annotated book review

The Picky Bookworm

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Guest Posts

The Perfect Guide to Annotating for Book Reviews [Guest Post]

Welcome back, my friends! I’m so glad you’re here! I have a guest post for you today, and I think it’s going to be super valuable for you! If you’re a book blogger, or an author who blogs on your website, writing book reviews is a huge part of your repertoire. And, if you’re like me, figuring out what you’re going to say in those book reviews causes not a little bit of anxiety. Have no fear anymore, friends! My guest post today is from Daniel over at Sticker You. He contacted me a while back to ask about writing something for me (he loved Book Reviews vs Beta Reading!) and offered this post as an option. Annotating for book reviews sounds so easy once he explains it! So, without further ado, check it out!

A secret treasure lies in the world of literature that can enrich your reading journey and offer precious discoveries. If you are looking to write book reviews that are both informative and entertaining, having a thoroughly annotated copy can make a big difference. You can dramatically improve the quality of your book reviews by adding your magical touch since this will give your written reviews more authenticity.

Writing a well-articulated book review requires you to remember significant points, underline crucial plot moments, and arrange your thoughts in an organized manner. Whether you are an experienced book reviewer or a passionate reader wanting to indulge in the books you read and use annotations to elevate your reading experience, this guide is perfect for you!

The meaning of annotating is to take in pieces of literature in a way where you can immediately express your thoughts from the works you’ve read. The unique appeal of book annotation is that there is no single, correct method to accomplish it, like the originality associated with annotating; there is no one right way to do it, only your way, based on your perspective. However, understanding how to annotate a book effectively is the foundation for writing insightful and persuasive book reviews.

Table of Contents

Forms of Annotations

Annotations, whether in the form of sketches, detailed visualizations, or even the traditional, simple underlining and highlighting of favorite passages, should be viewed as an added component of the reader’s experience. Annotating is the unique interaction between a reader and the text. The best way to learn how to create personalized annotations is, first and foremost, to find a book that truly resonates with you. The connection will help get your creative juices working to enhance your book reviews and the process of writing them.

By customizing your annotations, you can establish a method that works with your individual reviewing style as a reader and critic. Furthermore, adding your unique flair to your annotations helps you feel more connected to the book. Keeping notes as you read helps you remember your first impressions and feelings while reading. That way, annotations will easily convey your genuine reaction to the content in your reviews, and that is the beauty of annotating.

Pre-annotation Steps

Immersing oneself in such an engaging read sets the stage for unleashing your imagination and developing your annotating abilities. It makes you feel more connected to the story, its protagonists, and the message it spreads. This elevated connection feeds your creativity and stimulates your writing skills. It enables you to develop unique connections, make creative findings, and produce original viewpoints, all of which are shared through your special annotations.

Gaining that deeper connection and understanding leads to a more structured and engaging book review. And let’s be honest, as readers, we tend to mix up book plots from the many books we read, so one way to keep track of what you read is through annotations! Although it may be tempting to annotate every page, you should target important events, great phrases, or sections that generate an intense sense of emotion. The emphasis should be on quality rather than quantity.

Annotating For Book Reviews

Readers annotate books in many different ways, but highlighting passages that relate to you directly, make you laugh, or even reflect distinct elements of the book, such as character growth or unexpected plot twists, is what will benefit your book reviews. Moreover, there are other ways to change things up and make annotations more visual to ease the book review writing aspect even more.

Visual annotation tactics can transform your book reviews into engaging excursions of your own ideas and observations. These are some of the best methods for making helpful book annotations. Discover the tactical application of journaling, transparent sticky notes, and color-coded tabs, providing valuable resources to improve your reading experience and book review writing skills. Explore different reading habits for varying viewpoints and interesting takes from a fellow bookworm.

Create a Journal

Creative Annotating

When it comes to book annotations, creativity knows no bounds. Personalization is vital for elevating your book reviews. When annotating your book or writing book reviews, including visual components to draw attention to the key points you want to emphasize is extremely helpful. Personalized labels and stickers can direct attention to pivotal chapters or themes. The ability to personalize the journal’s layout to reflect your tastes, opinions, and the main themes of your reading experience is a fantastic addition. You can create personalized visuals of your favorite characters or intricate symbols for the book’s major themes and plot points. By incorporating these visually appealing elements into your book annotations, you can enhance the reading and reviewing experience for both yourself and your book review readers.

Clear Sticky Notes

If you want to annotate your books, but writing and highlighting right on the book pages does not interest you, you can use clear sticky notes instead! Clear sticky notes allow you to get the best of both worlds. You can annotate your favorite book’s physical copy without the ink directly transferring onto your pages! You can annotate books without detracting from the overall aesthetic while still taking notes on key points and information. Transparent sticky notes are beneficial when annotating for book reviews since they are transferable and could be put in your scrapbook later if you decide to re-gift a book. Also, you can reuse clear sticky notes multiple times. You can take them from one book and place them in another without ruining the pages. These clear sticky notes are useful if you are the type of reader that prefers borrowing books from libraries or even sharing your books with other readers while still retaining your annotations.

Assigning Colour-Coded Tabs

Another excellent method to improve the quality of your book reviews is to make your own set of color-coded annotating supplies . For instance, pink tabs and highlighters would represent love quotes & romantic moments, blue for sad ones, and yellow for funny ones. To make it all tie together, creating an annotation key or guide right at the start of a book will make it easy to navigate and helps with organizing your thoughts from your annotations to put into your book reviews. With the help of personalization, you can make your book reviews unique and really your own. The visual aid also gives the readers insight into your thoughts, and they’ll be able to grasp your meaning and appreciate the insight into your mind that this provides.

Annotating Time

Your whole reading experience will be much improved, as will the caliber of your book reviews, if you perfect the art of annotating books in your way. You can record your thoughts, draw attention to critical sections of the text, and establish meaningful connections throughout the text by utilizing a variety of forms of annotations, including sticky tabs, journaling, and creating a color guide. In addition, it is crucial to follow the pre-annotation processes, such as having that connection with a book’s content, because doing so can give a firm basis for writing good annotations and book reviews. In conclusion, annotating a book’s material to reflect your thoughts and experiences helps you better understand the text. It provides your book review with a touch of authenticity. As a result, your review is richer in detail, more cohesive, and more specific to your experience with the book.

So, what are you waiting for? Pick up the next book on your reading list , and jump into the exciting world of annotating. Grab some highlighters, pens, and those trusty clear sticky notes, and annotate away!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed this post on annotating for book reviews! Stick around for next week, when I’ll have a brand new book review for you, using one of these methods!

Until Next Time, Friends!

Writing a Book Review

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This resource discusses book reviews and how to write them.

Book reviews typically evaluate recently-written works. They offer a brief description of the text’s key points and often provide a short appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the work.

Readers sometimes confuse book reviews with book reports, but the two are not identical. Book reports commonly describe what happens in a work; their focus is primarily on giving an account of the major plot, characters, and/or main idea of the work. Most often, book reports are a K-12 assignment and range from 250 to 500 words. If you are looking to write a book report, please see the OWL resource, Writing a Book Report.

By contrast, book reviews are most often a college assignment, but they also appear in many professional works: magazines, newspapers, and academic journals. They typically range from 500-750 words, but may be longer or shorter. A book review gives readers a sneak peek at what a book is like, whether or not the reviewer enjoyed it, and details on purchasing the book.

Before You Read

Before you begin to read, consider the elements you will need to included in your review. The following items may help:

Author: Who is the author? What else has s/he written? Has this author won any awards? What is the author’s typical style?
Genre: What type of book is this: fiction, nonfiction, romance, poetry, youth fiction, etc.? Who is the intended audience for this work? What is the purpose of the work?
Title: Where does the title fit in? How is it applied in the work? Does it adequately encapsulate the message of the text? Is it interesting? Uninteresting?
Preface/Introduction/Table of Contents: Does the author provide any revealing information about the text in the preface/introduction? Does a “guest author” provide the introduction? What judgments or preconceptions do the author and/or “guest author” provide? How is the book arranged: sections, chapters?
Book Jacket/Cover/Printing: Book jackets are like mini-reviews. Does the book jacket provide any interesting details or spark your interest in some way? Are there pictures, maps, or graphs? Do the binding, page cut, or typescript contribute or take away from the work?

As You Read

As you read, determine how you will structure the summary portion or background structure of your review. Be ready to take notes on the book’s key points, characters, and/or themes.

Characters: Are there characters in the work? Who are the principal characters? How do they affect the story? Do you empathize with them?
Themes/Motifs/Style: What themes or motifs stand out? How do they contribute to the work? Are they effective or not? How would you describe this author’s particular style? Is it accessible to all readers or just some?
Argument: How is the work’s argument set up? What support does the author give for her/findings? Does the work fulfill its purpose/support its argument?
Key Ideas: What is the main idea of the work? What makes it good, different, or groundbreaking?
Quotes: What quotes stand out? How can you demonstrate the author’s talent or the feel of the book through a quote?

When You Are Ready to Write

Begin with a short summary or background of the work, but do not give too much away. Many reviews limit themselves only to the first couple of chapters or lead the reader up to the rising action of the work. Reviewers of nonfiction texts will provide the basic idea of the book’s argument without too much detailed.

The final portion of your review will detail your opinion of the work. When you are ready to begin your review, consider the following:

Establish a Background, Remember your Audience: Remember that your audience has not read the work; with this in mind, be sure to introduce characters and principles carefully and deliberately. What kind of summary can you provide of the main points or main characters that will help your readers gauge their interest? Does the author’s text adequately reach the intended audience? Will some readers be lost or find the text too easy?
Minor principles/characters: Deal only with the most pressing issues in the book. You will not be able to cover every character or idea. What principles/characters did you agree or disagree with? What other things might the author have researched or considered?
Organize: The purpose of the review is to critically evaluate the text, not just inform the readers about it. Leave plenty room for your evaluation by ensuring that your summary is brief. Determine what kind of balance to strike between your summary information and your evaluation. If you are writing your review for a class, ask your instructor. Often the ratio is half and half.
Your Evaluation: Choose one or a few points to discuss about the book. What worked well for you? How does this work compare with others by the same author or other books in the same genre? What major themes, motifs, or terms does the book introduce, and how effective are they? Did the book appeal to you on an emotional or logical way?
Publisher/Price: Most book reviews include the publisher and price of the book at the end of the article. Some reviews also include the year published and ISBN.

When making the final touches to your review, carefully verify the following:

Double-check the spelling of the author name(s), character names, special terms, and publisher.
Try to read from the vantage point of your audience. Is there too much/enough summary? Does your argument about the text make sense?
Should you include direct quotes from the reading? Do they help support your arguments? Double-check your quotes for accuracy.

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

Annotated Bibliography
Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
Group Presentations
Dealing with Nervousness
Using Visual Aids
Grading Someone Else's Paper
Types of Structured Group Activities
Group Project Survival Skills
Leading a Class Discussion
Multiple Book Review Essay
Reviewing Collected Works
Writing a Case Analysis Paper
Writing a Case Study
About Informed Consent
Writing Field Notes
Writing a Policy Memo
Writing a Reflective Paper
Writing a Research Proposal
Generative AI and Writing
Acknowledgments

A book review is a thorough description, critical analysis, and/or evaluation of the quality, meaning, and significance of a book, often written in relation to prior research on the topic. Reviews generally range from 500-2000 words, but may be longer or shorter depends on several factors: the length and complexity of the book being reviewed, the overall purpose of the review, and whether the review examines two or more books that focus on the same topic. Professors assign book reviews as practice in carefully analyzing complex scholarly texts and to assess your ability to effectively synthesize research so that you reach an informed perspective about the topic being covered.

There are two general approaches to reviewing a book:

Descriptive review: Presents the content and structure of a book as objectively as possible, describing essential information about a book's purpose and authority. This is done by stating the perceived aims and purposes of the study, often incorporating passages quoted from the text that highlight key elements of the work. Additionally, there may be some indication of the reading level and anticipated audience.
Critical review: Describes and evaluates the book in relation to accepted literary and historical standards and supports this evaluation with evidence from the text and, in most cases, in contrast to and in comparison with the research of others. It should include a statement about what the author has tried to do, evaluates how well you believe the author has succeeded in meeting the objectives of the study, and presents evidence to support this assessment. For most course assignments, your professor will want you to write this type of review.

Book Reviews. Writing Center. University of New Hampshire; Book Reviews: How to Write a Book Review. Writing and Style Guides. Libraries. Dalhousie University; Kindle, Peter A. "Teaching Students to Write Book Reviews." Contemporary Rural Social Work 7 (2015): 135-141; Erwin, R. W. “Reviewing Books for Scholarly Journals.” In Writing and Publishing for Academic Authors . Joseph M. Moxley and Todd Taylor. 2 nd edition. (Lanham, MD: Rowan and Littlefield, 1997), pp. 83-90.

How to Approach Writing Your Review

NOTE: Since most course assignments require that you write a critical rather than descriptive book review, the following information about preparing to write and developing the structure and style of reviews focuses on this approach.

I. Common Features

While book reviews vary in tone, subject, and style, they share some common features. These include:

A review gives the reader a concise summary of the content . This includes a description of the research topic and scope of analysis as well as an overview of the book's overall perspective, argument, and purpose.
A review offers a critical assessment of the content in relation to other studies on the same topic . This involves documenting your reactions to the work under review--what strikes you as noteworthy or important, whether or not the arguments made by the author(s) were effective or persuasive, and how the work enhanced your understanding of the research problem under investigation.
In addition to analyzing a book's strengths and weaknesses, a scholarly review often recommends whether or not readers would value the work for its authenticity and overall quality . This measure of quality includes both the author's ideas and arguments and covers practical issues, such as, readability and language, organization and layout, indexing, and, if needed, the use of non-textual elements .

To maintain your focus, always keep in mind that most assignments ask you to discuss a book's treatment of its topic, not the topic itself . Your key sentences should say, "This book shows...,” "The study demonstrates...," or “The author argues...," rather than "This happened...” or “This is the case....”

II. Developing a Critical Assessment Strategy

There is no definitive methodological approach to writing a book review in the social sciences, although it is necessary that you think critically about the research problem under investigation before you begin to write. Therefore, writing a book review is a three-step process: 1) carefully taking notes as you read the text; 2) developing an argument about the value of the work under consideration; and, 3) clearly articulating that argument as you write an organized and well-supported assessment of the work.

A useful strategy in preparing to write a review is to list a set of questions that should be answered as you read the book [remember to note the page numbers so you can refer back to the text!]. The specific questions to ask yourself will depend upon the type of book you are reviewing. For example, a book that is presenting original research about a topic may require a different set of questions to ask yourself than a work where the author is offering a personal critique of an existing policy or issue.

Here are some sample questions that can help you think critically about the book:

Thesis or Argument . What is the central thesis—or main argument—of the book? If the author wanted you to get one main idea from the book, what would it be? How does it compare or contrast to the world that you know or have experienced? What has the book accomplished? Is the argument clearly stated and does the research support this?
Topic . What exactly is the subject or topic of the book? Is it clearly articulated? Does the author cover the subject adequately? Does the author cover all aspects of the subject in a balanced fashion? Can you detect any biases? What type of approach has the author adopted to explore the research problem [e.g., topical, analytical, chronological, descriptive]?
Evidence . How does the author support their argument? What evidence does the author use to prove their point? Is the evidence based on an appropriate application of the method chosen to gather information? Do you find that evidence convincing? Why or why not? Does any of the author's information [or conclusions] conflict with other books you've read, courses you've taken, or just previous assumptions you had about the research problem?
Structure . How does the author structure their argument? Does it follow a logical order of analysis? What are the parts that make up the whole? Does the argument make sense to you? Does it persuade you? Why or why not?
Take-aways . How has this book helped you understand the research problem? Would you recommend the book to others? Why or why not?

Beyond the content of the book, you may also consider some information about the author and the general presentation of information. Question to ask may include:

The Author: Who is the author? The nationality, political persuasion, education, intellectual interests, personal history, and historical context may provide crucial details about how a work takes shape. Does it matter, for example, that the author is affiliated with a particular organization? What difference would it make if the author participated in the events they wrote about? What other topics has the author written about? Does this work build on prior research or does it represent a new or unique area of research?
The Presentation: What is the book's genre? Out of what discipline does it emerge? Does it conform to or depart from the conventions of its genre? These questions can provide a historical or other contextual standard upon which to base your evaluations. If you are reviewing the first book ever written on the subject, it will be important for your readers to know this. Keep in mind, though, that declarative statements about being the “first,” the "best," or the "only" book of its kind can be a risky unless you're absolutely certain because your professor [presumably] has a much better understanding of the overall research literature.

NOTE: Most critical book reviews examine a topic in relation to prior research. A good strategy for identifying this prior research is to examine sources the author(s) cited in the chapters introducing the research problem and, of course, any review of the literature. However, you should not assume that the author's references to prior research is authoritative or complete. If any works related to the topic have been excluded, your assessment of the book should note this . Be sure to consult with a librarian to ensure that any additional studies are located beyond what has been cited by the author(s).

Book Reviews. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Book Reviews. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Hartley, James. "Reading and Writing Book Reviews Across the Disciplines." Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 57 (July 2006): 1194–1207; Motta-Roth, D. “Discourse Analysis and Academic Book Reviews: A Study of Text and Disciplinary Cultures.” In Genre Studies in English for Academic Purposes . Fortanet Gómez, Inmaculada et al., editors. (Castellò de la Plana: Publicacions de la Universitat Jaume I, 1998), pp. 29-45. Writing a Book Review. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing Book Reviews. Writing Tutorial Services, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Indiana University; Suárez, Lorena and Ana I. Moreno. “The Rhetorical Structure of Academic Journal Book Reviews: A Cross-linguistic and Cross-disciplinary Approach .” In Asociación Europea de Lenguas para Fines Específicos, María del Carmen Pérez Llantada Auría, Ramón Plo Alastrué, and Claus Peter Neumann. Actas del V Congreso Internacional AELFE/Proceedings of the 5th International AELFE Conference . Zaragoza: Universidad de Zaragoza, 2006.

Structure and Writing Style

I. Bibliographic Information

Bibliographic information refers to the essential elements of a work if you were to cite it in a paper [i.e., author, title, date of publication, etc.]. Provide the essential information about the book using the writing style [e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago] preferred by your professor or used by the discipline of your major . Depending on how your professor wants you to organize your review, the bibliographic information represents the heading of your review. In general, it would look like this:

[Complete title of book. Author or authors. Place of publication. Publisher. Date of publication. Number of pages before first chapter, often in Roman numerals. Total number of pages]. The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party's Revolution and the Battle over American History . By Jill Lepore. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010. xii, 207 pp.)

Reviewed by [your full name].

II. Scope/Purpose/Content

Begin your review by telling the reader not only the overarching concern of the book in its entirety [the subject area] but also what the author's particular point of view is on that subject [the thesis statement]. If you cannot find an adequate statement in the author's own words or if you find that the thesis statement is not well-developed, then you will have to compose your own introductory thesis statement that does cover all the material. This statement should be no more than one paragraph and must be succinctly stated, accurate, and unbiased.

If you find it difficult to discern the overall aims and objectives of the book [and, be sure to point this out in your review if you determine that this is a deficiency], you may arrive at an understanding of the book's overall purpose by assessing the following:

Scan the table of contents because it can help you understand how the book was organized and will aid in determining the author's main ideas and how they were developed [e.g., chronologically, topically, historically, etc.].
Why did the author write on this subject rather than on some other subject?
From what point of view is the work written?
Was the author trying to give information, to explain something technical, or to convince the reader of a belief’s validity by dramatizing it in action?
What is the general field or genre, and how does the book fit into it? If necessary, review related literature from other books and journal articles to familiarize yourself with the field.
Who is the intended audience?
What is the author's style? Is it formal or informal? You can evaluate the quality of the writing style by noting some of the following standards: coherence, clarity, originality, forcefulness, accurate use of technical words, conciseness, fullness of development, and fluidity [i.e., quality of the narrative flow].
How did the book affect you? Were there any prior assumptions you had about the subject that were changed, abandoned, or reinforced after reading the book? How is the book related to your own personal beliefs or assumptions? What personal experiences have you had related to the subject that affirm or challenge underlying assumptions?
How well has the book achieved the goal(s) set forth in the preface, introduction, and/or foreword?
Would you recommend this book to others? Why or why not?

III. Note the Method

Support your remarks with specific references to text and quotations that help to illustrate the literary method used to state the research problem, describe the research design, and analyze the findings. In general, authors tend to use the following literary methods, exclusively or in combination.

Description : The author depicts scenes and events by giving specific details that appeal to the five senses, or to the reader’s imagination. The description presents background and setting. Its primary purpose is to help the reader realize, through as many details as possible, the way persons, places, and things are situated within the phenomenon being described.
Narration : The author tells the story of a series of events, usually thematically or in chronological order. In general, the emphasis in scholarly books is on narration of the events. Narration tells what has happened and, in some cases, using this method to forecast what could happen in the future. Its primary purpose is to draw the reader into a story and create a contextual framework for understanding the research problem.
Exposition : The author uses explanation and analysis to present a subject or to clarify an idea. Exposition presents the facts about a subject or an issue clearly and as impartially as possible. Its primary purpose is to describe and explain, to document for the historical record an event or phenomenon.
Argument : The author uses techniques of persuasion to establish understanding of a particular truth, often in the form of addressing a research question, or to convince the reader of its falsity. The overall aim is to persuade the reader to believe something and perhaps to act on that belief. Argument takes sides on an issue and aims to convince the reader that the author's position is valid, logical, and/or reasonable.

IV. Critically Evaluate the Contents

Critical comments should form the bulk of your book review . State whether or not you feel the author's treatment of the subject matter is appropriate for the intended audience. Ask yourself:

Has the purpose of the book been achieved?
What contributions does the book make to the field?
Is the treatment of the subject matter objective or at least balanced in describing all sides of a debate?
Are there facts and evidence that have been omitted?
What kinds of data, if any, are used to support the author's thesis statement?
Can the same data be interpreted to explain alternate outcomes?
Is the writing style clear and effective?
Does the book raise important or provocative issues or topics for discussion?
Does the book bring attention to the need for further research?
What has been left out?

Support your evaluation with evidence from the text and, when possible, state the book's quality in relation to other scholarly sources. If relevant, note of the book's format, such as, layout, binding, typography, etc. Are there tables, charts, maps, illustrations, text boxes, photographs, or other non-textual elements? Do they aid in understanding the text? Describing this is particularly important in books that contain a lot of non-textual elements.

NOTE: It is important to carefully distinguish your views from those of the author so as not to confuse your reader. Be clear when you are describing an author's point of view versus expressing your own.

V. Examine the Front Matter and Back Matter

Front matter refers to any content before the first chapter of the book. Back matter refers to any information included after the final chapter of the book . Front matter is most often numbered separately from the rest of the text in lower case Roman numerals [i.e. i - xi ]. Critical commentary about front or back matter is generally only necessary if you believe there is something that diminishes the overall quality of the work [e.g., the indexing is poor] or there is something that is particularly helpful in understanding the book's contents [e.g., foreword places the book in an important context].

Front matter that may be considered for evaluation when reviewing its overall quality:

Table of contents -- is it clear? Is it detailed or general? Does it reflect the true contents of the book? Does it help in understanding a logical sequence of content?
Author biography -- also found as back matter, the biography of author(s) can be useful in determining the authority of the writer and whether the book builds on prior research or represents new research. In scholarly reviews, noting the author's affiliation and prior publications can be a factor in helping the reader determine the overall validity of the work [i.e., are they associated with a research center devoted to studying the problem under investigation].
Foreword -- the purpose of a foreword is to introduce the reader to the author and the content of the book, and to help establish credibility for both. A foreword may not contribute any additional information about the book's subject matter, but rather, serves as a means of validating the book's existence. In these cases, the foreword is often written by a leading scholar or expert who endorses the book's contributions to advancing research about the topic. Later editions of a book sometimes have a new foreword prepended [appearing before an older foreword, if there was one], which may be included to explain how the latest edition differs from previous editions. These are most often written by the author.
Acknowledgements -- scholarly studies in the social sciences often take many years to write, so authors frequently acknowledge the help and support of others in getting their research published. This can be as innocuous as acknowledging the author's family or the publisher. However, an author may acknowledge prominent scholars or subject experts, staff at key research centers, people who curate important archival collections, or organizations that funded the research. In these particular cases, it may be worth noting these sources of support in your review, particularly if the funding organization is biased or its mission is to promote a particular agenda.
Preface -- generally describes the genesis, purpose, limitations, and scope of the book and may include acknowledgments of indebtedness to people who have helped the author complete the study. Is the preface helpful in understanding the study? Does it provide an effective framework for understanding what's to follow?
Chronology -- also may be found as back matter, a chronology is generally included to highlight key events related to the subject of the book. Do the entries contribute to the overall work? Is it detailed or very general?
List of non-textual elements -- a book that contains numerous charts, photographs, maps, tables, etc. will often list these items after the table of contents in the order that they appear in the text. Is this useful?

Back matter that may be considered for evaluation when reviewing its overall quality:

Afterword -- this is a short, reflective piece written by the author that takes the form of a concluding section, final commentary, or closing statement. It is worth mentioning in a review if it contributes information about the purpose of the book, gives a call to action, summarizes key recommendations or next steps, or asks the reader to consider key points made in the book.
Appendix -- is the supplementary material in the appendix or appendices well organized? Do they relate to the contents or appear superfluous? Does it contain any essential information that would have been more appropriately integrated into the text?
Index -- are there separate indexes for names and subjects or one integrated index. Is the indexing thorough and accurate? Are elements used, such as, bold or italic fonts to help identify specific places in the book? Does the index include "see also" references to direct you to related topics?
Glossary of Terms -- are the definitions clearly written? Is the glossary comprehensive or are there key terms missing? Are any terms or concepts mentioned in the text not included that should have been?
Endnotes -- examine any endnotes as you read from chapter to chapter. Do they provide important additional information? Do they clarify or extend points made in the body of the text? Should any notes have been better integrated into the text rather than separated? Do the same if the author uses footnotes.
Bibliography/References/Further Readings -- review any bibliography, list of references to sources, and/or further readings the author may have included. What kinds of sources appear [e.g., primary or secondary, recent or old, scholarly or popular, etc.]? How does the author make use of them? Be sure to note important omissions of sources that you believe should have been utilized, including important digital resources or archival collections.

VI. Summarize and Comment

State your general conclusions briefly and succinctly. Pay particular attention to the author's concluding chapter and/or afterword. Is the summary convincing? List the principal topics, and briefly summarize the author’s ideas about these topics, main points, and conclusions. If appropriate and to help clarify your overall evaluation, use specific references to text and quotations to support your statements. If your thesis has been well argued, the conclusion should follow naturally. It can include a final assessment or simply restate your thesis. Do not introduce new information in the conclusion. If you've compared the book to any other works or used other sources in writing the review, be sure to cite them at the end of your book review in the same writing style as your bibliographic heading of the book.

Book Reviews. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Book Reviews. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Gastel, Barbara. "Special Books Section: A Strategy for Reviewing Books for Journals." BioScience 41 (October 1991): 635-637; Hartley, James. "Reading and Writing Book Reviews Across the Disciplines." Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 57 (July 2006): 1194–1207; Lee, Alexander D., Bart N. Green, Claire D. Johnson, and Julie Nyquist. "How to Write a Scholarly Book Review for Publication in a Peer-reviewed Journal: A Review of the Literature." Journal of Chiropractic Education 24 (2010): 57-69; Nicolaisen, Jeppe. "The Scholarliness of Published Peer Reviews: A Bibliometric Study of Book Reviews in Selected Social Science Fields." Research Evaluation 11 (2002): 129-140;.Procter, Margaret. The Book Review or Article Critique. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Reading a Book to Review It. The Writer’s Handbook. Writing Center. University of Wisconsin, Madison; Scarnecchia, David L. "Writing Book Reviews for the Journal Of Range Management and Rangelands." Rangeland Ecology and Management 57 (2004): 418-421; Simon, Linda. "The Pleasures of Book Reviewing." Journal of Scholarly Publishing 27 (1996): 240-241; Writing a Book Review. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing Book Reviews. Writing Tutorial Services, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Indiana University.

Writing Tip

Always Read the Foreword and/or the Preface

If they are included in the front matter, a good place for understanding a book's overall purpose, organization, contributions to further understanding of the research problem, and relationship to other studies is to read the preface and the foreword. The foreword may be written by someone other than the author or editor and can be a person who is famous or who has name recognition within the discipline. A foreword is often included to add credibility to the work.

The preface is usually an introductory essay written by the author or editor. It is intended to describe the book's overall purpose, arrangement, scope, and overall contributions to the literature. When reviewing the book, it can be useful to critically evaluate whether the goals set forth in the foreword and/or preface were actually achieved. At the very least, they can establish a foundation for understanding a study's scope and purpose as well as its significance in contributing new knowledge.

Distinguishing between a Foreword, a Preface, and an Introduction . Book Creation Learning Center. Greenleaf Book Group, 2019.

Locating Book Reviews

There are several databases the USC Libraries subscribes to that include the full-text or citations to book reviews. Short, descriptive reviews can also be found at book-related online sites such as Amazon , although it's not always obvious who has written them and may actually be created by the publisher. The following databases provide comprehensive access to scholarly, full-text book reviews:

ProQuest [1983-present]
Book Review Digest Retrospective [1905-1982]

Some Language for Evaluating Texts

It can be challenging to find the proper vocabulary from which to discuss and evaluate a book. Here is a list of some active verbs for referring to texts and ideas that you might find useful:

account for
demonstrate
distinguish
investigate

Examples of usage

"The evidence indicates that..."
"This work assesses the effect of..."
"The author identifies three key reasons for..."
"This book questions the view that..."
"This work challenges assumptions about...."

Paquot, Magali. Academic Keyword List. Centre for English Corpus Linguistics. Université Catholique de Louvain.

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Writing and Reviews: Annotations & Annotated Bibliographies

Annotations & Annotated Bibliographies
Book Reviews
Film Reviews

Annotations

How to write annotations & annotated bibliographies.

An annotation is a brief summary of a book, article, or other publication. An abstract is also a summary, but there is a difference between the two. An abstract is simply a summary of a work, whereas the purpose of an annotation is to describe the work in such a way that the reader can decide whether or not to read the work itself. An annotated bibliography helps the reader understand the particular usefulness of each item. The ideal annotated bibliography shows the relationships among individual items and may compare their strengths or shortcomings.

The following points provide guidance for writing annotations. As appropriate each of these issues might be assessed and commented on in the annotation.

Qualifications of the author, unless very well known.
The scope and main purpose of the publication (e.g., book, article, web site).
The intended audience and level of reading difficulty.
The author's bias or assumptions, upon which the work's rationale rests.
The method of obtaining data or doing research.
The author's conclusions.
Comparison with other works on the same subject.
Materials appended to the work — e.g., maps, charts, photos, etc.
The work's importance or usefulness for the study of a subject.

Not all of these points are necessary for every annotation, and they certainly do not have to be noted in the order listed here, but they at least ought to be kept in mind when writing an annotation.

The following are three annotations from published works:

88. Davis, Faith. "Sula." HarAdv 107, #4 (Special Issue, 1974): 61-61. Sula is an "engaging and illuminating book about pain and estangement" (p.61) as those devastating emotions shape the lives of the black community in the Bottom. There the citizens may seem at a glance to be entirely ordinary, but the fiction shows us their complexity and their ability to endure under staggering burdens. The quality of engagement which readers experience through the book is a result of TM's lyrical yet spare and visionary language. (From: David Middleton, Toni Morrison , 1987.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 461. FORD, Ira W. Traditional Music of America . New York: E.P. Dutton, 1940; reprint ed., Hatboro, PA.: Folklore Associates, 1965; New York: Da Capo, 1978. 480 pp. Poorly documented but important collection with a heavy concentration of fiddle tunes from Missouri. Includes also square dance calls and movements, round dances, play parties, children's play songs, and some ballads (tunes and texts). The collector is vague as to who, when and where, for he was a local enthusiast. The reprint edition includes a useful introduction by Judith McCulloh. (From: Terry E. Miller, Folk Music America , 1986.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33-1441 Fehrenbach, Heide. Cinema in democratizing Germany: reconstructing National identity after Hitler . North Carolina, 1995. 364 p bibl index afp ISBN 0-8078-2204-3, $49.95; ISBN 0-8078- 4512-4 pbk, $18.95. This book provides an extensive analysis of the political context and roles of film in Germany during the decade following WWII. It focuses primarily on the role of film culture in reconstructing a normalized German national identity and normalized gender roles. To her credit, Fehrenbach (Colgate Univ.) conceptualizes film culture not simply as a collection of film texts to be read, but also as a form that encompasses the institutions of criticism, festivals, censorship, and film economics. Fehrenbach also provides readings of films seldom discussed in English, e.g., Willi Forst's De Sunderin (The Sinner, 1950), and accounts of the German film club movement and the rise of the Berlin Film Festival as a Western ideological weapon in the Cold War. She attempts to combine historical exegesis with film theoretical inquiry, but at times the two strains are not well integrated and the reader has the feeling of bouncing back and forth between two modes. Nonetheless, the book is important as the only lengthy account in English of the period and will become a standard work to refer to in future discussions of the topic. Recommend for all academic libraries with a basic collection in German or American film history. – C. Pavsek, Swarthmore College CHOICE , Nov '95 – Vol 33, No 3 @1995 American Library Association (From: CHOICE , November 1995.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FYI: An annotated bibliography is NOT a copy of the ABSTRACT.

For more details on Annotated Bibliographies check out the resources below.

Cornell: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography

University of Wisconsin: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/AnnotatedBibliography.html

Adapted from a web page originally prepared by Tom Kirk.

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Reader Voracious

October 8, 2019

How I Annotate Books for Reviewing because I have the memory of a goldfish

I am not joking when I say that I have the memory of a goldfish . I don’t remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday or whether or not I actually liked The Night Circus when I read it in 2015. This terrible memory makes book reviewing an interesting endeavor, one made easier by my 20-year long habit to annotate books .

As I’ve settled into my role of Book Reviewer, I fine tuned my annotation process quite a bit to help facilitate the review process. It now involves a color-coded system based on the things that heavily influence my reading experience . CW @ The Quiet Pond expressed an interest in my process a couple of months ago, and I thought this would make for an interesting discussion post – so here is my annotation process!

Writing in my books gasp

Color-coded notes on kindle, let’s discuss.

It began during my senior year of high school. My AP English teacher suggested that we write in our books and was greeted with audible gasps from me and my classmates. I’ll never forget what she said to us in response:

“Reading can be a two-way experience. Writing your thoughts in your book is like a conversation with the author. With yourself.”

Before this moment, I treated my books as sacred. The thought of defiling my books made my heat race, but what Mrs. Robinson resonated with me. “What’s the harm in writing in my books for class?” I figured it isn’t like I was collecting them.

my heavily annotated copy of a poetry book from senior year

As soon as I touched pen to page, I was changed. I liked it. A lot. I’ve always been a close, analytical reader. Taking my notes inside of my book saved me the time of having to write quotes and make notes directly in the margins.

One of the coolest things about writing my thoughts down in the book’s margins is it’s like a time capsule . It’s really fun to re-read and see what I was thinking and feeling in the past.

I suppose I should also mention that I don’t mind dog-earing my books, either.

How I Annotate Books Electronically

Despite my reading life changing that Fall day in high school, it took a long time for me to connect the book annotation habit with reviewing . Life kind of got in the way and I didn’t start reading for pleasure again until late 2014… and by 2016 I was reviewing the books I read to scratch the “I miss academia” itch. But by then my annotation habit had fallen into disuse.

💬 Related Post: How to Annotate & Access Notes on Audible

It all started with reading eARCs on the Kindle app in 2017 . Up until then, my reading skewed heavily to the physical format and as you’ve seen, I have no qualms writing directly in my books. (I love writing in my books.)

Annotating on Kindle actually led to me being far more organized . (And being a lot less confused while reading books with multiple points of view.) I pretty quickly took advantage of the different colors available for highlighting to take notes on four key things: world-building, quotes for review, character development (/keeping them straight) , and romance-y bits.

Reading books electronically was something I took to fairly quickly because of how I could annotate the book to hell and back. It also was a lot easier when it came to reviewing because I just had to scroll through my notes section to refresh my memory on my thoughts while reading.

How I Annotate Books

I’d gotten so used to heavily annotating my books – especially on Kindle – that I really came to rely on it for reviewing. Not to mention that I enjoy writing little notes to myself while I try to piece together the plot or suss out a murderer. My conversation with the author habit returned and I found myself reacting to plot developments in the book!

💬 Related Post: My Book Buying Process as I Build My Dream Library

But as my book buying habits have changed since becoming a book blogger, my annotation habits have evolved along with them. I’m in the financial position to purchase books before reading them, and while I’ve gotten pretty good at choosing books I’m likely to read it isn’t a foolproof process. I save my writing-in-the-book habits for second reading in case I decide to unhaul the book down the road.

After developing my color coded system for the Kindle, I noticed other bloggers and bookstagrammers tabbing their physical ARCs. I thought this might be a good solution for me and grabbed some post-its from work (shhh, don’t tell!) to give it a try.

While not as satisfying as writing directly in my books, I’ve come to enjoy tabbing because it is a good visual representation of how a book connected with me. I use the same color-coded system that I use on Kindle and for the most part it works well to jog my memory while reviewing.

💬 Related Post: All About Bookly

Nowadays, I don’t write in my new books in the off-chance that I want to unhaul them or I got a special edition I want to keep in good condition, so these other methods for annotating are a real life saver for me! I use Bookly in conjunction with tabbing to take notes while reading physical books, and it works well for me.

I hope you found this post interesting! Are you a reader who takes notes while reading? What is your process for keeping things straight for reviewing?

💖 If you like the work that I do here at Reader Voracious, consider fueling my pumpkin spice latte and black tie addiction by buying me a ko-fi or joining my Patreon ! ☕

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Reader Interactions

56 comments.

May 8, 2022 at 10:07 AM

I love this method! I am still terrified of annotating my books, not because I may unhaul them, but because I’m always afraid of having my thoughts influenced by past-me, and as recent rereads have proven, present me disagrees a lot with what past-me thought about certain books and characters :)) I may start using the colored tabs idea though, because I do like the visual representation of what a book makes me feel while reading.

May 13, 2022 at 1:55 PM

You know what, your fear of your Past Thoughts influencing you is honestly valid! That’s why I don’t read reviews for books when I know I want to read them – my brain is impressionable. I’ve actually become afraid of re-reading books I once liked because I am such a different person today. Tabbing is really fun, though!

July 2, 2021 at 8:12 AM

This was so much fun to read! I love annotating so much and maybe someday I’ll be able to write in my books but for now I’ll stick of tabbing and sticky notes I find it hard to annotate on my kindle, when on my phone it was easy but I’ve been trying to figure out a system to annotate using kindle and when listening to books, hopefully I’ll figure it out as well because there is something therapeutic about annotating

July 13, 2021 at 5:55 PM

I swear, once you decide to give it a try it is like the floodgates open up! I highly recommend it — maybe with an old, used paperback “reading” copy of a favorite book of yours to give it a try?

The actual Kindle for annotating is seriously annoying as heck. I just use the kindle app on my phone or iPad instead so I can use the superior annotation system. I hope you find something that works for you, though! Bookly may help?

September 21, 2020 at 4:27 PM

As soon as I saw I have the memory of a goldfish on your recent post I have never felt more seen. I am the exact same way. Sadly I am probably the most disorganized person ever. I feel I do feel I need to find a system that works for me because sometimes I want to write reviews and I barley remember stuff. I sometimes tab my books but I never really have a system which is something I need to do. I did love seeing how you go about it because you always have such great reviews!

September 22, 2020 at 12:32 PM

GOLDFISH BRAIN TWINSIES! 🙌 And yea, if I didn’t take notes I would be useless. I just wrote a review for something I read a month ago and my notes weren’t great because I was sucked into the story and I’m so mad at myself lol. Thanks for reading and I am so glad you enjoyed this peek into how my brain works!

February 15, 2020 at 5:19 AM

Kal another amazing post. If you can do another which gets into the nitty gritty of what you actually annotate would be so helpful.

February 20, 2020 at 3:30 PM

Ahhh, thanks so much Angelica! And that is a good idea, I am happy to add the suggestion to my list of post ideas!

October 18, 2019 at 3:30 AM

I’d LOVE to annotate my books more often, but I’m scared to do it, I suppose??? I have no problems highlighting and adding comments to e-books, especially because later it’ll help me writing my review (goldfish memory, too) but when it comes to physical books, I just add stickers and flags. I’ve just annotated books for classes! I need to turn my mind around 😛

October 23, 2019 at 11:22 AM

Aww, I can relate to the fear so much!!! I don’t know why I was that way, but it was like a light switch was flipped when I was given permission and I haven’t been able to stop. It is actually really hard for me not to annotate my physical arcs (I pass them on to other readers).

October 13, 2019 at 8:16 AM

This is another great post! I started using flags over the past year or so and they help a lot. I also highlight and note in my kindle (paperwhite, so no colors). I don’t think I’ve ever written in a book besides a textbook before though. I don’t know that I could do it, but I can see why it can be super helpful. My memory is like yours. I struggle to remember details about past reads unless I refresh a bit.

October 23, 2019 at 10:54 AM

How weird that the paperwhite doesn’t have colors, why wouldn’t the actual device have the same functionality as the app? lol. I really am starting to fall in love with page flags since I have started using them, though!

October 12, 2019 at 2:59 AM

I love writing in my books! I mostly highlight my favourite quotes and maybe underline a few good ones with a pencil. Haven’t done a proper annotation like back in high school, though. I do like the idea of the post-it note tabs. Especially if you’re reading a physical book and you’ve found a good quote or a section you want to discuss. With Kindle Notes, blue is my quote colour and yellow my ‘note’ colour – if I want to discuss something I read in the book. It helps, mostly when I’m writing the review and I can sort by colour.

October 23, 2019 at 10:39 AM

OMG YESSSS!!!! I love hearing about other people annotating books, even in pencil! I don’t know why but it brings me so much joy… I just love the look of well-loved books so much??? Post it note tabs are really nice, and so aesthetically pleasing when finished reading to boot!

Blue is also my quote color, how cool is that!?!?!

November 6, 2019 at 11:23 PM

I probably need to get another pencil 😁 and all that goes with it. I do have post it notes but never use them!! Why?? I could even use them in my library books too? But yes, as much as I do like new books, I also love seeing second-hand books – the spine cracked, TONS of page corners bent from dog-earing (huge fan), but my favourite are seeing the annotations other people make – in second-hand books.

October 11, 2019 at 5:39 AM

I usually never annotate my physical books but I love highlighting and making notes in my Kindle. It definitely helps a lot while re reading and also while reviewing! Great post, Kal 💛

October 23, 2019 at 10:34 AM

Thanks for commenting Krisha, and I love that you annotate on Kindle! It really saves me so much on re-reads & while reviewing as well!

October 11, 2019 at 3:30 AM

I think your annotations look so awesome! I use tabs, I didn’t start to until I hit grad school and then realized it was amazing, I typically just take notes on a notebook while I read, but, I wouldn’t put it past me to someday just underline the crap out of a really good quote, I really enjoyed reading about your annotations.

October 23, 2019 at 10:28 AM

Aww, thanks so much Haley! I used to do notebooks too… but then I got lazy copying down quotes ahaha.

October 10, 2019 at 9:05 PM

The reading I do of fiction books is probably the only space in my brain where my memory outweighs that of an elephant’s. I have a really good memory of everything that happens in the previous book in a series so I rarely have any issues going forward to the next book. It also helps that I’m a re-reader. When I go into slumps, I go back to books I thoroughly enjoyed to pick myself up. This helps in cementing what I already know so I usually always remember well.

But since I started reviewing I’ve found myself doing a LOT of highlighting and bookmarking on my Kindle.

On the rare occasions that I forget I usually go back to the reviews I wrote on the book or I read up on the blurb and some one else’s review to jog my memory.

Your habit of writing in the book took me straight to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Kal. ♥️♥️♥️ Ooooh post-its sound like a fantastic idea. But I’m yet to receive a physical copy so I guess as of now I have no reference on how to work with those. I don’t dog-ear books either. Ooooh, I wish we could do something similar to colour coding on the Kindle, that would be so useful! Loved your post Kal!

October 23, 2019 at 10:24 AM

I am so jealous of your elephant-enhanced brain! I have to re-read before picking up a new release in a series, because I won’t remember close to anything in the previous book(s). Which takes time… and when slumping, it isn’t great.

I do color code on my Kindle! Well, I use the app on my phone, not an actual Kindle device, so I don’t know if the colors exist. But the app has the yellow, red, blue, and orange options for highlights!

October 10, 2019 at 6:21 PM

That’s quite interesting! I still stand by not writing in them, but I gotta say your teacher gave a good point; I didn’t saw it like that. Though I mostly read in bed before sleep, so it’s already complicated enough with my little camp lamp than trying to write in the book aswell 😂 So it’s almost easier for me to just grab my phone and write it somewhere electronically.

I also love the idea of a little time capsule !! If you’re big onto rereading like I am, it’d be interesting to see if your thoughts changed or not upon rereading a second (or more) times.

October 23, 2019 at 10:21 AM

I agree that writing notes is a pain in the ass when in bed, which is where I mostly read these days as well. I do have an app I’ve been using for notes and have enjoyed it, but there is just something *magical* about writing in the book for me.

YES! Rereading is so much fun when you annotated the book previously.

October 10, 2019 at 7:39 AM

As someone who doesn’t really review…I don’t really take notes at all. Although I have danced with tabbing books, but my system wasn’t organised haha. I was brought up to respect my things (writing in your book is totally respecting it if that’s what you choose to do to it!) But for me, my parents always praised me for keeping my books in a pristine condition and it eventually got to a point when I was 12 that I legit couldn’t handle buying a book that had a mark on it or something. It was a time Kal, a frustrating time for everyone who wanted to buy me books because I’d gotten so fussy and particular about them.

Fast forward to now and I’m trying to relax a bit, I’ll buy a book which has a mark on it or the top edge of the spine is indented. (wow…all these things seem so silly) but for me it still is a huge hurdle for me to get past because I like to have things in a “pristine” condition. Suffice to say I was not a fan of annotating books for English Literature, though I have toyed with possibly buying a copy of a book I already own to erm read it and annotate it. My family thinks thats a waste of money but I don’t know, if I were going to annotate a book I’d want to use a different copy. But that’s just me, I do however appreciate seeing other people’s annotations/tabbing etc because at the end of the day it’s their book, and if they want to show that book love by annotating the hell out of it – then they should!

October 23, 2019 at 10:18 AM

Oh man, I can’t imagine! I would be so anxious if I were you to the point of not even wanting to read my books for fear of not keeping them in pristine condition. I really love the look of a well-loved book, even though I am kind of fussy about first edition hardcovers of books I love.

I am glad you are trying to relax a bit, though! There’s nothing wrong with wanting an annotated copy separate though, I have considered that for a few of my faves haha.

October 9, 2019 at 7:03 PM

I have to admit, I used to annotate my required reading books for English Lit – I got a few of them secondhand so I didn’t feel TOO bad bc they weren’t in the best shape to begin with. But I’ve never done it since – I’m VERY precious about my books 😂 I do love seeing other people’s annotated books though! I also LOVE tabbing my physical books & using the highlights on the Kindle app – some of my Cassie Clare books look like rainbow porcupines bc of all the colour-coded tabs I’ve put in 😂

October 22, 2019 at 6:57 PM

I love seeing tabbed books in photos, it is so aesthetically pleasing to me! I am slowly getting more precious about my books, and part of me is a little sad about it. Thanks so much for your comment!

October 9, 2019 at 1:48 PM

I do love going back to my old books and seeing the notes that I made. Usually, I laugh at my ridiculous self, especially UNDERGRAD Christine. Like I thought I was soooooooo smart and witty lol. Like you said, those notes truly are a “time capsule.”

Nowadays, I try not to mark up my books or even dog-ear pages. That is the librarian in me, though. I love your honesty and lack of fear to show all of this because I know how book Twitter gets lol!!!

Like you, I also write in books less because I might be passing them on to someone else.

October 22, 2019 at 6:52 PM

Time capsules into my previous naivete, for sure. Some of the notes I made aren’t as insightful as I probably thought they were!

I definitely write less now though, and it saddens me a little bit. But I do enjoy passing books on… I reread a lot, so I can always annotate on re-reads

October 9, 2019 at 1:03 PM

THIS IS THE GREATEST POST TITLE IN THE HISTORY OF BLOGGING because it’s the biggest of moods… especially at work. And I don’t even know how I survive reviewing without actually taking notes, though I don’t write in my books directly; I’m more use Post-It Notes so I can mark the place where it’s at or I’ll forget I even wrote in the book. Plus, since I’m planning on moving, I can pass on the physical ARCs to other readers (that I trust not to sell).

I LOVE the notes section with the Kindle app – it’s been super handy and a lifesaver, especially since I’m reading multiple books at a time then I can look over my thoughts so far (and other important details highlighted) if I haven’t cracked open a book in months (oops).

I actually don’t color code my notes for some reason – color coding has never worked for me in other aspects in my life, and I guess it carried over to annotating and tabbing as well? 🤔

October 22, 2019 at 6:50 PM

Huzzah for another goldfish brain! Post-it notes seem like a popular solution for people, and I agree that I don’t write in my physical ARCs so that I can pass them on to other readers, and find myself not annotating a lot of the time in new hardcovers on first read. Which kind of kills me, but tabbing is okay!

YES YES YES on the kindle notes saving lives! I forget what’s going on so the notes help me so much.

October 9, 2019 at 12:09 PM

Okay so although I hate writing in my books with pen, I still write down some points that I think will make for a really good addition to the review – WITH PENCIL! 🤣🤣 But THATS A RARITY WITH ME! Usually I keep my phone handy and I use my Bear app (ITS AWESOME) to note down all the thoughts I have during the read.. I prefer the digital method because then I can just send my notes to my email and copy paste it into WordPress. Saves a lot of fucking time! 🤣🤣

I ENJOYED THIS POST A LOTT, Kal!! 😍😍❤️❤️

October 22, 2019 at 6:44 PM

Pencil is cool, it’s a gateway! LOL! But cool to hear about your process, especially how you’ve streamlined it for reviewing.

October 9, 2019 at 9:19 AM

This is actually something I wish I did because I also have trouble remembering sometimes! I even bought page flags! But I usually get caught up in a book, or I’m out and about reading, and I always forget. I really need to start taking notes though because it’s tough especially when you’re behind on reviews and you’ve since read 10 more books….lol.

October 22, 2019 at 6:36 PM

I feel this so hard — if I didn’t take notes, many of my reviews wouldn’t get written. I have a poor memory a day later, imagine when I have a backlog! Maybe just try tabbing without notes, it doesn’t require too much and it may be enough to jog your memory later.

October 9, 2019 at 8:43 AM

This post is so aesthetically pleasing to my eyes that I cannooootttt! 10/10 For me I only annotate on the second read of a book, as stopping to write during my first read through always takes me out of the story and irks me to no end. So basically I reserve annotating to the faves, which I will then waddle to get another copy of that I dub the “deface book” and get to wreaking havoc. lol. Though I do have to note, that I have been using kindle highlighting more often than before (though I don’t use the color coding like you, but I’m intrigued now!)

October 22, 2019 at 6:33 PM

That’s interesting, and I can see how pausing for notes could pull you out of the storytelling. My mind legit just never stops, so I am literally analyzing everything as I read anyways (it’s tiring). Try kindle highlighting with colors, it makes looking for stuff in reviews so easy!

October 8, 2019 at 7:46 PM

I find that I only need to annotate when I want to write a review or if it’s for class! I think I might wanna try it more just for fun, in the books that I re-read every year. That way, when I have a new revelation (because that’s the mark of a good book isn’t it? when you notice something new in a well-loved read hehe), I can look back and recall it in case it totally slipped my mind. I liked learning about your system! I’ve never given any thought to electronic note-taking, but that does seem like it’d be super helpful x

October 22, 2019 at 6:24 PM

I’ve been taking notes for so long, I can’t imagine reading a book without it – I have come to rely on them to keep things straight lmao. I agree 1000% though, re-reading a book with new revelations and having the notes there is so much fun, you should try it!

October 8, 2019 at 6:22 PM

I always like the way an annotated books LOOKS but I don’t do it haha. I DO have a notebook that I write all my notes down in which helps so much when reviewing. I think what I would need to add to my system is tabbing and then writing down damn page numbers for my notes. Sometimes my notes are vague and I can’t remember where it was in the book lol. My memory is terrrrrrible so if I didn’t at least take notes, I would never remember anything about books lol

October 22, 2019 at 6:21 PM

A lot of people take notes in a notebook, it seems! I’ve tried but it just doesn’t work well for me, I just don’t enjoy copying down quotes when I could just underline them or something lol. I think page numbers would be very helpful though; goldfish brains unite!

October 8, 2019 at 11:19 AM

i’m too chicken to write in my books so i carry notebook w/ me while reading instead. I usually use post it notes to mark quotes I like. I tried color coding my Carry On copy with different post it notes after seeing YouTube video about another reader doing it but since I have my notebook it felt pretty useless.

October 22, 2019 at 6:19 PM

A notebook works well, I’ve tried it but for some reason I never follow through much that way. Thanks for sharing your process with me, Jamsu!

October 8, 2019 at 7:32 AM

I’m just like you! I write in my books, although I only use a pencil, and I keep tabs around with a specific color code. However, if I’m reading on the train or the bus, I’ll just dog-ear the pages I want to annotate on, and I’ll do it later. I love when my books, especially paperbacks and mass-market copies, look read and worn out.

October 22, 2019 at 6:18 PM

Yessss, another book “defiler”! Pencil is still cool, I would do that too if it didn’t rub off so easily — I really like seeing my thoughts on rereads. I also dog-ear my books! Books looking well loved are my fave

October 8, 2019 at 6:46 AM

Funny, I highlight everything of interest on my Kindle but never in my paperbacks. You’re right, Kal, it does help when it comes to writing my reviews; it refreshes my mind about how I felt when reading particular scenes. Thanks for posting, Flora x

October 22, 2019 at 6:17 PM

That’s so interesting, Flora! Have you never thought about taking notes for your paperbacks?

October 8, 2019 at 5:48 AM

I just recently started tabbing books…and I always find when I’m done reading I’ve only tabbed maybe the first half of the book before I’ve dropped off. I love reading physical books, but I adore e-books because I write notes to myself in there without writing on the pages. I’ve been thinking about graduating to sticky notes to write longer messages? IDK. I also started keeping a journal to actually write the quotes/lines down. That works for physical books for me. I really liked that.

October 22, 2019 at 6:14 PM

HAHAHA I also fall off on tabbing my books the further I get into them! I also enjoy reading eBooks for the electronic notetaking (and the ability to read chonkers without hurting my wrists lol)

October 8, 2019 at 3:15 AM

It’s nice that it works for you ! I’m absolutely incapable of doing that. I never even use tabs… It just bugs me to put stuff in a book 😬

October 22, 2019 at 6:06 PM

That’s totally fair, I actually felt the same way until my teacher said the thing! It was like a lightbulb went off and once I started I couldn’t stop. Haha. Thanks for reading!

October 8, 2019 at 2:41 AM

I use papery tabs that also have a little space for writing on them (with lines!!). They are my fave thing to use when I am reading a book for review!! I can send you a photo of them if you like?

October 22, 2019 at 6:05 PM

That’s a great solution for not writing in books but also annotating with tabs, I’ve been tempted with post-its before! I’de love to see a photo, Meeghan!

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How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography: The Annotated Bibliography

The Annotated Bibliography
Fair Use of this Guide

Explanation, Process, Directions, and Examples

What is an annotated bibliography.

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

Annotations vs. Abstracts

Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes. Annotations are descriptive and critical; they may describe the author's point of view, authority, or clarity and appropriateness of expression.

The Process

Creating an annotated bibliography calls for the application of a variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis, and informed library research.

First, locate and record citations to books, periodicals, and documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic. Briefly examine and review the actual items. Then choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.

Cite the book, article, or document using the appropriate style.

Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the book or article. Include one or more sentences that (a) evaluate the authority or background of the author, (b) comment on the intended audience, (c) compare or contrast this work with another you have cited, or (d) explain how this work illuminates your bibliography topic.

Critically Appraising the Book, Article, or Document

For guidance in critically appraising and analyzing the sources for your bibliography, see How to Critically Analyze Information Sources . For information on the author's background and views, ask at the reference desk for help finding appropriate biographical reference materials and book review sources.

Choosing the Correct Citation Style

Check with your instructor to find out which style is preferred for your class. Online citation guides for both the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) styles are linked from the Library's Citation Management page .

Sample Annotated Bibliography Entries

The following example uses APA style ( Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7th edition, 2019) for the journal citation:

Waite, L., Goldschneider, F., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults. American Sociological Review, 51 (4), 541-554. The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.

This example uses MLA style ( MLA Handbook , 9th edition, 2021) for the journal citation. For additional annotation guidance from MLA, see 5.132: Annotated Bibliographies .

Waite, Linda J., et al. "Nonfamily Living and the Erosion of Traditional Family Orientations Among Young Adults." American Sociological Review, vol. 51, no. 4, 1986, pp. 541-554. The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.

Versión española

Tambíen disponible en español: Cómo Preparar una Bibliografía Anotada

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Last Updated: Sep 29, 2022 11:09 AM
URL: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography

clock This article was published more than 2 years ago

Virginia Woolf’s novels once left me cold. A new book about ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ changed my mind.

Nearly all readers keep a mental bucket list of books that seemingly everyone in the world loves, but that they themselves — secretly hanging heads in shame — have never quite gotten round to. I, for instance, am exceptionally, perhaps egregiously, fond of both canonical and genre classics, but until last week, I’d never even opened “Mrs. Dalloway,” Virginia Woolf’s 1925 masterpiece.

In fact, I’d never read any of Woolf’s fiction whatsoever. From various surveys of 20th-century literature, I knew that Woolf’s books, notably “Mrs. Dalloway,” “To the Lighthouse” and “The Waves,” were lyrically written and intensely concerned with the delineation of character. The general facts of her life I also knew from having enjoyed works by and about her gossipy Bloomsbury friends Lytton Strachey, Desmond MacCarthy and David Garnett, among others. Yet even though I occasionally dipped into her many essay collections, the fiction remained terra incognita. I once tried “Orlando” and gave up after a dozen pages. It just didn’t catch fire for me.

But a few days ago, I picked up an old Modern Library edition of “Mrs. Dalloway” and, as I should have known, discovered a marvel. As they say, better to have arrived late for the party — that’s an in-joke for those familiar with the novel — than never to have gone at all. I’d finally broken the ice because I wanted to review Merve Emre’s just-published “The Annotated Mrs. Dalloway,” and it seemed sensible to first approach Woolf’s book straight on rather than as a beflowered monument.

Like similar volumes, “The Annotated Mrs. Dalloway” provides a scholarly and biographical introduction, lots of illustrations and extensive marginal notes that explain obscurities, identify people and places, and provide interpretive comment. Emre, however, isn’t critically neutral; she draws mainly on the work of her teachers and contemporaries, while pretty much ignoring older Woolf scholarship. More surprisingly, there’s no appendix reprinting the seed story, “Mrs. Dalloway in Bond Street,” or the introduction Woolf contributed to my 1928 Modern Library hardcover. Emre prefers a relatively lean but elegant annotated edition, resolutely focused on explicating the work’s meaning and mysteries.

When the world was too much with me, here’s what I read for some R&R

“ ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ ” she begins, “traces a single summer day in the lives of two people whose paths never cross: Clarissa Dalloway, just over fifty, elegant, charming, and self-possessed, the wife of Richard Dalloway, a Conservative member of Parliament; and Septimus Warren Smith, a solitary ex-soldier, a prophetic man haunted by visions he cannot explain to his anguished wife Lucrezia.” Emre then quickly sketches the minimal plot, which climaxes with the chic dinner party at which Mrs. Dalloway learns of Smith’s suicide.

Throughout, the novel satirizes the English upper classes as shallow and superannuated, vividly evokes the post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the bloodbath that was World War I, reminisces about an Edenic past of rose gardens and golden afternoons, and probes, from multiple points of view, the enigmatic essence of Clarissa Dalloway. Woolf organizes the action around certain symbolic objects and events — an expensive automobile backfiring, a skywriting airplane, the crowded shopping streets of fashionable London, the Dalloway party — and effortlessly segues from one character’s consciousness to another in a series of subtly interconnected interior monologues. As befits an Oxford professor, Emre’s commentary on all this is both learned and lucidly expressed. She neatly points out, for example, the parallels between an author structuring a book and a hostess planning a successful party.

Still, Woolf’s characters remain problematic and endlessly tantalizing. Emre sees Mrs. Dalloway and Septimus as soul mates, celebrating and embracing life, albeit in differing ways: “He kills himself,” she stresses, “not because life is unbearable, but because it is good and he does not want it to be otherwise.” Yet how are we to judge Clarissa’s former suitor Peter Walsh, her devil-may-care friend Sally Seton, and all the others from her present and past, many of whom reassemble at her party? Woolf, in Emre’s view, wants us to regard most of them as failed human beings, egotists and supporters of a social order based on lies and facade.

No doubt she’s right. And yet I find this judgment harsh, for I can’t help but admire their stoicism and the orderly world they served and believed in. Richard Dalloway may be a bit stiff, but he deeply loves and provides for his wife and their adolescent daughter. Peter Walsh is sentimental, highly susceptible to feminine charm and worried about growing old, yet these are all quite human foibles. Even Dr. Bradshaw, whom everyone dislikes, quite accurately diagnoses Septimus’s mental state and acts quickly — if not quickly enough — to have him taken into professional care. Though Woolf’s rapturous prose arias brilliantly capture that ex-soldier’s hallucinations and hypersensitivity to the natural world, his suicide, despite being poeticized by Mrs. Dalloway, deserves pity rather than approbation, especially given the heartbreak he causes his caring, loving wife.

Why O. Henry is so much more than those short stories you had to read in school

For me, the real triumph of “Mrs. Dalloway” lies in Woolf’s prose, in its syntactic twists and turns and those rhythmic fragments orchestrated with semicolons, in the dry put-downs — “Hugh Whitbread . . . possessed — no one could doubt it — the art of writing letters to the Times”— and in the kaleidoscopic shifts from the thoughts of one person to another. Sometimes the novel even sounds as wistful as T.S. Eliot’s “Love-Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”: From deep in the mind, alluring visions “rise to the surface like pale faces which fishermen flounder through floods to embrace.”

But enough. You may quibble with Emre’s “The Annotated Mrs. Dalloway,” as I have, but it’s an invaluable adjunct to Woolf’s haunting masterpiece.

Michael Dirda reviews books for Style every Thursday.

THE ANNOTATED MRS. DALLOWAY

Edited by Merve Emre

Liveright. 320 pp. $35

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Research Methods at SCS

Basic Strategies

Literature Reviews

Annotated bibliographies, writing the literature review, matrix for organizing sources for literature reviews / annotated bibliographies, sample literature reviews.

Qualitative & Quantitative Methods
Case Studies, Interviews & Focus Groups
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A literature review is a synthesis of published information on a particular research topics. The purpose is to map out what is already known about a certain subject, outline methods previously used, prevent duplication of research, and, along these lines, reveal gaps in existing literature to justify the research project.

Unlike an annotated bibliography, a literature review is thus organized around ideas/concepts, not the individual sources themselves. Each of its paragraphs stakes out a position identifying related themes/issues, research design, and conclusions in existing literature.

An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that gives a summary of each article or book. The purpose of annotations is to provide the reader with a summary and an evaluation of the source. Each summary should be a concise exposition of the source's central idea(s) and give the reader a general idea of the source's content.

The purpose of an annotated bibliography is to:

review the literature of a particular subject;
demonstrate the quality and depth of reading that you have done;
exemplify the scope of sources available—such as journals, books, websites and magazine articles;
highlight sources that may be of interest to other readers and researchers;
explore and organize sources for further research.

The Annotated Book of Mormon › Customer reviews

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The Annotated Book of Mormon

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

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How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography
East Tennessee State University
Literature Reviews
What is an Annotated Bibliography?
Examples of Annotated Bibliographies

Difference between Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review

Although both types of writing involve examining sources, a literature review attempts to correlate the information and draw connections between the sources.

Examples of Literature Reviews

Student Example
Journal Example

Citation Help

MLA Center The Modern Language Association website can help you cite sources in MLA style.
APA Style Blog The American Psychology Association can help you cite sources in APA style.
Chicago Manual of Style Use this site to help you site sources in Chicago Manual of Style.
Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL) Purdue's Online Language Writing Lab contains up-to-date information on MLA and APA styles.

What is a Literature Review?

Literature Review - from The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill

A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period. It usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates.

Organizing a Literature Review

There is not one "standard" for literature reviews but they should include the following:

Introduction: Gives a quick idea of the topic of the literature review, such as the central theme or organizational pattern.
Body: Contains your discussion of sources and is organized either chronologically, thematically, or methodologically (see below for more information on each).
Conclusions/Recommendations: Discuss what you have drawn from reviewing literature so far. Where might the discussion proceed?

Organizing your literature review:

Chronological: If your review follows the chronological method, you write about your materials according to when they were published. The oldest date is first and the most recent publication date is last.
By publication: Order your sources by publication chronology, then, only if the order demonstrates a more important trend.
By trend: A better way to organize sources chronologically is to examine the sources under another trend, such as the history of whaling. Then your review would have subsections according to eras within this period.
Thematic: Thematic reviews of literature are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time. However, progression of time may still be an important factor in a thematic review. For instance, a thematic review of material on sperm whales might examine how they are portrayed as "evil" in cultural documents. The subsections might include how they are personified, how their proportions are exaggerated, and their behaviors misunderstood. A review organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according to the point made.
Methodological: A methodological approach differs from the two above in that the focusing factor usually does not have to do with the content of the material. Instead, it focuses on the "methods" of the researcher or writer. A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these documents are discussed.
<< Previous: Examples of Annotated Bibliographies

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Things to remember.

Be Selective

Summarize and Synthesize

Keep Your Own Voice

Use Caution When Paraphrasing

Revise, Revise, Revise

Source: Literature Reviews - The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill

Things to Clarify

Items to clarify if not in assignment:

How many sources should be included?
What types of sources should be included? (scholarly articles, books, websites, etc.)
Should information be reviewed by a common theme or issue?
Should subheadings and background information be provided? (i.e. definitions and/or a history?)
Should the review be in chronological or publication order?
Last Updated: Aug 14, 2023 10:48 AM
URL: https://libraries.etsu.edu/guides/howto/lib101annotatedbibliographies

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

1 About Annotation (and an opportunity to practice)

Two pages of a book where there are numerous hand written notes in the margins, overlapping the text, and underlined passafes.

Annotation , the act of adding additional information as a note attached to a specific part of a published work (or simply highlighting key passages), is a familiar academic but also everyday practice.

As described in Remi Kalir and Antero Garcia’s book, Annotation

Annotation provides information, making knowledge more accessible. Annotation shares commentary, making both expert opinion and everyday perspective more transparent. Annotation sparks conversation, making our dialogue – about art, religion, culture, politics, and research – more interactive. Annotation expresses power, making civic life more robust and participatory. And annotation aids learning, augmenting our intellect, cognition, and collaboration. This is why annotation matters.

Making notes in printed works is a centuries old practice, the authors share some historical examples.

Marginalia thrived in England during the sixteenth century, as studies of book culture during the rule of Elizabeth I and James I demonstrate.Annotated books were routinely exchanged among scholars and friends as “social activity” throughout the Victorian era. Some of the most significant commentary about the Talmud, first written in the eleventh century, has been featured prominently as annotation in print editions since the early 1500s. Today, scientists’ annotation of the human genome and proteome for large-scale biomedical research relies upon techniques that are both similar to and also very different from linguists and historians who have translated, annotated, and digitally archived Babylonian and Assyrian clay tablets. From the annotatio of Roman imperial law to the medieval gloss , annotation nowadays helps people to write computer code, evaluate chess games, and interpret rap lyrics.

Kalir and Garcia offer examples of every day acts such as charting a child’s growth on a doorway, adding notes to a family recipe card, even creating meme images, that all are acts of annotation. Can you think of your own everyday activities that might be considered annotation? Where do you see it in the world around you?

Web annotation not only provides a similar functionality, but expands its capabilities by having it take place in an open, common space making it a social process. With the open source platform Hypothesis , we all can add commentary, questions, additional resources to any public content on the web.

If this is new to you, we can start right here with some practice annotation.

Annotate Now With Hypothesis!

Hypothes.is is a free, open-source social annotation technology regularly used by educators. It adds an annotation layer to any public web page or document. To participate in social annotation conversations, start by creating a free Hypothesis account .

The entire sign-up process will take less than one minute. In fact you will be able to log in or create an account directly from within this Pressbook.

Please note that Hypothesis is not a social network and does not collect any personally identified information except for an email address. Additionally all public annotations by default are licensed Creative Commons CC0.

This page of this book is already set up to be annotated with Hypothesis. How do you know? Look in the upper right corner a gray button with a < symbol.

The page of this book is open with an arrow pointing to the Hypothes.is tool button

Upon opening the Hypthesis tools via the < button you see the notes previously added. If you are not logged in to Hypothesis, you can do it here or even create a new account. Once you are logged in, you can even reply to an existing annotation.

All annotations available in this page will be indicated by a yellow highlight color. Click any annotation to read it in the Hypothesis sidebar.

How do we create a new note? Let’s annotate this page, maybe in the area that mentions every day acts of annotation, or where we see it in the real world. How does one annotate? Just select a phrase or word that you would like add information to (shorter selections of text work better). Hypothesis offers right there a choice to add a note as annotation.

The words -even creating meme images -- are selected and the tool buttons appear aboce it, Annotate and Highlight

Choosing Annotate opens a small composition window in the Hypothesis sidebar. You can add text, create hyperlinks, and insert images or media.

Use this page as a place to practice writing annotations. Once you have an understanding of the process, continue to the next chapter where we provide examples of how to annotate the Recommendation on OER.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a literature review and an annotated bibliography.

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An annotated bibliography is a list of source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a paper .

Frequently asked questions: Dissertation

Dissertation word counts vary widely across different fields, institutions, and levels of education:

An undergraduate dissertation is typically 8,000–15,000 words
A master’s dissertation is typically 12,000–50,000 words
A PhD thesis is typically book-length: 70,000–100,000 words

However, none of these are strict guidelines – your word count may be lower or higher than the numbers stated here. Always check the guidelines provided by your university to determine how long your own dissertation should be.

A dissertation prospectus or proposal describes what or who you plan to research for your dissertation. It delves into why, when, where, and how you will do your research, as well as helps you choose a type of research to pursue. You should also determine whether you plan to pursue qualitative or quantitative methods and what your research design will look like.

It should outline all of the decisions you have taken about your project, from your dissertation topic to your hypotheses and research objectives , ready to be approved by your supervisor or committee.

Note that some departments require a defense component, where you present your prospectus to your committee orally.

A thesis is typically written by students finishing up a bachelor’s or Master’s degree. Some educational institutions, particularly in the liberal arts, have mandatory theses, but they are often not mandatory to graduate from bachelor’s degrees. It is more common for a thesis to be a graduation requirement from a Master’s degree.

Even if not mandatory, you may want to consider writing a thesis if you:

Plan to attend graduate school soon
Have a particular topic you’d like to study more in-depth
Are considering a career in research
Would like a capstone experience to tie up your academic experience

The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation should include the following:

A restatement of your research question
A summary of your key arguments and/or results
A short discussion of the implications of your research

The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation shouldn’t take up more than 5–7% of your overall word count.

For a stronger dissertation conclusion , avoid including:

Important evidence or analysis that wasn’t mentioned in the discussion section and results section
Generic concluding phrases (e.g. “In conclusion …”)
Weak statements that undermine your argument (e.g., “There are good points on both sides of this issue.”)

Your conclusion should leave the reader with a strong, decisive impression of your work.

While it may be tempting to present new arguments or evidence in your thesis or disseration conclusion , especially if you have a particularly striking argument you’d like to finish your analysis with, you shouldn’t. Theses and dissertations follow a more formal structure than this.

All your findings and arguments should be presented in the body of the text (more specifically in the discussion section and results section .) The conclusion is meant to summarize and reflect on the evidence and arguments you have already presented, not introduce new ones.

A theoretical framework can sometimes be integrated into a literature review chapter , but it can also be included as its own chapter or section in your dissertation . As a rule of thumb, if your research involves dealing with a lot of complex theories, it’s a good idea to include a separate theoretical framework chapter.

A literature review and a theoretical framework are not the same thing and cannot be used interchangeably. While a theoretical framework describes the theoretical underpinnings of your work, a literature review critically evaluates existing research relating to your topic. You’ll likely need both in your dissertation .

While a theoretical framework describes the theoretical underpinnings of your work based on existing research, a conceptual framework allows you to draw your own conclusions, mapping out the variables you may use in your study and the interplay between them.

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation , such as:

Your anticipated title
Your abstract
Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review , research methods , avenues for future research, etc.)

When you mention different chapters within your text, it’s considered best to use Roman numerals for most citation styles. However, the most important thing here is to remain consistent whenever using numbers in your dissertation .

In most styles, the title page is used purely to provide information and doesn’t include any images. Ask your supervisor if you are allowed to include an image on the title page before doing so. If you do decide to include one, make sure to check whether you need permission from the creator of the image.

Include a note directly beneath the image acknowledging where it comes from, beginning with the word “ Note .” (italicized and followed by a period). Include a citation and copyright attribution . Don’t title, number, or label the image as a figure , since it doesn’t appear in your main text.

Definitional terms often fall into the category of common knowledge , meaning that they don’t necessarily have to be cited. This guidance can apply to your thesis or dissertation glossary as well.

However, if you’d prefer to cite your sources , you can follow guidance for citing dictionary entries in MLA or APA style for your glossary.

A glossary is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader. In contrast, an index is a list of the contents of your work organized by page number.

The title page of your thesis or dissertation goes first, before all other content or lists that you may choose to include.

The title page of your thesis or dissertation should include your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date.

Glossaries are not mandatory, but if you use a lot of technical or field-specific terms, it may improve readability to add one to your thesis or dissertation. Your educational institution may also require them, so be sure to check their specific guidelines.

A glossary or “glossary of terms” is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader. Your glossary only needs to include terms that your reader may not be familiar with, and is intended to enhance their understanding of your work.

A glossary is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader. In contrast, dictionaries are more general collections of words.

An abbreviation is a shortened version of an existing word, such as Dr. for Doctor. In contrast, an acronym uses the first letter of each word to create a wholly new word, such as UNESCO (an acronym for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

As a rule of thumb, write the explanation in full the first time you use an acronym or abbreviation. You can then proceed with the shortened version. However, if the abbreviation is very common (like PC, USA, or DNA), then you can use the abbreviated version from the get-go.

Be sure to add each abbreviation in your list of abbreviations !

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A list of abbreviations is a list of all the abbreviations that you used in your thesis or dissertation. It should appear at the beginning of your document, with items in alphabetical order, just after your table of contents .

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A list of figures and tables compiles all of the figures and tables that you used in your thesis or dissertation and displays them with the page number where they can be found.

The table of contents in a thesis or dissertation always goes between your abstract and your introduction .

You may acknowledge God in your dissertation acknowledgements , but be sure to follow academic convention by also thanking the members of academia, as well as family, colleagues, and friends who helped you.

In a thesis or dissertation, the discussion is an in-depth exploration of the results, going into detail about the meaning of your findings and citing relevant sources to put them in context.

The conclusion is more shorter and more general: it concisely answers your main research question and makes recommendations based on your overall findings.

In the discussion , you explore the meaning and relevance of your research results , explaining how they fit with existing research and theory. Discuss:

Your interpretations : what do the results tell us?
The implications : why do the results matter?
The limitation s : what can’t the results tell us?

The results chapter or section simply and objectively reports what you found, without speculating on why you found these results. The discussion interprets the meaning of the results, puts them in context, and explains why they matter.

In qualitative research , results and discussion are sometimes combined. But in quantitative research , it’s considered important to separate the objective results from your interpretation of them.

Results are usually written in the past tense , because they are describing the outcome of completed actions.

The results chapter of a thesis or dissertation presents your research results concisely and objectively.

In quantitative research , for each question or hypothesis , state:

The type of analysis used
Relevant results in the form of descriptive and inferential statistics
Whether or not the alternative hypothesis was supported

In qualitative research , for each question or theme, describe:

Recurring patterns
Significant or representative individual responses
Relevant quotations from the data

Don’t interpret or speculate in the results chapter.

To automatically insert a table of contents in Microsoft Word, follow these steps:

Apply heading styles throughout the document.
In the references section in the ribbon, locate the Table of Contents group.
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Select which levels of headings you would like to include in the table of contents.

Make sure to update your table of contents if you move text or change headings. To update, simply right click and select Update Field.

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The contents should also include all appendices and the lists of tables and figures, if applicable, as well as your reference list .

Do not include the acknowledgements or abstract in the table of contents.

The abstract appears on its own page in the thesis or dissertation , after the title page and acknowledgements but before the table of contents .

An abstract for a thesis or dissertation is usually around 200–300 words. There’s often a strict word limit, so make sure to check your university’s requirements.

In a thesis or dissertation, the acknowledgements should usually be no longer than one page. There is no minimum length.

The acknowledgements are generally included at the very beginning of your thesis , directly after the title page and before the abstract .

Yes, it’s important to thank your supervisor(s) in the acknowledgements section of your thesis or dissertation .

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In the acknowledgements of your thesis or dissertation, you should first thank those who helped you academically or professionally, such as your supervisor, funders, and other academics.

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A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 1)

Part 1 ⎜ Part 2 ⎜ Part 3A ⎜ Part 3b ⎜ Part 3C ⎜ Part 3D ⎜ Part 3E ⎜ Part 4 ⎜ Part 5 ⎜ Part 6 ⎜ Part 7 ⎜ Part 8 ⎜ Postscript

Introduction

Review of David R. Hocking and Rodney L. Meldrum, eds., Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, Utah: Digital Legend Publishing, 2018). 583 pp. $69.95 (hardcover).

Readers of this blog know that I have not made my disapproval of the so-called Heartland theory for Book of Mormon geography a secret. I have blogged about the failings of the Heartland theory on multiple occasions (see for instance here , here , and here ). Last year the FIRM Foundation and Digital Legends Publishing released the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (AEBOM) . The AEBOM is, from what I have heard, selling well. It appears to be popular among Latter-day Saints. It is also apparent that a lot of time and effort went into its production.

While the AEBOM may be popular, it is also deeply and fundamentally problematic.

What follows is a series reviewing the AEBOM . This review was originally conceived as an article for the journal Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship . Over time, however, my co-authors (Matthew Roper, Neal Rappleye, and Jasmin Gimenez Rappleye) and I decided it would work better as a series instead of a single review. I was (and am) happy to host the series on my blog.

This series will consist of the following:

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Forgeries, Unprovenanced Artifacts, and Pseudo-Archaeology
“This land,” “this country,” and “this continent” of America
Zion, America, and the “Choice Land”
Lamanites and American Indians
Orson Pratt’s Footnotes, Manti, and Zarahemla
Zion’s Camp and Zelph
Part 4: Parallelomania
Part 5: Unsubstantiated Claims and Arguments
Part 6: The Abuse of DNA Science
Part 7: Miscellaneous Errors
Part 8: Conclusion

As each portion gets posted (two a day, morning and afternoon, from June 1–7, 2019), I will be sure to include hyperlinks to the previous posts so that readers can hop in and out of any part of the review that strikes their interest.

With all of that said, I now present a critical review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon. L et me again thank my friends and colleagues Matt, Neal, and Jasmin for their help in this project.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints takes no official stance on the geography of the Book of Mormon. 1 “The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible,” reads the introduction to the Church’s official 2013 edition of the Book of Mormon. “It is a record of God’s dealings with ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel.” As the introduction goes on to further read,

The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C. and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group is known as the Jaredites. After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians.

Beyond this, no particular geography model for Book of Mormon events has received an official endorsement from the Church. Such has not stopped Church leaders and membe rs from freely discussing where they believe the events described in the Book of Mormon took place. Nor has it stopped them from mustering arguments for, variously, a hemispheric, Great Lakes, Central American, South American, or continental United States (“heartland”) setting fo r the Book of Mormon. 2 While John Sorenson’s Mesoamerican model remains the favored theory for most credentialed scholars writing on Book of Mormon historicity and geography, 3 several independent researchers associated with the so-called Heartland movement have put forth arguments attempting to establish a geography of the Book of Mormon in the continental United States. 4

The leading proponent of the Heartland model is Rod Meldrum of the FIRM Foundation (Foundation for Indigenous Research and Mormonism). Meldrum’s latest attempt to situate the events of the Book of Mormon in the “heartland” of the United States has been undertaken with David R. Hocking, a microbiologist and publisher, in the form of the recently released Annotated Edition of the Book of Mor mon ( AEBOM ). 5 According to one description , “The Annotated Book of Mormon has been created to help readers understand the everlasting gospel as explained in the text, together with what the modern prophets and apostles have taught about it.” What’s more , the AEBOM attempts to act as a “text book [sic] for those that want more in-depth understanding of the people, places and events that shape the narrative.”

The AEBOM includes “illustrations, images, maps and prophetic statements that support the proposition that the ancestors of the ‘Indians that now inhabit this country’ [supposedly the United States] closely fits the time frames and events described in the Book of Mormon. As such, their identity is an additional witness of the divine authenticity of the text.” Thus, the self-proclaimed purpose of the AEBOM is to vindicate the Heartland theory and thereby establish the historicity and divinity of the Book of Mormon.

Astonishingly, the editors of the AEBOM deny any intention to “establish a specific geography” for the Book of Mormon (x). However, pages of annotations, images, maps, and commentary make this claim impossible to believe. It is plainly obvious that the ultimate goal of the AEBOM is to demonstrate the Book of Mormon is a pre-Columbian record of North America’s “heartland.”

While the editors of the AEBOM may be sincere in their desire to vindicate the Book of Mormon , the book, unfortunately, suffers from numerous inaccuracies, embellishments, fallacies, dubious and unsubstantiated claims, selective use of evidence, parallelomania, presentism, false claims, a nd pseudo-scientific and pseudo-scholarly claims. 6 These substantive problems with the A EBOM fundamentally compromise any usefulness it might have as a serious, reliable, or credible aid for studying the Book of Mormon. Readers should be aware that a substantial number of the claims made in the AEBOM are questionable at best and outright false a t worst. They should, accordingly, not put uncritical trust in the AEBOM , and should in fact be suspicious of the majority of its claims.

The categories we have formulated for the kinds of problems we have identified in the AEBOM include: forgeries, unprovenanced artifacts, and pseudo-archaeology; misrepresentations of historical sources; parallelomania ; unsubstantiated cla ims and arguments; the abuse of DNA science; and miscellaneous errors. The remainder of this review will provide a non-exhaustive analysis of some of the more egregious examples of each category to sufficiently demonstrate our contention that the claims made in the AEBOM should be met first and foremost with skepticism.

In a word, the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon is bad. Really bad.

See “Book of Mormon Geography,” Gospel Topics; s ee also John E. Clark, “Book of Mormon Geography,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism , ed. Daniel H. Ludlow (New York, NY: Macmillan, 1992), 1:176: “Church leadership officially and consistently distances itself from issues regarding Book of Mormon geography.”
For various models, see John L. Sorenson, The Geography of Book of Mormon Events: A Source Book , rev. ed. (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1992).
See John L. Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1985); Mormon’s Codex: An Ancient American Book (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2013).
Michael De Groote, “The fight over Book of Mormon geography,” Deseret News , May 27, 2010.
Citations of the AEBOM shall henceforth appear in the body of the review.
Some of the language and structure of this review has been drawn from the “Executive Summary of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon,” online at Book of Mormon Central. The authors involved with this current review series were the principle authors of Book of Mormon Central’s executive summary of the AEBOM .

37 thoughts on “A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 1)”

We have perhaps 50 editions of the Book of Mormon in the Book of Mormon Central research library, including the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (AEBOM). In my opinion, the AEBOM is the worst edition of the text ever published. I advise all to avoid it. As the summum bonum of the heartland pretense, the AEBOM selectively mis-interprets the Nephite text, selectively mis-represents Joseph Smith and his contemporaries, and selectively mis-uses science. The result is beyond bad because it is so seductively mis-leading.

Having reviewed a previous work by Meldrum which attempts to scientifically defend his “Heartland” model, I am unsurprised:

https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen?pub=1466&index=5

I read every single paper cited by Meldrum in his previous book. Virtually all of them he had misunderstood and misrepresented. He even made mistakes that, had he gotten correct, would have supported his model. So he apparently did not understand the first thing about what he was opining.

A classic case of the “blind leading the blind.”

I hear/read clains of items missed, taken out of context our misapplied, but examples to back up the claims or did I miss something?

Thank you for taking on this project, Stephen. The Heartland hoax has drawn far too many unsuspecting Latter-day Saints into its wake, and they deserve to be warned about its false premises, poor reasoning, and irresponsible “scholarship.”

Captain Hook and I wish you the best in your endeavor.

—Peter @ NevilleNevilleLand.com

First, thanks for a great article.

You state that AEBOM denies “any intention to ‘establish a specific geography’ for the Book of Mormon”. Yet it is clear that Meldrum AND BMC do clearly endorse a specific location. No? Besides AEBOM’s apparent lack of creditability and scholarship, how is their not-so-implicit geographical insistence different from BMC’s?

Best, Mike Harris Orem, Utah

The difference, I believe, is twofold. First, BMC will highlight and actually has highlighted relevant data from North America as well as Central America when it comes to analyzing the Book of Mormon. In our KnoWhys on barley in the Book of Mormon and grapes/vineyards in the Book of Mormon (as well as the “scorched with faggots” KnoWhy , I believe), we have drawn from evidence from North America.

In other words, BMC is happy to recognize legitimate evidence from North America when it surfaces.

The other difference is we do not claim some kind of revealed, prophetic geography for our claims. This is a foundational claim in the Heartland movement: that Joseph Smith knew by revelation where Book of Mormon events took place (in the “Heartland”), and that things like the location of the Hill Cumorah (in New York) and the identity of Lamanites (Native Americans in the continental United States) are matters of prophetic revelation which the Heartlanders are sole custodians of. Anyone who disagrees with them are therefore casting the prophets aside (this is the incessant talking point of Rod Meldrum and Jonathan Neville in particular).

BMC has never questioned the faithfulness of people who don’t agree with our geography. We have long sustained the Church’s position that Book of Mormon geography is not revealed, and so nobody is beholden to our theories or arguments.

This is also why I find the claim in the AEBOM that the editors are not “trying to establish a specific geography” is more than a little specious.

Hope this clarifies things. Thanks for your question and comment.

Thank you for clarifying on this important issue.

Watch the three hour YouTube video on the DNA of the Indians eastern US. Only other location in the world with the same DNA markers is in the Israel area. How do you explain that away? Eastern US and South and Central American Indians do not have the Jewish DNA markers. Science doesn’t lie.

Be sure to check out Part 6 (“The Abuse of DNA Science”) of my review when it gets posted next week.

There is extensive literature disproving Meldrum’s attempts to use DNA to prove a “heartland” setting for the Book of Mormon. His work is the worst kind of pseudo-science. I review this literature and Meldrum’s claims in the AEBOM in my forthcoming post.

As Stephen noted, the claims made about DNA by advocates of the Heartland are spurious, and he has a later installment that will illustrate this. But it seems worth clarifying that (a) it is not “Jewish DNA markers.” Haplogroup X is not “Jewish DNA,” though it is found in some Middle Eastern populations; and (b) it’s actually false to say that Central American Indians do not have the marker. Haplogroup X was reported in the Maya in 2011.

It does not really matter, since haplogroup X cannot possibly have anything to do with the Book of Mormon, as Stephen’s later post will illustrate (though the point has been demonstrated numerous times before). But the point is, if a person really wishes to ignore all the problems with that correlation, then this still is not a point in favor of the Heartland, because that same DNA actually shows up in Mesoamerica as well.

Kent, You have been deceived by a charlatan peddling nonsense. Heartlanders blather about haplogroup X. The truth is all native American X lineages yet identified are subclade X2a. 9,000 year old Kennewick Man from Washington state is basal (earliest known ancestor) to all X2a lineages in the Americas. See Nature Vol. 523 (23 July, 2015) pp. 455-458 “The ancestry and affiliations of Kennewick Man”. And who is basal to Kennewick Man? Both the 17,000 year old Afontova Gora-2 and the 24,000 year old MA-1 individuals from the Lake Baikal region of south central Siberia. See Nature Vol. 505 (02 January, 2014) pp. 87-91 “Upper Paleolithic Siberian genome reveals dual ancestry of Native Americans.”

How reliable is Nature? It is the #1 rated journal on the planet with a 2017 impact factor of 41.577. Who does the 2015 Nature article quote? Ugo Perego, a faithful Latter-day Saint who is one of the most respected population geneticists on earth. What else did Ugo Perego write? The Gospel Topic essay entitled “Book of Mormon and DNA Studies” published on the Church’s official website. Good science doesn’t intentionally lie.

Stephen Smoot wrote: “While John Sorenson’s Mesoamerican model remains the favored theory for most credentialed scholars writing on Book of Mormon historicity and geography, 3.”

I anticipated footnote 3 would offer some backup for the claim that preceded it. Instead it is just a citation for Sorenson’s book.

I guess I’ll continue to wonder about the breakdown of so-called credentialed scholars who happen to write on Book of Mormon historicity and geography.

The point of the footnote was to inform readers of Sorenson’s work for those who not have encountered it before.

But if you’d like to know some of the scholars I’m thinking about, immediately off the top of my head I can think of: Mark Alan Wright, Brant Gardner, Kerry Hull, and John Clark. All of these men have graduate degrees in Mesoamerican anthropology and archaeology and follow Sorenson’s model in broad strokes (i.e. a limited geography for the Book of Mormon in Central America that sees points of cultural and chronological convergence between the ancient Maya and Book of Mormon peoples).

To my knowledge, Rod Meldrum’s “heartland” theory enjoys no such support from credentialed Latter-day Saint anthropologists and archaeologists.

Wright, Gardner, Hull, and Clark are a good start. I would add V. Garth Norman and F. Richard Hauck, both professional archaeologists with advanced degrees in anthropology. Then I would add Richard Terry, recently retired from the Environmental Science faculty at BYU. With a PhD in Soil Science, he worked for decades with some of the luminaries of Mesoamerican archaeology (Houston, Inomata, Chase, Sheets) doing the soil analysis on their digs.

>” Smmt wrote…While John Sorenson’s Mesoamerican model remains the favored theory for most credentialed scholars writing on Book of Mormon historicity and geography,3″<

I wasted 40 dollars on Mormons Codex (Kindle) , a major disappointment given the hype. It read as a series of ifs and buts, while ignoring any established archeology of established civilizations, and even established theory by LGT author, Brant Gardner.

If this book, for 70 dollars is as bad as you conclude, and Sorenson's model is favored by credentialed scholars, whom ever they may be…then wow.

It appears to me that both theories, given today's knowledge and science of both the geography and people that lived in each area, starts with a preconceived forced conclusion, and then works backwards while completely ignoring the established evidences available.

The one thing that the LGT will never have, that the HLT has, is years of teachings and the hardy confidence by past LDS prophets and apostles, as a given, that North America's was indeed the land of the BoM folks, especially in the latter years.

Both theories lack any real tangible evidence, but at least one, the HLT, is consistent with the teachings of key LDS prophets like Joseph Smith and SWK on the subject. To erase the HLT is to cast doubt of what these men actually believed and taught, in regards to the BoM lands and peoples.

I suggest you wait until part 3 of my review before you start confidently declaring what prophets have taught about Book of Mormon geography.

I look forward to reading your take on what was taught. Don’t forget to include the mound builder teachings, we were taught in SS, and in firesides, in the late 60’s” and 70’s.

You might also want to include a paragraph or two on the “adopt a Lamanite” program that we, our ward and stake, were active in. I can share about my friend “Henry” that lived with a family in our ward for a summer, and was openly “known” to be a Lamanite. He and his birth family lived on a reservation in Arizona.

Of the different NA’s that were “adopted” to ward members from the program, I do not recall any being from central America, maybe you have some research on that.

I look forward to reading part 3, thanks.

The Church’s Indian Placement Program tells us nothing by way of doctrine about the descendants of Laman. As you pointed out (even if unintentionally), Latter-day Saints from Joseph Smith’s time have believed that all native peoples in North and South America are Lamanites (something that was expanded in the late nineteenth century to include Pacific Islanders).

Mesoamericanists also believe this, due to the way DNA works: Even if Lehi landed in Central America, his DNA (although undetectable today) would be found among all Native Americans in both continents.

Native Americans inside the United States and throughout the western hemisphere are Lamanites, whether Lehi landed in Chile, El Salvador, or Florida.

— Peter @ NevilleNevilleLand.com

Thanks Stephen. I look forward to Part III.

I hope you’ll address the overwhelming belief among members/leaders of the Church that the “promised land” mentioned in the BoM is the United States. If you have time please address a few of the statements by our leaders regarding this.

“The United States is the promised land foretold in the Book of Mormon—a place where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Elder L. Tom Perry https://www.lds.org/study/ensign/2012/12/the-tradition-of-light-and-testimony?lang=eng

Yep. I absolutely will be addressing this. Stay tuned.

Peter Pan wrote…”Native Americans inside the United States and throughout the western hemisphere are Lamanites, whether Lehi landed in Chile, El Salvador, or Florida.”

How do you know that? Beyond faith, what is the basis for your assertion that Native Americans are Lamanites?

It’s the way human population ancestry works. There’s this thing called the most recent common ancestor. Literally every single person on the European continent today (with the exception of recent immigrants) can claim Charlemagne as a recent common ancestor. It’s not at all a stretch to say Lehi and Sariah could easily be common ancestors of practically every native person in North and South America, or anyone on either continent with some kind of native ancestry.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2013/05/07/charlemagnes-dna-and-our-universal-royalty/

http://nautil.us/issue/56/perspective/youre-descended-from-royalty-and-so-is-everybody-else

This, BTW, is also how people around the globe could claim descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as heirs to the Abrahamic covenant.

It’s also, BTW, why the issue of DNA and the Book of Mormon is not so nearly cut-and-dry as anti-Mormons (and, ironically, Heartlanders) like to say it is:

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/03/men-who-lived-spain-4500-years-ago-left-almost-no-descendants-alive-today ?

Just so I understand your method of research. Is it fair to say that you are working backwards from a preconceived conclusion, based only on your faith that the BoM is real History of a real people, instead of gathering the tangible data that is available, and letting it tell us who the folks are and then see if the tangible evidences compliment your faith?

DNA aside, what gives you confidence that there were Very Jewish Folks in the America’s, whether in the HL or a small area in Mesoamerica? We know there was a Charles the Great with a fair amount of surety, how do you know there was a Lehi, other than by faith?

There is a significant number of ancient historical figures for whom we have no contemporary historical evidence that they existed, and only a single source from decades or centuries after they lived. Examples of well-known historical figures who may not have existed include Socrates, Pythagoras, Homer, and Lycurgus of Sparta.

Add to that figures for whom the Hebrew Bible is the only source that mentions them: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph of Egypt, Moses, Joshua, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. Even the evidence for David himself is scanty; some ancient artifacts with his name on them have been uncovered, but that’s not evidence the man himself existed.

Lehi would be be in the same group as all of these Old Testament figures. We have no evidence for his existence outside of the Book of Mormon.

From: The Annotated Book of Mormon Editors Team;

It has been with keen interest that the editors of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon have watched the non-stop litany of attacks frantically being hurled at the Heartland Geographic theory over the past few years and now the latest target found worthy of the heavy artillery is the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon. While this type of response is not surprising, we are, at times taken aback by the strident language employed by our fellow Elders in the Gospel. Be that as it may, we appreciate the amount of work they have undertaken to bring our work to the attention of the public. Joseph Smith once commented: “… yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me” (JSH 1:22). In saying this, we do not mean to suggest that our small editorial project is anything on the order of what Joseph was called upon to do, but the comparison is worth noting.

As brother Smoot correctly points out in his introduction, our book has seen very brisk sales since the arrival of the first 5,000 copies on Sept 22nd 2018, which sold out in less than two weeks. The second printing arrived just prior to Christmas, and those sales have continued to surge despite the protracted efforts by brother Smoot and his colleagues to have it banned from Deseret Book and then failing that, throwing everything shy of the kitchen sink at it.

Despite those efforts, positive reviews in the form of e-mail, on-line postings, in-person comments and phone calls to the publisher come in on an almost daily basis. Many of the book’s most ardent supporters hail from the highest ranks of Church leadership. While it would be tempting to list them by name, suffice it to say that everyone reading this blog would easily recognize their names. Also among the book’s most loyal supporters are many of the less-well-known but equally salt-of-the-earth rank-and-file leadership, such as a wide swath of current and former mission presidents, stake presidents, temple presidents, Bishops, CES and Institute people, as well as many ordinary run-of-the-mill Church members. While it is true, the mere acceptance and readership by leaders and lay-people is not in itself a validation of all the claims found in the book, it is an indication that the Spirit has not raised red-flags of concern for these doctrinally-proven and time-tested Latter-day Saint leaders and members is worthy of note.

In his introduction, brother Smoot seems to take exception to one particular aspect of the book’s introductory remarks. He says the following:

To this we reply, yes, we do include several “suggested” locations for possible geographic settings, but we do not attempt to “establish” a specific geography for every city, land feature, body of water, etc. mentioned in the Book of Mormon. What we do instead is attempt to establish one unassailable “pin-in-the-map.” One place where the Book of Mormon narrative and Church history actually come together. It is our belief that if one common point can be established somewhere in the western Hemisphere, a point that is irrefutable and irreducible, then it might be possible, from that one pin, to begin to earnestly try to discover and map other possible geographic verities. Without at least one point that is fixed and verifiable, we do not think it is possible to ever establish any kind of real world placement for the events described in the Book of Mormon.

So to be clear, the text in the introduction on page to which brother Smoot is referring (page x) actually reads:

“The intent is not to establish a comprehensive geography. Apart from the location of the Hill Cumorah in New York, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as leaders of other denominations that accept the Book of Mormon as scripture, have declined to correlate Book of Mormon sites with modern locations. It is left to individuals to do their own research and reach their own conclusions. In 1929, Anthony W. Ivins, counselor in the First Presidency, added, “There has never been anything yet set forth that definitely settles that question [of overall Book of Mormon geography]…We are just waiting until we discover the truth” – Conference Report [April 1929], 16.”

We agree with President Ivins on this point, that for the overall detail geography and mapping of the book of Mormon there is nothing that definitively settles that question. And we acknowledge that fact in that statement. However, we also agree with President Ivins, when he says in the next quote (which follows the above paragraph on page x also).

“Regarding the Hill Cumorah, however, Church leaders have consistently taught the New York setting. President Ivins himself made this distinction when he discussed the location of Cumorah in General Conference in April 1928, shortly after the Church had purchased the Hill Cumorah near Palmyra, NY. “It was here that two once-powerful nations were exterminated so far as their national existence was concerned. It was here that these nations gathered together for the last great struggles…all of the sacred records of the Nephite people, were deposited by Mormon in that hill.” (Improvement Era [June 1928]; see also “Celebration of the Purchase of the Hill Cumorah,” p. 442.)”

President Nelson has said that it has long been his practice to place a period or exclamation point rather than a question mark after the words of prophets. As editors of the Annotated Book of Mormon we have sought to follow his lead in that respect. Therefore, by placing an exclamation point rather than a question mark after President Ivin’s statement along with the many other Apostolic statements and their respective exclamation points which are referenced on pages x-xiii it is quite impossible (for us) to separate the actual Book of Mormon Cumorah from the New York Cumorah which was identified by Joseph Smith by name as early as 1827 (even before he received and translated the plates).

We look forward to the future installments from our good friends at Book of Mormon Central. They have done an admirable job of peer-review and constructive criticism of our work, for which we are grateful. Peer review is a proven and effective means of improving research findings and documentation, citations, etc. This excellent criticism is being taken into account by all of the editors on this project and serves as a gauge by which we measure our accuracy and academic compliance. One of the nice things about rapid book sales is the opportunity it affords us to issue newly printed editions that will feature many amendments, corrections, enhancements, improvements and overall enrichment of our research and its supporting data (which we are finding in abundance).

As the time for our third printing of 10,000 more copies draws near, we have to say that the release of this critical peer-review is indeed very timely. Perhaps it may be said that we are guilty of not expressing our sincere appreciation for the hours and hours of counter-intelligence being conducted in behalf of our publication by our colleagues at Book of Mormon Central, and so to that we unitedly declare: Thank you! Thank you and thank you again!

The Annotated Book of Mormon Editors Team

Dear Annotated Book of Mormon Editors Team,

How would you respond to those that claim that your editors/team and their findings lack academic credentials? (Elder Ballard and Elder Cook recently stressed the importance of academic creditability. See references below.)

Also, if faithful Latter-day Saints believe in two Cumorah’s, would you consider them placing question marks on prophetic statements instead of exclamation marks?

Thank you for addressing this important issue.

Best, Mike R. Harris Utah Valley Institute of Religion, Instructor

Elder Ballard see https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/m-russell-ballard_questions-and-answers/ Elder Cook see https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/broadcasts/face-to-face/cook?lang=eng

Good counsel from Elder Ballard’s recent talk mentioned above. He said:

As we begin to consider some of your questions, it is important to remember that I am a General Authority, but that does not make me an authority in general!

My calling and life experiences allow me to respond to certain types of questions. There are other types of questions that require an expert in a specific subject matter. This is exactly what I do when I need an answer to such questions: I seek help from others, including those with degrees and expertise in such fields.

I worry sometimes that members expect too much from Church leaders and teachers—expecting them to be experts in subjects well beyond their duties and responsibilities. The Lord called the apostles and prophets to invite others to come unto Christ—not to obtain advanced degrees in ancient history, biblical studies, and other fields that may be useful in answering all the questions we may have about scriptures, history, and the Church. Our primary duty is to build up the Church, teach the doctrine of Christ, and help those in need of help.

Fortunately the Lord provided this counsel for those asking questions: Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.

If you have a question that requires an expert, please take the time to find a thoughtful and qualified expert to help you. There are many on this campus and elsewhere who have the degrees and expertise to respond and give some insight to most of these types of questions.

EditorsDLP wrote:

“While it is true, the mere acceptance and readership by leaders and lay-people is not in itself a validation of all the claims found in the book, it is an indication that the Spirit has not raised red-flags of concern for these doctrinally-proven and time-tested Latter-day Saint leaders and members is worthy of note.”

The fact that a certain portion of believing latter-day Saints have favorable opinions about non-doctrinal information shouldn’t be used to tacitly imply that that information is in harmony with the Spirit (i.e. that the Spirit approves of such views because it does not raise “red-flags of concern” about them). This rationale will only lead to spiritual confusion.

I can talk hours on tangible reasons, a basis, to have faith in most Biblical figures. And we can discuss problems I certainly can not answer.

Your are correct, there is no tangible evidence for the BoM…other than that of the Joseph Smith story. The point I am trying to make is this…both the LGT and the HLT, begin with a preconceived faith, with no tangible basis for that faith. In other words as an example, I know there was a Nile river and by faith I can believe their was a Mose’s. We have oral tradition that is very tangible, and even different faiths with Moses as a figure. There is not doubt there was a PH, a Temple, and the Temple had the very things like a Holy of Holies, Behma seat and other specifications as told in the Books of Moses. Don’t get me wrong, I believe there was a Moses by faith, but right or wrong, there is a tangible evidence and basis for my faith.

With Lehi, and all other American figures in the BoM…there is not tangible evidences that compliment the story or provide a tangible basis for ones faith. And further to my point, the LGT and the HLT take that preconceived assumption, and force into an environment that contradicts the BoM story at almost every level.

Thanks for the discussion

Markk wrote:

“With Lehi, and all other American figures in the BoM…there is not tangible evidences that compliment the story or provide a tangible basis for ones faith. And further to my point, the LGT and the HLT take that preconceived assumption, and force into an environment that contradicts the BoM story at almost every level.”

I strenuously disagree with your conclusions—both that there is no tangible evidences for the Book of Mormon and that a LGT [limited geography theory; I don’t know what an “HLT” is] “contradicts the BoM story at almost every level.” And I would assert that there is a mountain of evidence, especially from the last 35 years, that rejects your claim.

But without knowing what you have and have not read on these subjects, it’s difficult to have a conversation about it. Suffice it to say that much has been written by educated, trained scholars that refutes your position.

Kind regards,

HLT is short for “Heartland Theory.

I am not sure why you need to know what I have read…I believe that my assertions were clear.

The most logical place to start with either theory is the BoM, and we can simply pick a location in either north America, or Mesoamerica and see whether or not that particular area, city, or persons, in the specific time required, compliment the BoM narrative.

As an example, the BoM states that there were numerous temples and synagogues, built after the manner of Jews. I know of no temple or synagogues in any location, that would compare with a Jewish house of worship. We would expect to find synagogues with a bimah, aron kodesh, and a beit midrash and other things that make a Jewish temple or synagogue a temple or synagogue.

The Mesoamerican temples were not even close to being “Jewish, and I know of nothing North American at all that would quailify. So to my point, instead of working with what is found in these areas, and expounding on those evidences for what they are…it seems, especially with the LGT, Smoot starts with a preconceived conclusion, based on faith, and then try’s to force the BOM narrative into a culture and archeology that contradicts the narrative.

I read Mormons Codex to too long ago… I have read several other publications by Gardner, Soronsen, Ferguson, FARM’s, and even Dewy Farnsworth over the years. Does that help?

You wrote: “As an example, the BoM states that there were numerous temples and synagogues, built after the manner of Jews. I know of no temple or synagogues in any location, that would compare with a Jewish house of worship. We would expect to find synagogues with a bimah, aron kodesh, and a beit midrash and other things that make a Jewish temple or synagogue a temple or synagogue.”

It’s important that we read the text of the Book of Mormon closely and in context. The passage that you quoted is from Alma 16:13: “And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance to the people [i.e., the Nephites] in their temples, and in their sanctuaries, and also in their synagogues, which were built after the manner of the Jews.” Consider the following:

• Any Nephite buildings built “after the manner of the Jews” would have been based on descriptions of these buildings left by Lehi and Nephi, based on their memories of Jewish worship ca. 597 B.C. That was before the existence of the post-Exilic synagogues that we’re familiar with, and also just after the reforms of King Josiah, which Lehi may or may not have agreed with. So, whatever a Jewish place of worship looked like to Lehi, it’s quite possible that it would have looked and acted differently than the synagogues that arose after the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem. • The passage describes Nephite religious buildings ca. 80 B.C., five hundred years after Lehi left Jerusalem. What changes to Jewish religious architecture would have taken place during those five centuries? “After the manner of the Jews” likely would have meant something quite different to the Nephites than a simplistic reading of that phrase would indicate. • Compounding the problem, that passage in Alma 16 was written by the redactor Mormon in late fourth century A.D., about 450 years after the period he was describing and nearly a thousand years after Lehi left Jerusalem. What did Mormon know about Jewish religious architecture of the sixth century B.C.? His idea of it would certainly have been very different than what it was like in Lehi’s time and different from what we expect synagogues to be like.

Brant Gardner has three pages of commentary on this passage in his six-volume _Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon_. I recommend his commentary to you.

Thank you for this. This sounds like a dangerous book.

False doctrine is dangerous, because sooner or later it will be shown to be false. Then people who used it as a foundation for their faith will be shaken.

I think many people who leave the church because of doctrinal issues never understood what the real doctrine was, or believed in something that was never more than speculation.

I’m not sure where to start. First of all, the BoM reads that Nephi built a Temple after the manner of Solomon around 580 BC. Not a guess of what a Temple might be, but after the manner of The Temple. It would have taken plans, and many workers, which would have passed on the construction, and oral tradition would have began. Not to mention the tradition it would have started in Temple worship, the Torah, Bimah, and other things that make a Jewish house of worship…a Jewish house of worship.

BG wrote…” So, whatever a Jewish place of worship looked like to Lehi, it’s quite possible that it would have looked and acted differently than the synagogues that arose after the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem.”

If that were true, then it is a contradiction of terms, in that it could not be a Temple or synagogue in any Jewish context. This also is spot on to my point, in that Gardner is starting with a preconceived ideology and forcing it into another context and culture.

Gardner is just posing questions, that would support his preconceived position instead of digging deep into the MA culture, religion and architecture/archeology, and letting it speak for it’s self.

You wrote…”It’s important that we read the text of the Book of Mormon closely and in context.”

Yes, and the context of the BoM does not allow a Mesoamercan setting, it demands a very different setting. The context of the BoM is a mix of Christianity, the Jewish faith, and early 19th century thought. The BoM does not allow a Mesoamerican setting, culture, people or religion….it is just not there, and ignoring that, and forcing the BoM into MA, is obvious.

What building in Mesoamerica do you believe is a Temple, synagogue, or Jewish place of worship that we can take a look at, and see if what we know about that place, can compliment the context of the BoM?

Thanks for the conversation

I just wanted to respond to your assertion that, “The most logical place to start with either theory is the BoM, and we can simply pick a location in either north America, or Mesoamerica and see whether or not that particular area, city, or persons, in the specific time required, compliment the BoM narrative.”

Everyone agrees that the BoM is the most logical place to start – with the possible exception of the Heartlanders, who seem to favor select statements from general authorities over the text. However, it is not methodologically sound to pick a spot and try to find things that fit or don’t. That approach is too susceptible to bias and twisting of data to fit pet theories, or as you say, “starts with a preconceived conclusion, based on faith, and then try’s [sic] to force the BOM narrative into a culture and archeology that contradicts the narrative.”

The soundest approach is to first develop a map that is entirely consistent with the BoM, independent of any real world maps. There is ample data within the text that provide information on topology, climate, hydrology, geology, relative city location, etc. that when taken together can provide a very detailed map. I know of 2 examples of this approach (though there may be more): John Sorenson’s “Mormon’s Map” and virtualscriptures.org. Only once the independent map is created can it then be compared with real world locations.

There are (at least) 2 advantages with this. First, it merges all relevant data into a single data set that can ease the use of comparison with real world locations. Second, and probably more importantly, it ensures that even the most minute detail in the text that should be dis-positive is so. There is no forcing or warping of the BoM text into a geography, because the geography was built around the text itself. It becomes an actually scientific endeavor with a testable hypothesis; namely, does the real world geography match the map developed from the text? If there is even one detail that cannot match, then it must be discarded.

Regards, Emerson

I have absolutely no desire to continue debating Markk, as the odds of either one of us being converted to the other’s views are somewhere south of zero.

I would like to point out two important considerations:

(1) In order to understand what Nephi’s temple looked like, we’d have to understand what he meant when he wrote that it was constructed “after the manner” of Solomon’s temple (2 Nephi 5:16). It appears to indicate form, kind, degree, or mode—not an exact copy, but something similar to the original. Nephite directly stated that it didn’t have the grandeur and opulence of Solomon’s temple; considering the small number of Nephites at the time (Sorenson estimates 11 adults and 13 children), it was almost certainly not its same size, either. This temple was the setting for Jacob’s sermon to his people (Jacob 1:17). After that, Nephi’s temple isn’t mentioned again. When the Nephites abandoned the area for the northern lowlands, what happened to the structure? Did Lamanites or others tear it down? Renovate it and repurpose it? Did it even exist in any form that would be recognizable as a Jewish-style temple? If its remains were discovered today (itself a problematic assumption), could we even recognize it for what it was?

(2) The same applies for anything “Nephite” after the destruction of the Nephite people in the late fourth century. Would their Lamanite conquerers leave anything the reminded them of Nephite people, writings, or culture? Having obliterated the people, they would almost certainly seek to stamp out the memory of them, as well.

It’s quite likely that we’ll never find any Nephite buildings or artifacts that are unambiguously “Nephite.” The Nephite civilization is probably among the unknown number of other world civilizations that have vanished without a trace.

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Annotated Bibliography vs. Literature Review

What's the big deal.

There are fundamental differences between an annotated bibliography and a literature review that are crucial to completing the assignment correctly. The chart below is provides an overview of the biggest differences between the two types of assignments in a side-by-side comparison. However, if you need more specific information about either assignment, visit our Annotated Bibliography and/or Literature Review pages for more detailed information on how to complete them.

Differences between an annotated bibliography and literature review

Translation Review

Annotated Books Received

Annotated Books Received (ABR) provides brief annotations of recently published translations from all languages. ABR is a supplement publication of Translation Review . The Center holds the complete run of both publications, a valuable archive for scholars and students of translation.

2022 : Volume 27, No. 1-2
2021 : Volume 26, No. 1-2
2020 : Volume 25, No. 1-2
2019 : Volume 24, No. 1-2
2018 : Volume 23, No. 1-2
2017 : Volume 22, No. 1-2
2016 : Volume 21, No. 1-2
2015 : Volume 20, No. 1-2
2014 : Volume 19, No. 1-2
2013 : Volume 18, No. 1-2
2012 : Volume 17, No. 1-2
2011 : Volume 16, No. 1 ; Volume 16, No. 2
2010 : Volume 15, No. 1 ; Volume 15, No. 2
2008 : Volume 14, No. 1 ; Volume 14, No. 2
2007 : Volume 13, No. 1 ; Volume 13, No. 2
2006 : Volume 12, No. 1 ; Volume 12, No. 2
2005 : Volume 11, No. 1 ; Volume 11, No. 2
2004 : Volume 10, No. 1 ; Volume 10, No. 2
2003 : Volume 9, No. 1 ; Volume 9, No. 2
2002 : Volume 8 , No. 1 ; Volume 8, No. 2
2001 : Volume 7, No. 1 ; Volume 7, No. 2
2000 : Volume 6, No. 1 ; Volume 6, No. 2
1999 : Volume 5, No. 2
1998 : Volume 4, No. 1 ; Volume 4, No. 2
1997 : Volume 3, No. 1
1996 : Volume 2, No. 1 ; Volume 2, No. 2
1995 : Volume 1, No. 1 ; Volume 1, No. 2

Translation Review is a forum for the discussion of the art, practice, and theory of literary translation.

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Book Reviews, Annotation, and Web Technology
The Annotated Book Review Project: This handout for students provides all the necessary details about the annotated book review project.. Student Annotated Book Review Rubric: Use this rubric to assess the book review project, including the graphics and layout, group book review, student research, navigation and links, and how well students worked together and followed guidelines.
PDF The Annotated Book Review Project
your review. Possible topics could include: the author, the setting, connections with history, and other topics mentioned in your book. For example, if you were writing an annotated review over the book Night by Elie Wiesel, you might want to do research on the author, on Sighet in Transylvania (Wiesel's hometown), on the Talmud, on the
PDF Academic Book Reviews
An academic book review provides the main ideas, and since published book reviews typically have a limited word count, the summary should remain brief. Analysis and Significance. Compare the book and its argument with the other literature on the topic. Discuss its contribution to past and current research and literature.
The Perfect Guide to Annotating for Book Reviews [Guest Post]
Personalization is vital for elevating your book reviews. When annotating your book or writing book reviews, including visual components to draw attention to the key points you want to emphasize is extremely helpful. Personalized labels and stickers can direct attention to pivotal chapters or themes. The ability to personalize the journal's ...
Book Reviews
By contrast, book reviews are most often a college assignment, but they also appear in many professional works: magazines, newspapers, and academic journals. They typically range from 500-750 words, but may be longer or shorter. A book review gives readers a sneak peek at what a book is like, whether or not the reviewer enjoyed it, and details ...
Writing a Book Review
NOTE: Since most course assignments require that you write a critical rather than descriptive book review, the following information about preparing to write and developing the structure and style of reviews focuses on this approach. I. Common Features. While book reviews vary in tone, subject, and style, they share some common features. These include:
Writing and Reviews: Annotations & Annotated Bibliographies
Annotations & Annotated Bibliographies; Book Reviews; Film Reviews; Annotations. How to Write Annotations & Annotated Bibliographies. An annotation is a brief summary of a book, article, or other publication. An abstract is also a summary, but there is a difference between the two. An abstract is simply a summary of a work, whereas the purpose ...
How I Annotate Books for Reviewing because I have the memory of a
How I Annotate Books Electronically. Despite my reading life changing that Fall day in high school, it took a long time for me to connect the book annotation habit with reviewing.Life kind of got in the way and I didn't start reading for pleasure again until late 2014… and by 2016 I was reviewing the books I read to scratch the "I miss academia" itch.
The Annotated Bibliography
Creating an annotated bibliography calls for the application of a variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis, and informed library research. First, locate and record citations to books, periodicals, and documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic. Briefly examine and review the actual items.
PDF Student Annotated Book Review Rubric
The pages appear "busy" or "dull." Text may be difficult to read. The backgrounds are somewhat distracting. The pages are eye-catching and attractive. Text is easy to read. The backgrounds are subtle and appropriate. The pages are well organized with tables. Text spacing and alignment make reading easy. The backgrounds enhance the page.
Annotations & The Annotated (136 books)
136 books based on 33 votes: The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition by Lewis Carroll, The Annotated Brothers Grimm by Jacob Grimm, The Annotated Hob...
The Annotated Mrs. Dalloway, edited by Merve Emre book review
Merve Emre's "The Annotated Mrs. Dalloway" highlights the many reasons Woolf's book is a masterpiece. ... Books Book Reviews Fiction Nonfiction March books 50 notable fiction books.
Literature Reviews & Annotated Bibliographies
An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that gives a summary of each article or book.The purpose of annotations is to provide the reader with a summary and an evaluation of the source. Each summary should be a concise exposition of the source's central idea(s) and give the reader a general idea of the source's content.
Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Annotated Book of Mormon
The Annotated Book of Mormon is a remarkable achievement that enhances our understanding and appreciation of this unique scripture. It is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the Book of Mormon as a historical document, a religious text, or a literary work.
Literature Reviews
Thematic: Thematic reviews of literature are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time. However, progression of time may still be an important factor in a thematic review. For instance, a thematic review of material on sperm whales might examine how they are portrayed as "evil" in cultural documents.
About Annotation (and an opportunity to practice)
1 About Annotation (and an opportunity to practice) Marginalia flickr photo by Cat Sidh shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) license. Annotation, the act of adding additional information as a note attached to a specific part of a published work (or simply highlighting key passages), is a familiar academic but also everyday practice.. As described in Remi Kalir and Antero Garcia's book ...
What Is an Annotated Bibliography?
Published on March 9, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 23, 2022. An annotated bibliography is a list of source references that includes a short descriptive text (an annotation) for each source. It may be assigned as part of the research process for a paper, or as an individual assignment to gather and read relevant sources on a topic.
What is the difference between a literature review and an annotated
Literature reviews are set up similarly to other academic texts, with an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. An annotated bibliography is a list of source references that has a short description (called an annotation) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a paper.
A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 1)
Introduction. Review of David R. Hocking and Rodney L. Meldrum, eds., Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, Utah: Digital Legend Publishing, 2018). 583 pp. $69.95 (hardcover). Preface. Readers of this blog know that I have not made my disapproval of the so-called Heartland theory for Book of Mormon geography a secret.
Annotated Bibliography vs. Literature Review
Annotated Bibliographies Literature Reviews Notes; Definition: An organized list of citations/sources to books, articles, and documents.. Each citation is followed by a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph (a.k.a. the annotation).. An organized discussion of published information like surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) in a ...
A Comprehensive Annotated Book of Mormon Bibliography
A Comprehensive Annotated Book of Mormon Bibliography, a massive compilation recently published by FARMS, is an essential source of information for Book of Mormon scholars. The 650-page volume describes more than 6,300 pieces about the Book of Mormon, including books and monographs, articles, theses, dissertations, pamphlets and reports, book reviews, newspaper articles, plays, and poetry.
The Annotated Book of Mormon by Grant Hardy
The Annotated Bible (in its fifth edition as of 2018) is the flagship Bible in OUP's study-Bible line and includes denominational variations, such as The Catholic Study Bible and The Jewish Annotated New Testament. The Annotated Book of Mormon is also published by Oxford's Bible division and is in fact the first non-Bible in its history.
ABR
Annotated Books Received. Annotated Books Received (ABR) provides brief annotations of recently published translations from all languages. ABR is a supplement publication of Translation Review. The Center holds the complete run of both publications, a valuable archive for scholars and students of translation. 2022 : Volume 27, No. 1-2.

The Perfect Guide to Annotating for Book Reviews [Guest Post]

Forms of Annotations

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Annotating For Book Reviews

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Annotated Bibliography vs. Literature Review

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