Annotated Bibliographies

What the Heck Is...?

An annotated bibliography is a regular list of references - so you need to know what citation style you should use - but you also include some extra information about the sources listed.

There are different types of annotations - summary, analysis, evaluation. Your instructor should tell you what is expected from your annotations - if not, ask!

Other questions to ask your instructor if the assignment instructions don't include this information:

• how long/how many words your annotations should be
• how should they be written - in phrases or complete sentences.

Examples of Annotated Bibliographies

Sample Annotations from OWL at Purdue

Note

The MLA sample has three paragraphs - your annotations may not need to be that long! The MLA sample shows three different types of annotations: summary, evaluation, reflection on applicability. Check with your instructor about which style of annotation you should write.

The Writer's Handbook from University of Wisconsin - Madison

• What goes into the content of the annotations?
• Which writing style should I use in the annotations?

Other explanations and examples of annotated bibliographies:

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• UC Santa Cruz