10/11/2017

Writing An Annotated
Bibliography

Dr. Felina C. Young

A bibliography is a list of sources/citations

(articles, books, journals, Web sites,
periodicals, other documents.) used for
researching a topic. Bibliographies are
sometimes called "References" or "Works
Cited" depending on the style format you are
using. A bibliography usually just includes the
bibliographic information (i.e., the author,
title, publisher, etc.).
An annotation is a summary and/or an
evaluation.

Therefore, an annotated bibliography is a

bibliography + an annotation.
Hence, an annotated bibliography includes
the list of citations plus a summary and/or
evaluation of each of the sources.
Every citation is followed by a brief (usually
about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative
paragraph, the annotation. The purpose is to
inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy,
and quality of the sources cited.

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Annotated bibliographies are not

abstracts.
Abstracts are purely descriptive
summaries usually written at the
beginning of scholarly journal articles or
periodical indexes.
On the other hand, annotations are both
descriptive and critical; they may
describe the author's point of view,
authority, or clarity and appropriateness
of expression.

Steps in writing annotated

bibliographies
1. Search books, periodicals, and documents
that may contain useful information and
ideas on your topic.
2. Review the information at hand & choose
only those that present a variety of
perspectives on the your topic.
3. Cite the book, periodical, and document
using an agreed format.

4. Write the annotation: Your annotations may

do one or more of the following.
4.1 Summarize the main thought of the
topic in paragraph form.
What are the main arguments? What is
the point of this book or article? What
topics are covered? If someone asked
what this article/book is about, what
would you say? The length of your
annotations will determine how detailed
your summary is.

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In summarizing, one can paraphrase.

Paraphrasing is writing in ones own

words ideas expressed by someone else.
It is not directly quoting the source
material but one has to state the source
of the information.

4.2 Assess: Evaluate the authority or

background of the author. What is the
goal of this source? Comment on the
intended audience. Compare or
contrast this work with another you
have cited. Is this source biased or
objective? Is it a useful source? Is the
information reliable? Lastly, explain
how this work illuminates your
bibliography topic.

4.3 Reflect: Once you've summarized and

assessed a source, you need to ask
how it fits into your research. Was this
source helpful to you? How does it
help you shape your argument? How
can you use this source in your
research project? Has it changed how
you think about your topic? What is
the applicability to your own research?

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Why should one write an annotated

bibliography?
It is a preparation for writing a thesis, dissertation
or any research paper.
It forces one to read each source more carefully
and critically instead of just collecting
information.
It allows one to see what has been done in the
literature and where your own research can fit.
It makes one see what the issues are, what
people are arguing about, and you'll then be able
to develop your own point of view regarding your
research.