How to create an Annotated List of Works Cited
An Annotated List of Works Cited is, simply, an organized list of sources, each of which is followed by a brief note or "annotation."
Instructions and requirements:
Follow MLA style exactly as it has been introduced in class. Be sure to look at your notes and handouts carefully to make sure you are following ALL directions for spacing, alphabetization, capitalization, punctuation, and order of items in entries.
1. You must have at least 3sources. These may include books, magazines, websites, television programs,films, interviews, lectures, etc.
2. Your annotations will include descriptive and/or evaluative comments on the source, based on your understanding of it; each entry must contain a minimum of five sentences. See example below.
3. Title it: Annotated List of Works Cited (NO quotes, underlining, italics, etc.)
Example:
Vultee, Denise. “Biography.”The William Blake Archive,Edited by Morris Eaves,
Robert Essick, and Joseph Viscomi,University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, 2016,
This is a valuable site for someone who needs any information about William Blake’s life. It includes detailed biographical information broken down into seven sections spanning from his youth to his death.Each section has a subheading describing what kind of information can be found within it, such as “Exhibition and Illuminated Epics, 1809-1818.” This source seems primarily intended to document Blake’s artistic life by providing detailed information about each phase of his career. The site is extremely scholarly, with few graphics other than Blake’s own artwork, and is designed to appeal to academically minded people, rather than people who just want to read his poetry.
As you can see in the example, don’t waste time getting fancy. The point of the notes is to inform, not to impress. Complete sentences and correct spelling and punctuation are still necessary, as always, but the purpose of these annotations is just to show that you read and understand your source and its value to someone interested in your particular topic.
If you have questions about how to document a particular source, do not hesitate to ASK!!!!!!! Part of what you are learning by doing this assignment is how to find information; this includes recognizing when you have a sticky MLA situation on your hands and finding out how to handle it by looking it up (in the MLA handbook, seventh edition, a copy of which is in the classroom).
Also, be aware that there are many websites that promise to do your MLA formatting for you, but they do not always produce correct results. Using them is like using the spelling and grammar check on your computer—YOU still have to double-check your work and be able to determine whether it is right or wrong according to the current MLA guidelines presented in class and in handouts.