Skip to Main Content

National History Day 2025: Annotated Bibliography

NHD Rule 19 - Annotated Bibliography

  • An annotated bibliography is required for all categories

  • List only those sources that contributed to the development of your entry, i.e., sources that provided usable information or new perspectives in preparing your entry. 

  • Sources of visual and audio materials and oral interviews must be included

  • Combine photos or other materials from the same collection in a single citation. 

  • Oral history transcripts, correspondence between you and experts, questionnaires, and other primary or secondary materials used as sources for your entry should be cited in your bibliography but NOT included as attachments to your bibliography.

  • The annotations for each source must explain: (a) how you used the source AND (b) how it helped you understand your topic. 

  • Separate your bibliography into two sections: one for primary sources and one for secondary sources.

  • Your annotated bibliography is not included in the word count.

 

 

Example: 
Bates, Daisy. The Long Shadow of Little Rock. New York: David McKay Co. Inc., 1962.

Daisy Bates was the president of the Arkansas NAACP and the one who met and listened 
to the students each day. This firsthand account was very important to my paper 
because it made me more aware of the feelings of the people involved.

 

Rubincam, Milton. “A Memoir of the Life of William Barton, A.M. (1754-1817).” Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, vol. 12, no.  3, Pennsylvania Historical Society, July 1945. Pennsylvania State University Libraries, journals.psu.edu/phj/article/view/21538/21307.

This article is a detailed memoir about William Barton, one of the people who proposed an “alternative” coinage plan. It was through this publication that I discovered his occupation and his connection with famous scientist and future mint director David Rittenhouse. I used this source to learn about one of the people who contributed to the formation of American coinage, and how his background motivated his proposition.

 

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

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

- from NHD Examples

Separation of Primary and Secondary Sources

You are required to separate your annotated bibliography into two sections: one for primary 
sources and one for secondary sources.

NOTE: Some sources may be considered as either primary or secondary. Use your annotations to explain your reasoning for classifying any sources that are not clearly primary or secondary. Listing a source under both primary and secondary is inappropriate.

Tagging Citations Primary or Secondary Sources

1. Open your project.

2.  On the Sources screen, mouse-over the area next to your citation in the "Tag" column and click the "+" icon that appears there.

 

 

 

3. A menu appears with three choices: "Primary source," "Secondary source," and "Tertiary source." Choose primary OR secondary.  

 

4.  Continue adding tags (primary or secondary) for all of your sources.  

 

5.  If you need to change a tag, just click on the P or  S and make the change.  

 

 

Adding Annotations to your Sources

1. In NoodleTools, click on your project title to access your sources.

2.  Click on the  source to which you will be adding an annotation.   

3.  Scroll down and find the annotation box at the bottom. Type your 2-4 sentence annotation in the box.

 

 

4.  Click on the blue Save button at the top.  

 

Sorting your Annotated Bibliography into Primary and Secondary Sources

1. Open your project.

2.  At the top right of your sources page, find the gray box called Alphabetic.

 

3. Click on this gray box and a drop down menu appears.  Select Primary, Secondary. 

 

4.  Your project is now sorted into primary and secondary sources (see below).  You are now ready to print.

 

4. Please Note:  After you close out of Noodletools, your project automatically defaults back to alphabetic sort.  Therefore if you decide to print at another time, you must resort your sources into primary,secondary.  

 

 

Printing your Annotated Bibliography

1.  After you have tagged AND sorted your project into primary and secondary sources, verify that your project is still sorted into primary and secondary sources by looking at the gray box in the top right of your sources screen.  

2.  You can now follow the regular printing instructions:  click the Print icon 

3. Click Print/Export to Google Docs.  

 

4.  Choose All Sources and click the blue Submit button.  (IGNORE the options of sources with tags, just click All sources)

 

 

5.  Allow Noodletools to access your LSA Google Account.

 

6.  Your Works Cited page should open in Google Docs and is called:  Sources For  (Your Project Title)

 

7.  If your Works Cited page does not open in Google Docs, see the More Help  tab.  Usually, you need to allow pop-ups.