Annotated Bibliography

 

A bibliography is a booklist. The term has come to include not only books, but also articles from periodicals. An annotated bibliography is one with notes to guide the researcher by pointing out the contents and useful features of the book or article.

 

A good annotated bibliography aims to find the best references on a certain subject (this does not necessarily mean the most up-to-date!). Actually, there are some bibliographies which are meant to list all the works on a certain subject (a "comprehensive" bibliography) - but our assignment will not be of this type!

 

Choose a topic, and select from all the works you come across the three best books and three best periodical articles. List them alphabetically by author or editor (or title if there is not an author or editor), with complete citation, indent, and write a brief descriptive paragraph characterizing the work and its usefulness for a general reader like yourself who is interested in writing a term paper on the subject at hand for a design class. See the assignment How To Write an Annotated Bibliography for further information on the type of information you should include.

 

To find your topic, choose from the list below a general subject. Read up a bit on the general subject (in an art encyclopedia or general work) to get ideas for a more limited subject to pursue. Using the reference tools you learn about in Library Orientation, search for works on your subject - books and periodical literature, in the backs of books and encyclopedia articles. Write up three books and three periodicals. Here are some possible general topics to start with:

 

* Wallpaper
* Ceramics
* Garden
* Ornaments
* Paving
* Doors
* Porches
* Bookbindings
* Swimming pools
* Graphic design
* Office furniture
* Fences
* Barns
* Windows
* Railroad stations
* Fish ponds
* Display
* Furniture design
* Upholstery fabrics
* Handwoven textiles
* Bathrooms
* Churches
* Ocean liners
* Electrical appliances
* Table settings

 

Here are some possible suggestions for limiting your topic:

 

* Limit it by: A material or technique (such as panted stained glass)
* A style (such as Gothic churches, 19th century gardens)
* A concept (such as spatial ambiguity in 20th century painting, symbolism of dragons in Chinese decoration)
* A form shared by group of people in particular region or period