm asserting that it won't be except for the die-hard fans and researchers (i.e. those who love MacDiarmid or those who have lots of time to read the thousand-plus pages of letters).

 

My thanks to Sarah Mathis for pointing out that the new MLA style needs to be used and providing me the updated form for the bibliographic entry, as well.