8.1: Introduction to Writing Your Research Paper

How Can I Keep Track of My Sources?

Your first step in writing your paper is to document your sources and their contents. An annotated bibliography assignment will help you research a topic, evaluate sources, and develop a thesis. The annotated bibliography is a works cited list with annotations, or abstracts, following each entry, describing what is contained in that source. It is also known as an annotated works cited or a literature review.

An annotated bibliography begins with your MLA citation of a source and then adds a paragraph with your summary and evaluation of each source. Many assignments will ask you to explain in the annotation how the source will contribute to your research paper's thesis argument. You will use your skills in paraphrasing and in writing summaries in the annotated works cited.

You may already have an idea of what claims you want to make in your argument, but first review your source and find multiple perspectives on the topic so you'll be able to take an argumentative stance in your thesis and have arguments to support, oppose, and refute the opposition to the thesis. Limit your sources to those that specifically focus on your argument. You can return to your list of sources at various points in your research, adding sources as your needs change and as you refine your claims.

Steps to Writing an Annotated Works Cited Entry

1. Begin with a complete MLA format works cited entry.
2. Provide a sentence or two describing the contents of the source.
3. Summarize the various relevant topic areas that the source discusses.
4. Avoid vague phrases such as "This source will be really useful because it goes into the topic in depth."
5. Use present tense to express the article's argument, such as "The author presents statistics that indicate . . ."
6. Discuss the exact way that you will use the source, such as for background information, data and statistics, etc.
7. Judge the value of the source, considering its author's credentials as an expert, its publication in a peer-reviewed journal, its timeliness, level of detail, and lack of bias.
8. Mention anything that you find especially noteworthy about a source--is it controversial? Influential and referenced frequently by other sources you've read?
9. Before you finalize your annotated entries, compose your problem statement and thesis (explaned in the next paragraph) to place at the top of the list.

The following YouTube video, "How to Create an Annotated Bibliography (MLA)," illustrates these steps.

James the DLC. "How to Create an Annotated Bibliography." YouTube, 23 Oct. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTIz8pCi98U&t=2s. License: Standard YouTube License.

Thesis and Problem Statement

Once you're compiled all the sources for your annotated works cited, formulate a problem statement and thesis which you'll place above your list of sources. The problem statement and thesis will further help you identify how you'll use each source--to support your thesis, show opposing sides, refute the opposition? After finding your preliminary sources, you can draft your thesis to state your argumentative stance on your topic. The thesis should be only one concise sentence or at most two sentences. In the problem statement paragraph, begin by stating the controversial issue you're researching, the major conflicting points of view, and then your thesis. If you draft the problem statement before you begin your individual annotated works cited entries, it will help you to analyze in more detail how each source fits into your paper. But you may have a clearer idea of how to write the problem statement after starting your entries, which you can then revise as needed. Elements of the problem statement can later be edited to serve as the introduction to your paper in the rough draft.

Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

For more information and examples, see Purdue OWL Annotated Bibliographies.

• 8.1.1: Sample Annotated Bibliography

• 8.1.2: Write Your Annotated Bibliography