Humanities Homework Help

Students will prepare an analytical annotated bibliography consisting of a minimum of six sources. At least two of these must be Primary Sources. (For your Final Paper, you must use at least eight sources, three of which are Primary Sources.) The required citation style is Chicago Manual of Style. For an example of what elements to include in your citation, go to Course Content and review the resources in the Chicago Style module. Submit your Annotated Bibliography in MS Word or docx format.

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief paragraph called the “annotation.” The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

There are two types of annotated bibliographies. The “descriptive” annotated bibliography summarizes a source, describes why it is useful for researching a particular topic or question, and describes the author’s main arguments and conclusions. The “analytical” annotated bibliography includes the same elements, but it also analyzes what is written or argued. It critically examines the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s argument and conclusions.

This assignment will require you to research and write an analytical annotated bibliography. Your annotated bibliography will include bibliographic entries AND a narrative explanation of the source and how it will be used to answer your research question. Wikipedia, About.com, History.com, Ask.com and any online sources that do not contain source citations and author information are not allowed as sources for this assignment. These are sites for the general population and not considered appropriate for college-level work. Do not use them. 

Analytical Annotated Bibliography Components:

1. Begin each annotated bibliography entry by identifying the source in correct Chicago Manual of Style documentation.

2. A brief description of the author’s topic, thesis, and methodology. In other words, in what academic discipline does the work fall in (history, literature, social science, women’s studies, cultural studies, etc.)? What kind of evidence does the author draw upon?

3. A concise outline of the main points in the text.

4. A statement about the author’s goals and his/her intended audience. Are there any clear biases?

5. MOST IMPORTANTLY–Your critical evaluation of the text’s usefulness for the investigation of your topic. What are the strengths of the source? What are the deficiencies or limitations of the source?

6. Did the article help you to further understand the topic? If so, explain how. If not, explain what information might have been helpful.

7. Explain how each of your sources compares to the others. Are there any general trends you see in your selected books and articles?

There are numerous websites that will show you how to construct an annotated bibliography. UMGC also has a guide to writing an annotated bibliography (requires Flash Player to view the video) https://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/bibliography_tutorial.cfm

You should seek resources that can help you address all five different areas of assessment required for your paper. The details are in “Project Descriptions” in the syllabus. The five areas are: 

1) Introduction/Geographic and Historical Factors

2)Political Factors

3) Social and Economic Factors

4)Military Strength and Capabilities

5)Significant Outcomes/Conclusions.

Sources for My WWII Report on Poland 

Invasion of Poland, Fall 1939 | Holocaust Encyclopedia (ushmm.org)

INTRODUCTION (auschwitz.org)