what is an annotated bibliography in psychology

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What is an Annotated Bibliography?

So you’ve been assigned an annotated bibliography . . . what does that mean?

An  annotated bibliography  is a descriptive list of resources (books, articles, films, sound recordings, Web sites, etc.) focusing on a common theme. Each entry in an annotated bibliography has a full citation and an annotation ranging from a few sentences to several paragraphs.

The  citation  provides information about the author, title, date, source, and publisher of the item. Citations should be formatted according to one of the style manuals: MLA, APA, CBE, or Chicago/Turabian. See our guide on  Citation Styles  for more information.

The  annotation  is a concise and informative description that summarizes and evaluates the contents of a resource. It differs from an abstract, which just summarizes the original content. An annotation usually strikes a balance between summary and evaluation by addressing some of the following:

• Describe briefly the  content  of a resource
• Evaluate the  usefulness  of the item for the particular topic being studied
• Explain the  methodology  that was used
• Draw attention to any  themes  addressed
• Highlight  strengths  and/or  weaknesses
• Discuss the  reliability  of the author or source
• Critically  evaluate  the content for accuracy, bias, and authority

In MLA Format (but make sure to double-space):

In APA Format  (but make sure to double-space):

Sample Annotations

These samples have different strengths and weaknesses. The highlighting demonstrates which part of the annotation is summary and which part is evaluation . A librarian's evaluation of each annotation is provided. 

Annotation 1: 

Ehrenreich, Barbara.  Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.  New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2011. Print. 

In this book of nonfiction based on the journalist's experiential research , Ehrenreich attempts to ascertain whether it is currently possible for an individual to live on minimum wage in America. Taking jobs as a waitress, a maid in a cleaning service, and a Wal-Mart sales employee, the author summarizes and reflects on her work, her relationships with fellow workers, and her financial struggles in each situation. A n experienced journalist, Ehrenreich is aware of the limitations of her experiment and the ethical implications of her experiential research tactics and reflects on these issues in the text. The author is forthcoming about her methods and supplements her experiences with scholarly research on her places of employment, the economy, and the rising cost of living in America. Ehrenreich's  project is timely, descriptive, and well-researched.  

Librarian's Score: A-

This annotations include both summary and evaluation. The evaluation addresses authority and accuracy, but it could be a little stronger. For example, it could answer: What audience would benefit from reading this book? What I like about this annotation is the evaluation includes both the upside and downside to Ehrenreich's approach. It speaks to her position as the author (to wit: she's experienced, but she also backs up her work with research). The summary is also very good. I get a good sense of what this is about. 

Annotation 2: 

Waite, Linda J., Frances Kobrin Goldscheider, and Christina Witsberger. "Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults." American Sociological Review 51.4 (1986): 541-554. Print.

The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living. 

Librarian's Score: C

This annotation is mostly summary. The summary is strong, but the evaluation is weak. I’m glad to learn that the authors work for reputable institutions, but more evaluation could be included.

Annotation 3: 

Kotrla, Kimberly. "Domestic minor sex trafficking in the United States."  Social Work  55.2 (2010): 181-187.  Academic Search Premier.  Web. 15 Mar 2012. 

This article is about the sex trafficking of children and young adults. It is more commonly now being called "domestic minor sex trafficking." It is considered modern-day slavery. The author discusses: victims, the supply and demand of domestic minor sex tracking , how different countries tolerate it, help provided to survivors, and what this type of trafficking is. T his evidence is credible because it comes from social workers who work for the government. The goals of this source is to explain to people what domestic minor sex trafficking is, who is at risk, and what social workers can do to stop this problem. I t also brings up the human trafficking in the United States. The author, Kimberly Kotrla , is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She was a social worker for 10 years and does a lot of research about human trafficking. She gives most of her attention to the sexual exploitation of children in America. Kotrla is also on the human trafficking prevention task force committee. The audience of this article is most likely parents of young children and social workers. Published in 2010, it is fairly current. I felt that this source was an easy read, but written for a mature and educated audience.

Librarian's Score: B

This student did a great job of combining summary and evaluation. She told me what the article is about, its content as well as its purpose ("The goals of this source is..."). She addresses the author's credentials, the audience for the piece, and currency, and also the accuracy of the information ("social workers who work for the government"). However, this annotation lacks a critical analysis of how this article is relevant for the student's research question.

Useful Links

• Citing Sources A research guide on citation styles written by SSU librarians.
• How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography From the Cornell University Libraries.
• How to write an annotated bibliography From the UCSC Library.
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PSYCH 369: Contemporary Issues in Psychology and Law

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How to Write an Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources (books, articles, websites, etc.) with a short descriptive paragraph about each source. It is sometimes a useful step before writing a research paper or it can stand alone as an overview of the research available on a topic. 

Each source in the annotated bibliography starts with a citation - the information necessary for finding the original source, in a consistent format, such as MLA or APA style. Annotations are usually 4- 6 sentences long and roughly 150 words. 

Annotations include:

Process for Preparing an Annotated Bibliography:

• First, locate and record citations to books, periodicals, and documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic.
• Briefly examine and review the actual items. Then choose works that provide a variety of perspectives on your  topic.
• Cite the book, article, or document using the appropriate style.
• Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the work and include the information listed above.           

Annotations versus Abstracts

Many scholarly articles start with an abstract, which is the author's summary of the article to help you decide whether you should read the entire article. This abstract is not the same thing as an annotation. The annotation needs to be in your own words, to explain the relevance of the source to your particular assignment or research question.

Examples of Well-Crafted Annotated Bibliographies:

The following examples use APA format for a journal and a book citation:  

Goldschneider, F. K., Waite, L. J., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults. American Sociological Review, 51, 541-554.

The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.

Graybosch, A., Scott, G.M. & Garrison, S. (1998). The Philosophy Student Writer's Manual.  Upper Saddle River,NJ: Prentice Hall. Designed to serve as either as a writing guide or as a primary textbook for teaching philosophy through writing, the Manual is an excellent resource for students new to philosophy. Like other books in this area, the Manual contains sections on grammar, writing strategies, introductory informal logic and the different types of writing encountered in various areas of philosophy. Of particular note, however, is the section on conducting research in philosophy. The research strategies and sources of information described there are very much up-to-date, including not only directories and periodical indexes, but also research institutes, interest groups and Internet resources.

Examples of What Your Bibliography Should Not Look Like:

Marieb, Elaine N. (1992). Human Anatomy and Physiology Redwood City,CA : The Benjamin/ Cummings Co.

I use this book to get the basic information about arthritis, it was very informative.

            Keefe FJ., (1996) Pain in Arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy ,  24, 279-290.            I got all the facts about exercising with arthritis and the different types of exercise.

Attribution:

Content for this guide is attributed to:

Olin Library Reference Research & Learning Services, Cornell University Library, Ithaca, NY, USA.

and   Research Strategies Libguide, California State University, Northridge

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• What is an annotated bibliography?
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WHAT IS AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY?

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

ANNOTATIONS VS. ABSTRACTS

Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes. Annotations are descriptive and critical; they may describe the author's point of view, authority, or clarity and appropriateness of expression.

Permission to use all content in the tabs on this page granted from: Olin Library Reference Research & Learning Services Cornell University Library Ithaca, NY, USA

This guide shared under a Creative Commons Commons Deed, version 2.0 regarding attribution, noncommercial use, and "Share Alike" reuse.

WRITING AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Creating an annotated bibliography calls for the application of a variety of intellectual skills: concise exposition, succinct analysis, and informed library research.

• First, locate and record citations to books, periodicals, and documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic. Briefly examine and review the actual items. Then choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.
• Cite the book, article, or document using the appropriate style -- here is a page explaining and offering examples of the different major citation styles.
• Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the book or article. Include one or more sentences that (a) evaluate the authority or background of the author, (b) comment on the intended audience, (c) compare or contrast this work with another you have cited, or (d) explain how this work illuminates your bibliography topic.

SAMPLE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ENTRY FOR A JOURNAL ARTICLE

The following example uses APA style ( Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 6th edition, 2010)  for the journal citation:

Waite, L. J., Goldschneider, F. K., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults.  American Sociological Review,   51 , 541-554. The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.

This example uses MLA style ( MLA Handbook , 8th edition, 2016)  for the journal citation:

Waite, Linda J., et al. "Nonfamily Living and the Erosion of Traditional Family Orientations Among Young Adults."  American Sociological Review,  vol. 51, no. 4, 1986, pp. 541-554. The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.

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PSY101 - Introduction to Psychology

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What is an Annotated Bibliography

More on annotated bibliographies from the owl at purdue, use 5ws to evaluate your sources, how to create an annotation, annotation example, library assignment: create one annotation.

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What is an Annotated Bibliography? from Kimbel Library on Vimeo .

The Online Writing Lab at Purdue is the online bible of citation style, so check out their description and examples.

• Annotated Bibliographies from OWL

The 5Ws help to evaluate any source you want to use.

Who?  Who is the author, how are they an authority on this topic?

What?  What's this publication really about? How is it relevant to YOUR paper? What's the purpose of the article? To persuade or to inform? What is the author's tone?

When?  When was this document published? How soon after the events happened? This helps to understand the context.

Where?  Where was this piece published? A newspaper, journal, book, blog? Does the publication reveal something about the bias of the author or of the publisher?

Why?  Describe the purpose of this document? Who is the intended audience? Why does it enhance your paper?

Annotated bibiographies are designed to help you be selective about your sources. They encourage you to find, summarize, and evaluate only the best sources on your topic and prepare you to more easily organize your paper.

Basically, it's a reference page or works cited page with a short paragraph describing each source. 

There are three parts to an annotated entry in a bibliography:

• A  citation  for the source done in the chosen citation style (APA, MLA, etc.)
• A  summary  of the source: one or two sentences describing the source: what information it covers, and the purpose of the source.
• An  evaluation  of the source: this can include an assessment of the expertise of the author, an evaluation of the scope of the work, etc. Is the source useful? Current? Reliable? Authoritative? Accurate? Fact or opinion? Also, you can include an assessment on the significance of the source as it relates to your topic. Usually an evaluation is two to three sentences long.

Good Annotation:

Hock, S., & Rochford, R. A. (2010). A letter-writing campaign: linking academic success and civic

            engagement. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship , 3 (2), 76+. Retrieved from

            http://go.galegroup.com

Two two classes of developmental writing students were engaged in a service-learning project to support the preservation of an on-campus historical site. The goal of the assignment was to help students to see how they may assert influence on their community by acting as engaged citizens, and simultaneously to improve their scores on the ACT Writing Sample Assessment (WSA) exam. 

The authors candid description of the flaws and strengths of their project would be advantageous to other instructors who would like to implement a similar assignment. Many students enrolled in developmental classes often feel disempowered, especially when English is not their first language. This assignment not only assisted them in elevating their written communication skills, it gave real-life significance to the assignment, and by extension made them feel as empowered members of the community. The number of students enrolled in this project was small, however, and it would be beneficial to see more statistically verifiable results in addition to the qualitative results which were overwhelmingly positive.

Bad Annotation:

            engagement.  Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship ,  3 (2), 76+. Retrieved from

Two ELL classes complete a service learning project and improve their writing scores.

This article was good because it provided me with lots of information I can use. The students learned a lot in their service learning project and they passed the ACT exam. 

• PSY101 Annotated Bibliography Assignment
• PSY101 Disorder Project-Library Research

Your task before you leave today is to complete one annotation. Use the attached template to complete this assignment.

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What is an annotated bibliography .

An Annotated Bibliography is an APA Reference list of sources followed by notes and commentary about a source. The annotations summarize, assess, evaluate, and reflect on the information source.  

If we look at the word “annotate,” we are talking about “critical or explanatory notes” about the information source(s). “Bibliography” means “a list of information sources”. For an academic audience, annotations must be both critical and descriptive.   

Annotated Bibliography structure? 

So, if we could develop an anatomy of Annotated Bibliography we could break it into 3 parts: The summary, assess and evaluate, and reflection.  

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

• What are the main arguments? 
• What is the point of the information source? 
• What topics are discussed? 
• How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? 
• Is this information reliable? current? 
• Is the author credible?      
• Is the source objective or biased? 
• Was this source helpful to you? 
• How can you use this source for your research? 
• Has it changed how you think about your research topic? 

(Rasmussen College, 2020) 

Example Annotated Bibliography

Skloot, Rebecca (2010). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks . Crown Publishers.

More Information

The library has books and eBooks in our collection which can help answer your questions about preparing an annotated bibliography.  To find books and eBooks on preparing an annotated bibliography, please search the  Multi-Search  or the  Online Library Catalog .

Further Help

This information is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice. Please be sure to speak to your professor about the appropriate way to write an annotated bibliography in your class assignments and projects.

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To access academic support, visit your Brightspace course and select “Tutoring and Mentoring” from the Academic Support pulldown menu.

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Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). (2020).  Sample Annotated Bibliography   https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000  (p. 308)

Rasmussen College (2020)  Annotated Bibliography - APA Guide .  https://guides.rasmussen.edu/apa/annotatedbib  

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Psychology - Dr. Jennifer Harris

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What is an Annotated Bibliography

• Annotated Bibliographies From Purdue OWL

An Annotated Bibliography is a great tool for organizing your research

A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, Web sites, periodicals, etc.) one has 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 evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following.

Summarize: Some annotations merely summarize the source. 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. For more help, see our handout on  paraphrasing  sources.

Assess: After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. Is it a useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source? For more help, see our handouts on  evaluating resources .

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?

Your annotated bibliography may include some of these, all of these, or even others. If you're doing this for a class, you should get specific guidelines from your instructor.

Source=  Annotated Bibliographies  from Purdue OWL

Examples and Resources

• How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography
• Purdue OWL - Annotated Bibliographies From Purdue OWL - This handout provides information about annotated bibliographies in MLA, APA, and CMS.
• Write an Annotated Bibliography | University Library
• Sample Annotated Bibliography for 'Black Men in Public Spaces'
• Annotated Bibliography on Victorian Women This is an example of a successful annotated bibliography on Shakespeare's Sister, A Jury of Her Peers, and The Yellow Wallpaper.
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Writing Your Annotations

An Annotated Bibliography is a list of citations to articles and other sources. Each citation is followed by a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. Your annotations should follow a reference citation, annotation, then repeat format . Your annotations should also include the following three sections and answer their corresponding questions:

• Summarize the key points of the source : What was the topic? Why was the research important? How was the research done? What did the authors find? Did the authors discuss implications of the research?
• Assess the source (critical evaluation) : Is it a useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of your source?
• Reflection : Was this source helpful to you? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic? How does this source make you think about your question and build your arguments and discussion? Does the source support or counter any of your arguments? How will you apply the source’s theoretical positions, issues discussed, study data, and claims made based on that data to your research question and arguments?

Use this Annotated Bibliography example from the UNC Chapel Hill for more help putting together your Annotated Bibliography.

Grading Rubric

Detailed information about how Dr. Clark-Foos will evaluate your work for each question of the Research Article Analysis/Annotated Bibliography assignment

• Article Analysis/Annotated Bibliography Rubric
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What is an Annotated Bibliography?  

A  bibliography  is a list of sources (books, journals, Web sites, periodicals, etc.) one has 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 evaluation. Therefore, an  annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following.

• Summarize : Some annotations merely summarize the source. 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.
• Assess : After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. Is it a useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source?
• 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?

Your annotated bibliography may include some of these, all of these, or even others. If you're doing this for a class, you should get specific guidelines from your instructor.

Why should I write an annotated bibliography?

To learn about your topic : Writing an annotated bibliography is excellent preparation for a research project. Just collecting sources for a bibliography is useful, but when you have to write annotations for each source, you're forced to read each source more carefully. You begin to read more critically instead of just collecting information. At the professional level, annotated bibliographies allow you to see what has been done in the literature and where your own research or scholarship can fit. To help you formulate a thesis: Every good research paper is an argument. The purpose of research is to state and support a thesis. So a very important part of research is developing a thesis that is debatable, interesting, and current. Writing an annotated bibliography can help you gain a good perspective on what is being said about your topic. By reading and responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you'll start to see what the issues are, what people are arguing about, and you'll then be able to develop your own point of view.

To help other researchers : Extensive and scholarly annotated bibliographies are sometimes published. They provide a comprehensive overview of everything important that has been and is being said about that topic. You may not ever get your annotated bibliography published, but as a researcher, you might want to look for one that has been published about your topic.

How do I format an annotated bibliography?

The format of an annotated bibliography can vary, so if you're doing one for a class, it's important to ask for specific guidelines.

The bibliographic information : Generally, though, the bibliographic information of the source (the title, author, publisher, date, etc.) is written in either MLA or APA format.

The annotations:  The annotations for each source are written in paragraph form. The lengths of the annotations can vary significantly from a couple of sentences to a couple of pages. The length will depend on the purpose. If you're just writing summaries of your sources, the annotations may not be very long. However, if you are writing an extensive analysis of each source, you'll need more space.

You can focus your annotations for your own needs. A few sentences of general summary followed by several sentences of how you can fit the work into your larger paper or project can serve you well when you go to draft.

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How to Annotate Citations

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An annotated bibliography provides a brief account of the available research on a given topic. It is a list of research sources that includes concise descriptions and evaluations of each source.   The annotation usually contains a brief summary of content and a short analysis or evaluation, and the sources that are listed provide an exensive literature review of a particular topic.

Depending on your assignment you may be asked to reflect, summarise, critique, evaluate or analyse the source. While an annotation can be as brief as one sentence, the standard annotated bibliography consists of a citation followed by a short paragraph.

A successful annotated bibliography will:

• Encourage you to explore a topic to a significant depth
• Include the most relevant literature on a topic
• Include sources written by experts in their field
• Not omit the most important research/literature on the topic

In addition to having the characteristics mentioned above, the annotation provided about each source should be descriptive and place the source in a broader context.  Generally, a good annotation will seek to answer the questions of What, Who, How, and Why:

• What --Describe and summarize what the source says
• Who --Explain who the author is, the author's credentials, and why the author is a reliable source of information.
• How --Explain how the particular source is relevant to your research project
• Why --Explain why the particular source is the best source for the job when other sources are available
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• Last Updated: Oct 10, 2023 12:08 PM
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Annotated Bibliography

What is an annotated bibliography.

An annotated bibliography provides an overview or a brief account of the available research on a given topic. It is a list of research sources that takes the form of a citation for each source, followed by an annotation - a short paragraph sumarising and evaluating the source. An annotated bibliography may be a stand-alone assignment or a component of a larger assignment. 

Purpose of an annotated bibliography

When set as an assignment, an annotated bibliography allows you to get acquainted with the material available on a particular topic.

Depending on your specific assignment, an annotated bibliography might:

• review the literature of a particular subject;
• demonstrate the quality and depth of reading that you have done;
• exemplify the scope of sources available—such as journals, books, web sites and magazine articles;
• highlight sources that may be of interest to other readers and researchers;
• explore and organise sources for further research.

What does an annotated bibliography look like?

Each entry in an annotated biliography has two components: 

• a bibliographic citation followed by 
• a short paragraph (an annotation) that includes concise descriptions and evaluations of each source. 

The annotation usually contains a brief summary of content and a short analysis or evaluation. Depending on your assignment you may be asked to summarise, reflect on, critique, evaluate or analyse each source. While an annotation can be as brief as one sentence, a paragraph is more usual.  An example is provided below.

As with a normal reference list or bibliography, an annotated bibliography is usually arranged alphabetically according to the author’s last name.

An annotated bibliography summary should be about 100 - 200 words per citation—check with your lecturer/tutor as this may vary between faculties and assessments. Please also check with your lecturer about the elements each annotation should include.

Steps to writing an annotated bibliography

• Choose your sources - locate and record citations to sources of research that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic.
• Review the items that you’ve collected in your search.
• Write the citation using the correct style.
• Write the annotation. 

Questions to consider when selecting sources

The sources for your annotated bibliography should be carefully selected. Start by reading abstracts or skimming to help you identify and select relevant sources. Also keep in mind that, while annotated bibliographies are often ‘stand alone’ assignments, they can also be preliminary research about a particular topic or issue, and further research or a longer literature review may follow. Try to choose sources which together will present a comprehensive review of the topic.

Keep the following questions in mind to help clarify your choices

• What topic/ problem am I investigating?
• What question(s) am I exploring? (Identify the aim of your literature research). 
• What kind of material am I looking at and why? Am I looking for journal articles, reports, policies or primary data? 
• Am I being judicious in my selection of sources? Does each one relate to my research topic and assignment requirements?
• Have I selected a range of sources? Choose those sources that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic
• What are the essential or key works about my topic? Am I finding them? Are the sources valuable or often referred to in other sources?

Surveying the sources

Take notes on your selected texts as you read. Pay attention to:

• the author’s theoretical approach.
• which parts of the topic are covered.
• main points or findings on the topic.
• the author’s position or argument. 

Evaluate and ask questions as you read

Record evaluations in your notes and consider:

• How, and how effectively, does this source address the topic?
• Does it cover the topic thoroughly or only one aspect of it?
• Do the research methods seem appropriate?
• Does the argument seem reasonable?
• Where does it stand in relation to other studies? Agree with or contradict?

How should I write the annotations?

• Each annotation should be concise. Do not write too much—annotations should not extend beyond one paragraph (unless assignment guidelines say otherwise). 
• The summary should be a brief outline of argument(s) and main ideas. Only mention details that are significant or relevant, and only when necessary. 
• Any information apparent in the title of thesourcel can be omitted from the annotation.
• Background materials and references to previous work by the same author usually are not included. As you are addressing one text at a time, there is no need to cross reference or use in-text citations to support your annotation.
• Find out what referencing style you need to use for the bibliographic citations, and use it consistently.
• In-text citations would usually only be necessary for quotations or to draw attention to information from specific pages.
• Unless otherwise stipulated, you should write in full sentences using academic vocabulary.

Contents of an annotated bibliography

An annotation may contain all or part of the following elements depending on the word limit and the content of the sources you are examining.

• Provide the full bibliographic citation.
• Indicate the background of the author(s).
• Indicate the content or scope of the text.
• Outline the main argument.
• Indicate the intended audience.
• Identify the research methods if applicable.
• Identify any conclusions made by the author/s.
• Discuss the reliability of the text.
• Highlight any special features of the text that were unique or helpful e.g. charts, graphs etc.
• Discuss the relevance or usefulness of the text for your research.
• Point out in what way the text relates to themes or concepts in your course.
• State the strengths and limitations of the text.
• Present your view or reaction to the text.

Sample annotation 

The citation goes first and is followed by the annotation. Make sure that you follow your faculty’s preferred citation style. The summary needs to be concise. Please note the following example is entirely fictitious.

In the sample annotation below, each element is numbered (see Key).

Essay and assignment writing guide

• Essay writing basics
• Essay and assignment planning
• Answering assignment questions
• Editing checklist
• Writing a critical review
• Annotated bibliography
• Reflective writing
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