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First Year Seminar (FYS) Library Support

A Libguide for FYS Faculty

Why the Annotated Bibliography?

The effectiveness of an Annotated Bibliography (AB) assignment hinges on the requirements, and often the source types, that you incorporate in its design. A brief annotated bibliography assignment with a few detailed source requirements hits each of the SLOs:

  • Learn topic development: The AB can introduce students to new ways of interrogating ideas on a scoped topic.
  • Become familiar with a variety of source types: The AB can help students categorize different types and formats of sources that they were not exposed to in high school.
  • Practice critical evaluation of information: The AB can ask students to use a provided criteria to identify the most effective sources and explain how they are effective.
  • Discover information and sources beyond Google. 
  • Apply the intellectual practice of incorporating and citing sources, and academic integrity concepts.