English

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations for books, articles, or other sources, followed by a brief summary and evaluation of each source.

What it includes: 

• Citation: Properly formatted reference (APA, MLA, or Chicago etc.)
• Summary: A concise description of the source's content 
• Evaluation: Assessment of the source's credibility, relevance, and usefulness

What is the purpose of writing an annotated bibliography?

For Yourself: 

• Helps you analyze key books and articles.

• Prepares you for writing your paper or literature review.

For your Professor:

• Shows your research direction and progress.

For others: 

• Guides them to the best, most relevant sources on your topic.

• A bibliography lists the books, articles, blog posts, and websites you've cited in your paper.
• An abstract or summary describes a book or paper.
• An annotation to an article analyzes, critiques and places the work in the larger context of scholarly communication.
• An annotated bibliography evaluates the best, most interesting, most appropriate or most cutting edge works on a particular topic.

A descriptive annotation provides a summary of a source, highlighting its most important or interesting aspects without evaluation or critique.

Steps to Create a Descriptive Annotation:

• Write the citation following the appropriate style guide (APA, MLA, or Chicago etc.).

• Summarize the content to inform the reader about the main ideas of the book or article.

An evaluative annotation begins with a brief summary of the article (1–2 sentences). Then, it examines the source’s credibility, relevance, and scholarly impact by addressing one or two key aspects.

Questions to Consider:

• Author & Qualifications – Is the author credible? What is their background?

• Comparison to Other Sources – How does it align with or differ from related research?

• Audience & Impact – Who is the intended reader? Is it widely cited in the field?

• Strength of Evidence – Does the data support the author’s claims? Are there gaps?

• Strengths & Weaknesses – What is valuable or lacking in the source?

• Application to Your Research – How does this source contribute to your paper?