What is an Annotated Bibliography



What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is the full citation of a source followed by notes and commentary about the source. The word “annotate” means “critical or explanatory notes” and the word “bibliography” means “a list of sources”. Annotations should be critical in addition to being descriptive.

Why do an Annotated Bibliography?

They help you organize your thoughts

Builds a perspective of what other people are doing in the field of your topic.

A good skill to build for college, where you will more than likely complete several before graduating with a bachelor’s, more with an advanced degree.

Keeps you from going back to your source, if done well.

All great bibliographies do three things: they summarize, assess, and reflect.

How to Create an Annotated Bibliography

For annotated bibliographies, use standard APA format for the citations, then add a brief entry.

What’s difference between APA format and MLA?

MLA (Modern Language Association) is the format we use in English and Humanities courses, which is why we used MLA for our literary analysis essay. APA (American Psychological Association) is the format used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences. Therefore, your STEM research paper will be in APA format. There are stylistic differences between the two; however, they both ultimately provide uniform, discipline-specific structures (this consistency is important at the college level) and document key information about your sources (author, title, publication info, etc).

What is the purpose of providing a citation?

It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper.

How do I format APA citations?

Citation guidelines vary depending on the type of source you use (books, journals, websites, online journals, etc). Purdue OWL is a great resource. Visit the website at in order to see type specific examples of APA citations.

Instead of creating each citation manually, I suggest you use an online citation generator. Purdue has a link to , which is a good resource.

What should I include in each entry following the citation?

• 2 to 4 sentences to summarize the main idea(s) of the source.

o What are the main arguments?

o What is the point of this book/article?

o What topics are covered?

• 1 or 2 sentences to assess and evaluate the source.

o How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography?

o Is this information reliable?

o Is the source objective or biased?

• 1 or 2 sentences to reflect on the source.

o Was this source helpful to you?

o How can you use this source for your research paper/project?

o Has it changed how you think about your topic?

How to Format an Annotated Bibliography

Format: The format for an annotated bibliography is similar to the References page of an APA paper (the equivalent of a Works Cited page of an MLA paper), with the addition of the descriptive paragraphs. This means that, when you write your research paper, you’ll essentially have the Reference page ready to go! You’ll simply delete the descriptive paragraphs.

• Use one-inch margins on all sides; note -“space before” and “space after” should be set to zero

• At the top, center of the paper, label it Annotated Bibliography

• Double space your entries

• Alphabetize each entry by the last name of the first author

• Hanging indents are required for citations; note – all lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin.

• On the line after the citation, indent two additional spaces and write the annotation

Sample Annotated Bibliography

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STEM Research Paper Annotated Bibliography Instructions

Your bibliography should contain approximately 5-8 sources. 4 sources will be provided for you; it is your responsibility to find at least 1 more credible source on your own.

STEM Research Project Annotated Bibliography due ________________

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