ESL 25 (Leath) Immigration: Cite Sources/MLA

Annotated Bibliography Entries

Your annotated bibliography entries (3) will consist of an MLA citation, a thesis statement, answering a question about the author's purpose, and correctly quoting and paraphrasing from the source. For specifics look to the box to the right.

Most English instructors require that you follow the Modern Language Association or MLA style manual.  However, it is best to check your assignment to be sure of what format you are suppose to use.  Ask your instructor if it is not listed on your assignment sheet.

LPC Library has the print copy of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th edition.  Ask at the Reference Desk.

FORMAT: In the upper left corner, put:

 

Your Name

Date

Type of source (book, etc.)

THESIS:  Restate your thesis at the top of every entry. If your research causes you to change your viewpoint about your research question before you finish all your individual entries, you can adjust the thesis as needed, but, hopefully, your thesis will remain the same for all sources.

QUESTIONS/EVIDENCE: Read the source carefully, annotating in the margins and highlighting or underlining key points that provide necessary background and/or support your thesis or an opposing argument. This annotating is part of your grade.  Then do the following for each entry (format and number your entries like the example that follows):  

 

1.         Analysis of Source

Answer these questions: What is the writer’s purpose in this source?  To persuade?  To inform?  Is the writer objective?  If persuasive, what is the writer’s position? What makes you think this is a reliable source?

 

2 (a+b) Quotations

• Choose two quotations you could use to support your argument.  You don’t have to choose sentences that have quotes around them in your source.  Find sentences that that summarize an argument clearly or are vividly expressed.
• Introduce each quote with a brief summary of background information or of the point it supports.
• In the next sentence, state the name and credentials of the person who is quoted, use a reporting verb, and, using quotation marks, copy the quotation word-for-word. After the quotation, cite the specific page or paragraph number in parentheses.
• After the citation indicate how you plan to use this quote: to support your argument, to explain/support the opposing argument, or as general background.

 

3.         Paraphrase

• Choose one of the above quotations.
• Use the same set up information (summary, name and credentials, reporting verb), but instead of following it with the direct quotation, paraphrase the quotation.
• Keep the same parenthetical citation at the end of the paraphrase.

 

WORKS CITED: Attach the most recent version of your Works Cited (with this source).

 

PHOTOCOPIES: Staple a copy of your source, annotated and underlined (this will be part of the grade), to each entry.

 

Sample Annotated Bibliography Entry

Susie Student

March 25, 2019

Website Article

 

Thesis: International adoptions should be restricted because they create several problems in both the original country and the adoptive country. 

1. (Analysis) The author’s purpose is to inform readers about the change to adoption laws in Ethiopia in 2018.  It is objective and informative.  This is likely a reliable source because it was published by CNN, a reliable news organization, and the author, Bijan Hosseini, has been a reporter for CNN, ABC, NBC, and others.

2a. (First Quotation) According to the Ethiopian News Agency, adoption has hurt some Ethiopian children.  As the agency states, they have experienced “various crimes and social crises in the country they grew up in” (qtd. in Hosseini).

[I can use this quote to support my argument that international adoption hurts the adopted children]

2b. (Second Quotation) Bijan Hosseini, a CNN reporter, describes a famous case of an adopted Ethiopian child, Hana Williams, who died in the U.S.  According to Hosseini, “Hana’s mother was convicted of homicide by abuse in the first degree and her father was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree.”

[I can use this quote to support my argument that international adoption hurts the adopted children]

3. (Paraphrase of 2a) According to the Ethiopian News Agency, adoption has hurt some Ethiopian children. The agency states that the children have suffered from a variety of criminal and social problems in their new countries (qtd. in Hosseini).

[I can use this quote to support my argument that adoption hurts the adopted children]

Noodletools (or NoodleTools) is an online system for helping you create your MLA citations and works cited page.

• If you are new to Noodletools, please create your user account. 
• Write down your user name and password!
• Off-campus users: you will need to login twice.  The first is your LPC Library login for getting to the Noodletools homepage.  The second is to login to your own Noodletools account.