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JHHS History - 2019 National History Day: Annotated Bibliography

Tips on Creating a Annotated Bibliography

National History Day website - How to create an annotated bibliography

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

A good annotation contains three components:

    • It identifies what type of source this is (song, poem, book, website, journal article, diary entry, newspaper article….)
    • How was the source used?
    • How did the source help you understand your topic and create your project?

Morris, Edmund. Theodore Rex. New York: Modern Library, 2001.

This biography of Theodore Roosevelt helped me understand the way in which Philippe Bunau Varilla was able to get President Roosevelt to recognize the revolutionary government of Panama. It also gave me details regarding the specific treaties signed between the two nations that gave the U.S. control of the canal zone.

An annotation normally should be about 2-4 sentences long. Really long annotations generally do not impress people. Get to the point! Please understand that it is NOT the purpose of an annotation to summarize the book but to assess its value to your research.

The NHD Contest Rule Book states that the annotations “must explain how the source was used and how it helped you understand your topic.” Do not recount what the source said in detail. Sometimes there are some other details that you might want to include in an annotation, including:

  • Classification of primary or secondary resource.
  • Secondary source that included primary material
  • Fuller explanation of credits for documentaries.
  • Collection of photographs, cited as a group

Examples of Annotations

The good *, the better **, the best…… ***
*
This website has a lot of information. It also has a lot of contextual information about the war. It gave historical information and background issues. 
I am using this source to clarify certain details about World War II. This source gives a ton of information. 
This gave a massive overview of Wyoming's history. I am using this source to clarify certain details about this.This source gives a ton of information. 


**
This source from Facts on File tells about the Korean War. Having this information will greatly increase my understanding of what was happening at this period of time. 


This film gave me information about the Holocaust. It also showed me a lot of pictures that were helpful in understanding the topic. It gave the basic outline for what I will later be researching.

This entry told me many important facts about the Vietnam War. I used this source

to help me better understand what happened at My Lai. It provided me with crucial knowledge that allowed me to understand the events during this war.

***
This entry gave me a brief overview of the Rock Creek Massacre. The source, sponsored by the History Channel, gave me some very helpful statistics. I used it to provide the viewer with some horrifying numbers in order the put the event in perspective.

This source was used to help me understand more of the reasons why the Japanese relocation took place and how it may tie into current issues.

This article explained what the New Deal Art was and when it was introduced. This source provided me with information on the early movements towards  job creation in the US. It helped me understand the efforts of groups such as the WPA, and their motivation towards getting more Americans to work.

Not only did this source help me answer some of my questions, but it also gave me some background information of women's suffrage, which will let me relate present day to the past.  The information that I collected from this site helped me answer my "contextual" question for my research.

 

This textbook provided me with information about the attack on Pearl Harbor which led to suspicion from the U.S Government about Japanese-American allies. I was able to get many dates and places that will be useful in my essay from this secondary source.

This article is very crucial for my modern day connection because it states the relationship between internment of Japanese and treatment of Muslims today. I'm hoping by using this primary source quote my audience will be able to make a clear, strong connection that will be impactful.

I used this primary document written by Horace Albright to get inside the head of the major people involved in the foundation of the park. It showed how the federal people involved with the park were thinking and what they thought of Rockefeller's actions.

This secondary source gave me important information on the conservation movement. It also provided information about the major people involved in conservation. The most important was the fact that it talked about the major people behind Yellowstone.

Citing Sources within your Project

Exhibits and Websites

When you cite in exhibits or websites, you do need to credit your sources, and brief citations do NOT count toward your word count. You just add the minimal amount of information that would allow the viewer to find the source in your annotated bibliography.

Performances and Documentaries

When you are creating a performance or a documentary, you do not need to actively cite during your presentation, because it would disrupt the flow of your product.

For examples and more explanation refer to the NHD website

Using a Variety of Words.....Makes a Great Annotation!

  • What are words to replace "it?"
  • What are some verbs that will make your annotation more interesting?
  • List some adjectives that add to your description.

Replacing the “it”

Verb Choice

Descriptive Adjectives

Letter

Archival information

Newspaper

Photos

Illustrations

Images

Book

Reference source

Diary

Database

Website

Memo

Memorandum

Documentary

Encyclopedia

Thesaurus

Newscast

In-hand article

Ebook

Interview

Article

artifact

blog

collection

document

entry

film

illustration

image

interview

journal

my resource

newspaper

patent

photograph

picture

recording

reference

report

site

source

textbook

video

website

work

Explained

Helped me understand

Revealed

Reflected

Comprehend

Explicated

Visualize

Answered

Expound

Illustrated

Built on

Depicted

Elaborated

Illuminated

Summarized

Elucidated

Interpreted

Clarified

Showed
answered

built on

deepened

demonstrates

depicted

elaborated

expanded

explained

illustrated

interpreted

portrayed the event

provided

reflects

showed

summarized

taught

visualize

defined

compared

connected

elaborated

gauged

gave meaning to

I used

informed

provided

put into perspective

showed

clarified

uncovered

revealed

introduced

explained

 

Historical

Significant (statistics)

Statistical

Contextual

Old

Archival

Descriptive

Informational

Elaborate

Primary

Secondary

Tertiary
archival

colorful

contextual

credible

dependable

elaborate

exceptional

exemplary

extensive

helpful

historical

informational

insightful

interesting

primary

reliable

secondary

unique

updated

valuable

wonderful

worthy

current issue

various perspectives

helpful comparisons

detailed statistics

unique historical context

published facts

broad /narrowed/focused

qualitative data

quantitative data

daunting

biased

initial information

specific

analytical

surprising

brief overview

Citation Help

Noodletools (access Noodletools through your Google Drive)

Create a NEW project.

  • Chicago Style.
  • Advanced Level
  • Description: last name and topic (example: Smith, Rock Springs Massacre)

Please capitalize properly this description.

Share this project with NHS 2015-16 Pd 2 or NHS 2015-16 Pd 5

 

 

 

OWL - Chicago/Turabian

Turabian Quick Guide

Ms. Lori