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MLA Style Annotated Bibliography | Format & Examples

Published on July 13, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on June 14, 2022.

An annotated bibliography is a special assignment that lists sources in a way similar to the MLA Works Cited list, but providing an annotation for each source giving extra information.

You might be assigned an annotated bibliography as part of the research process for a paper , or as an individual assignment.

MLA provides guidelines for writing and formatting your annotated bibliography. An example of a typical annotation is shown below.

Kenny, Anthony. A New History of Western Philosophy: In Four Parts . Oxford UP, 2010.

You can create and manage your annotated bibliography with Scribbr’s free MLA Citation Generator. Choose your source type, retrieve the details, and click “Add annotation.”

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Table of contents

Mla format for annotated bibliographies, length and content of annotations, frequently asked questions about annotated bibliographies.

The list should be titled either “Annotated Bibliography” or “Annotated List of Works Cited.” You may be told which title to use; “bibliography” is normally used for a list that also includes sources you didn’t cite in your paper or that isn’t connected to a paper at all.

Sources are usually organized alphabetically , like in a normal Works Cited list, but can instead be organized chronologically or by subject depending on the purpose of the assignment.

The source information is presented and formatted in the same way as in a normal Works Cited entry:

  • Double-spaced
  • Left-aligned
  • 0.5 inch hanging indent

The annotation follows on the next line, also double-spaced and left-aligned. The whole annotation is indented 1 inch from the left margin to distinguish it from the 0.5 inch hanging indent of the source entry.

  • If the annotation is only one paragraph long, there’s no additional indent for the start of the paragraph.
  • If there are two or more paragraphs, indent the first line of each paragraph , including the first, an additional half-inch (so those lines are indented 1.5 inches in total).

MLA annotated bibliography

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

MLA gives some guidelines for writing the annotations themselves. They cover how concise you need to be and what exactly you should write about your sources.

Phrases or full sentences?

MLA states that it’s acceptable to use concise phrases rather than grammatically complete sentences in your annotations.

While you shouldn’t write this way in your main text, it’s acceptable in annotations because the subject of the phrase is clear from the context. It’s also fine to use full sentences instead, if you prefer.

  • Broad history of Western philosophy from the ancient Greeks to the present day.
  • Kenny presents a broad history of Western philosophy from the ancient Greeks to the present day.

Always use full sentences if your instructor requires you to do so, though.

How many paragraphs?

MLA states that annotations usually aim to be concise and thus are only one paragraph long. However, it’s acceptable to write multiple-paragraph annotations if you need to.

If in doubt, aim to keep your annotations short, but use multiple paragraphs if longer annotations are required for your assignment.

Descriptive, evaluative, or reflective annotations?

MLA states that annotations can describe or evaluate sources, or do both. They shouldn’t go into too much depth quoting or discussing minor details from the source, but aim to write about it in broad terms.

You’ll usually write either descriptive , evaluative , or reflective annotations . If you’re not sure what kind of annotations you need, consult your assignment guidelines or ask your instructor.

An annotated bibliography is an assignment where you collect sources on a specific topic and write an annotation for each source. An annotation is a short text that describes and sometimes evaluates the source.

Any credible sources on your topic can be included in an annotated bibliography . The exact sources you cover will vary depending on the assignment, but you should usually focus on collecting journal articles and scholarly books . When in doubt, utilize the CRAAP test !

Each annotation in an annotated bibliography is usually between 50 and 200 words long. Longer annotations may be divided into paragraphs .

The content of the annotation varies according to your assignment. An annotation can be descriptive, meaning it just describes the source objectively; evaluative, meaning it assesses its usefulness; or reflective, meaning it explains how the source will be used in your own research .

No, in an MLA annotated bibliography , you can write short phrases instead of full sentences to keep your annotations concise. You can still choose to use full sentences instead, though.

Use full sentences in your annotations if your instructor requires you to, and always use full sentences in the main text of your paper .

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Annotated Bibliography Template

  • MLA Annotated Bibliography Template

This sample annotated bibliography shows you the structure you should use to write an MLA annotated bibliography and gives examples of evaluative and summary annotations.

It can be used as a template to set up your assignment.

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

Useful Links for Annotated Bibliographies

  • Annotated Bibliographies Overview of purpose and form of annotated bibliographies from the Purdue OWL.
  • Annotated Bibliography Sample Sample annotations in an MLA and an APA annotated bibliography. From the Purdue OWL.
  • Annotated Bibliography Breakdown An example of an MLA annotated bibliography. From the Purdue OWL.

Annotations

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations for various books, articles, and other sources on a topic. The annotated bibliography looks like a Works Cited page but includes an annotation after each source cited. An annotation is a short summary and/or critical evaluation of a source. Annotated bibliographies can be part of a larger research project, or can be a stand-alone report in itself.

Types of Annotations

 A summary annotation describes the source by answering the following questions: who wrote the document, what the document discusses, when and where was the document written, why was the document produced, and how was it provided to the public. The focus is on description. 

 An evaluative annotation includes a summary as listed above but also critically assesses the work for accuracy, relevance, and quality. Evaluative annotations can help you learn about your topic, develop a thesis statement, decide if a specific source will be useful for your assignment, and determine if there is enough valid information available to complete your project. The focus is on description and evaluation.

Writing an Evaluative Annotation

  • Cite the source using MLA style.
  • Describe the main ideas, arguments, themes, theses, or methodology, and identify the intended audience.
  • Explain the author’s expertise, point of view, and any bias he/she may have.
  • Compare to other sources on the same topic that you have also cited to show similarities and differences.
  • Explain why each source is useful for your research topic and how it relates to your topic.
  • Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each source.
  • Identify the observations or conclusions of the author. 

Basic Tips on Writing and Formatting

  • Each annotation should be one paragraph, between three to six sentences long (about 150- 200 words).
  • Start with the same format as a regular Works Cited list.
  • All lines should be double-spaced. Do not add an extra line between the citations.
  • If your list of citations is especially long, you can organize it by topic.
  • Try to be objective, and give explanations if you state any opinions.
  • Use the third person (e.g., he, she, the author) instead of the first person (e.g., I, my, me)

Sample Evaluative Annotation

London, Herbert. “Five Myths of the Television Age.” Television Quarterly , vol. 10, no. 1, Mar. 1982, pp. 81-69. Herbert London, the Dean of Journalism at New York University and author of several books and articles, explains how television contradicts five commonly believed ideas. He uses specific examples of events seen on television, such as the assassination of John Kennedy, to illustrate his points. His examples have been selected to contradict such truisms as: “seeing is believing”; “a picture is worth a thousand words”; and “satisfaction is its own reward.” London uses logical arguments to support his ideas which are his personal opinion. He does not refer to any previous works on the topic. London’s style and vocabulary would make the article of interest to any reader. The article clearly illustrates London’s points, but does not explore their implications leaving the reader with many unanswered questions.

Adapted from:

"How to Write Annotated Bibliographies."  Memorial University Libraries , www.library.mun.ca/researchtools/guides/writing/annotated_bibl/. Accessed 29 June 2016.

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Annotations

What is an annotation.

An annotation is a short (100-300 words) summary or critical evaluation of a source. Annotations can help you learn about your topic, develop a thesis statement, decide if a source will be useful for your assignment, and determine if there is enough valid information available to complete your project.

What is an annotated bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations for various books, articles, and other sources. The annotated bibliography looks like a Works Cited page but it also includes an annotation after each source cited. Annotated bibliographies are a great research tool. 

What Goes Into an Annotation?

Most annotations both summarize and evaluate. Be sure to check with your professors to know what they want in annotations. 

A summary describes the source by answering who wrote the document and their overall argument. You don't need to include every part of the argument; just the parts that are most relevant to your topic.

An evaluation  critically assesses the work for accuracy, relevance, and quality. Check for any biases, holes, or particular strengths. Try out this Quick-How-To about  Evaluating Sources  for detailed guidance on assessing a source.

Tip:  Annotations are original descriptions that you create after reading the document. You may find a short summary, often titled "abstract," at the beginning of journal articles. Do not copy the abstract as that would be plagiarism.

Writing an Annotation

Cite the source using MLA style.

Describe the main ideas, arguments, themes, theses, or methodology, and identify the intended audience.

Explain the author’s expertise, point of view, and any bias he/she may have.

Compare to other sources on the same topic that you have also cited to show similarities and differences.

Explain why each source is useful for your research topic and how it relates to your topic.

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each source.

Identify the observations or conclusions of the author. 

Tips on Writing and Formatting

Each annotation should be one or two paragraphs and between three to six sentences long (about 100- 300 words total).

All lines should be double-spaced (unless your professor has noted a different format).

Do not add an extra line between the citations.

Try to be objective, and give explanations if you state any opinions.

Use the third person (e.g., he, she, the author) instead of the first person (e.g., I, my, me), unless discussing your own research.

Sample Annotation

London, Herbert. “Five Myths of the Television Age.” Television Quarterly , vol. 10, no. 1, Mar. 1982, pp. 81-89.

Herbert London, the Dean of Journalism at New York University and author of several books and articles, explains how television contradicts five commonly believed ideas. He uses specific examples of events seen on television, such as the assassination of John Kennedy, to illustrate his points. His examples have been selected to contradict such truisms as: “seeing is believing”; “a picture is worth a thousand words”; and “satisfaction is its own reward.” London uses logical arguments to support his ideas which are his personal opinion. He does not refer to any previous works on the topic. London’s style and vocabulary would make the article of interest to any reader. The article clearly illustrates London’s points, but does not explore their implications leaving the reader with many unanswered questions.

Adapted from: "How to Write Annotated Bibliographies."  Memorial University Libraries ,  www.library.mun.ca/researchtools/guides/writing/annotated_bibl/ .

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How to Write an Annotated Bibliography - MLA Style

What is an annotation, how is an annotation different from an abstract, what is an annotated bibliography, types of annotated bibliographies, descriptive or informative, analytical or critical, to get started.

An annotation is more than just a brief summary of an article, book, website, or other type of publication. An annotation should give enough information to make a reader decide whether to read the complete work. In other words, if the reader were exploring the same topic as you, is this material useful and if so, why?

While an abstract also summarizes an article, book, website, or other type of publication, it is purely descriptive. Although annotations can be descriptive, they also include distinctive features about an item. Annotations can be evaluative and critical and the two major types of annotations included here demonstrate the difference.

An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources (like a reference list). It differs from a straightforward bibliography in that each reference is followed by a paragraph length annotation, usually 100–200 words in length.

Depending on the assignment, an annotated bibliography might have different purposes:

  • Provide a literature review on a particular subject
  • Help to formulate a thesis on a subject
  • Demonstrate the research you have performed on a particular subject
  • Provide examples of major sources of information available on a topic
  • Describe items that other researchers may find of interest on a topic

There are two major types of annotated bibliographies:

A descriptive or informative annotated bibliography describes or summarizes a source as does an abstract; it describes why the source is useful for researching a particular topic or question and its distinctive features. In addition, it describes the author's main arguments and conclusions without evaluating what the author says or concludes.

For example:

Gabbin, Joanne V. "Maya Angelou--The Peoples' Poet Laureate: An Introduction."  Langston Hughes Review , vol. 19, Spring 2005, pp. 3-6.  LION: Literature Online , gateway.proquest.com/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2003&xri:pqil:res_ver=0.2&res_id=xri:lion&rft_id=xri:lion:ft:criticism:R04012678:0&rft.accountid=14580. This scholarly article is a critical introduction to the works of Maya Angelou, and the criteria surrounding her success as a poet laureate. The author points out Angelou's literary influences, which include William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Douglas Johnson, Langston Hughes, among others. This article also points out that her poetry lacks cultural boundaries, yet her trademark lies in the secular chants, songs, and games of the black vernacular tradition. The author discusses dialect and vernacular rhythms in several of Angelou's poems, and compares several of her works to the racy dialect of Sterling Brown and Langston Hughes. Also discussed is her political cultural voice and her deep understanding of emotion. This article is distinctive in its discussion of the need for a poet laureate to add to an audience's collective memory.

Please pay attention to the last sentence. While it points out distinctive features about the item it does not analyze the author's conclusions.

An analytical or critical annotation not only summarizes the material, it analyzes what is being said. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of what is presented as well as describing the applicability of the author's conclusions to the research being conducted.

Analytical or critical annotations will most likely be required when writing for a college-level course.

Gabbin, Joanne V. "Maya Angelou--The Peoples' Poet Laureate: An Introduction."  Langston Hughes Review , vol. 19, Spring 2005, pp. 3-6.  LION: Literature Online , gateway.proquest.com/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2003&xri:pqil:res_ver=0.2&res_id=xri:lion&rft_id=xri:lion:ft:criticism:R04012678:0&rft.accountid=14580. This scholarly article is a critical introduction to the works of Maya Angelou, and the criteria surrounding her success as a poet laureate. The author points out Angelou's literary influences, that include William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Douglas Johnson, Langston Hughes, among others. This article also points out that her poetry lacks cultural boundaries, yet her trademark lies in the secular chants, songs, and games of the black vernacular tradition. The author discusses dialect and vernacular rhythms in several of Angelou's poems, and compares several of her works to the racy dialect of Sterling Brown and Langston Hughes. Also discussed is her political cultural voice and her deep understanding of emotion. This article is a good resource for those wanting to explore criteria related to the achievement of the award of poet laureate and how Angelou meets the criteria. This article begins to explore the poet's works and suggests her ability to add to an audience's collective memory. The author is a professor of English at James Madison University and has authored a book on Sterling Brown and numerous critical essays.

Please pay attention to the last three sentences. They give information about the author and critique the author's research.

To write an annotated bibliography here are the steps:

  • Choose your sources -  Before writing your annotated bibliography, you must choose your sources. This involves doing research much like for any other project. Locate records to materials that may apply to your topic.
  • Review the items -  Then review the actual items and choose those that provide a wide variety of perspectives on your topic. Article abstracts are helpful in this process.
  • The purpose of the work
  • A summary of its content
  • Information about the author(s)
  • For what type of audience the work is written
  • Its relevance to the topic
  • Any special or unique features about the material
  • Research methodology
  • The strengths, weaknesses or biases in the material

Annotated bibliographies are arranged alphabetically by the first author's last name.

Please see the  MLA Examples Page  for more information on citing in MLA style.

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What is an annotation?

an•no•ta•tion : n. 1. The act or process of furnishing critical commentary or explanatory notes. 2. A critical or explanatory note; a commentary.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., Houghton Mifflin, 2009.

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

A list of citations for books, articles, websites, and other materials where each citation is accompanied by a brief descriptive and evaluative statement, called an annotation .

Annotations are different from the abstracts you will find accompanying journal article citations in online databases. Abstracts are descriptive. Your annotation must extend beyond the descriptive element to include an evaluation of the book or article.

Why Annotations?

An annotated bibliography is a tool for exploring a topic of interest. The process of reading and reflecting on the materials you find in the gathering part of the research process can help you understand the topic, identify multiple perspectives, explore different methods used to investigate the topic, and give you ideas for developing the thesis for your paper.

How are Annotations Created?

  • Locate and record the citations for articles, books, and other materials you will use for your paper. You need to gather enough sources to represent a range of perspectives on your topic.
  • Create the citation using the MLA Handbook, Ninth Edition . Tools that can help you with this include handouts received in class and in the library.
  • Write the annotation directly below the citation, indented one inch from the start of the entry.
  • Consider the questions below. Keep it short but be very complete.

Questions to consider when evaluating the item and writing your annotation include:

  • What education, experience and/or background does the author have which contributes to their being an authority on the topic?
  • Who is the intended audience for the book or article and how does that influence the presentation of the information?
  • How does this work contribute to your argument or support claims about your topic?
  • What are the main conclusions of the author(s) and what evidence do they use to support them?

The MLA Handbook, Ninth Edition guidelines for an annotation are to indent the annotation one inch from the start of the entry to distinguish it from the half-inch hanging indent of the entry. The annotation is double spaced with no gap between the citation and the annotation.

Annotation should be no more than one paragraph; however, if you need several paragraphs, indent each one but do not add an extra space between paragraphs. Follow your instructor's guidelines on the length and format for your specific assignment. Below is an example of an annotated bibliography in MLA 9th edition style.

Example of Annotated Bibliography showing indentation for citation and annotation.

Annotated Bibliographies. University Libraries, U of Nevada Las Vegas, www.library.unlv.edu/, 2018.

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Annotations

An  annotated bibliography  is a list of citations for various books, articles, and other sources on a topic. The annotated bibliography looks like a Works Cited page but includes an annotation after each source cited. An annotation is a short summary and/or critical evaluation of a source and ranges anywhere from 100-300 words. 

A nnotations can help you learn about your topic, develop a thesis statement, decide if a specific source will be useful for your assignment, and determine if there is enough valid information available to complete your project. They are a great tool in effective research.

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

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

Useful Links for Annotated Bibliographies

  • Annotated Bibliographies Overview of purpose and form of annotated bibliographies from the Purdue OWL
  • Annotated Bibliography Samples Includes a sample of one MLA annotated bibliography. From the Purdue OWL. Note: Sample annotation is cited using MLA style, 7th ed.
  • Annotated Bibliography Example An example of an MLA annotated bibliography, containing two entries. From the Purdue OWL. Note: Sample annotation is cited using MLA style, 7th ed.

What Goes Into an Annotation?

Most annotations both summarize and evaluate. Be sure to check with your professor to know what she or he wants in your annotations. 

A  summary  describes the source by answering who wrote the document and what their overall argument is. You don't need to include every part of their argument; just the parts that are relevant to your topic.

An  evaluation  critically assesses the work for accuracy, relevance, and quality. Check for any biases, holes, or particular strengths in their argument. Use the CRAAP Test to evaluate your source!

Basic Tips on Writing and Formatting

  • Each annotation should be one or two paragraphs, between three to six sentences long (about 100- 300 words total).
  • Start with the same format as a regular Works Cited list, including a 0.5 inch hanging indent for the citations.
  • All lines should be double-spaced (though this depends on your professor's preference). Do not add an extra line between the citations.
  • Try to be objective, and give explanations if you state any opinions.
  • Use the third person (e.g., he, she, the author) instead of the first person (e.g., I, my, me), unless discussing your own research in relation to the source.

Writing an Annotation

  • Cite the source using MLA style.
  • Describe the main ideas, arguments, themes, theses, or methodology, and identify the intended audience.
  • Explain the author’s expertise, point of view, and any bias he/she may have.
  • Compare to other sources on the same topic that you have also cited to show similarities and differences.
  • Explain why each source is useful for your research topic and how it relates to your topic.
  • Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each source.
  • Identify the observations or conclusions of the author. 

Sample Annotation

London, Herbert. “Five Myths of the Television Age.” Television Quarterly , vol. 10, no. 1, Mar. 1982, pp. 81-89.

Herbert London, the Dean of Journalism at New York University and author of several books and articles, explains how television contradicts five commonly believed ideas. He uses specific examples of events seen on television, such as the assassination of John Kennedy, to illustrate his points. His examples have been selected to contradict such truisms as: “seeing is believing”; “a picture is worth a thousand words”; and “satisfaction is its own reward.” London uses logical arguments to support his ideas which are his personal opinion. He does not refer to any previous works on the topic. London’s style and vocabulary would make the article of interest to any reader. The article clearly illustrates London’s points, but does not explore their implications leaving the reader with many unanswered questions.

Adapted from:

"How to Write Annotated Bibliographies."  Memorial University Libraries , www.library.mun.ca/researchtools/guides/writing/annotated_bibl/. Accessed 29 June 2016.

  • << Previous: Works Cited & Paper Format
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  • Last Updated: Jan 8, 2024 10:24 AM
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MLA annotated bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a list containing complete information of sources, such as journals, books, and reports, cited in the text, along with a note or annotation for each source. It provides a brief description of each source in about 100–150 words.

Objective of an annotated bibliography

An annotated bibliography can explain the topics covered in the source or evaluate the source. The main objective of giving the annotation is to provide the reader the importance, accuracy, and value of the source. When you add an annotation, do not try to cite evidence, talk about unnecessary points, or quote the author.

Types of annotations

Annotations are of two types:

Summary annotation

Evaluative annotation

A summary annotation provides critical information about the source or a description of it. Summary annotations explain the purpose and the topics covered in the source.

An evaluative annotation, as the name implies, evaluates a source. It examines a source and reveals its quality by evaluating its accuracy. It also recommends the relevance of the source. Additionally, it compares the source with other sources covering the same area. It may even include the advantages and disadvantages of a study.

General rules for creating an annotated bibliography

The annotation is given after the source entry.

Create annotation for each source in about 100–150 words.

The annotation, in general, should be written as phrases. However, they can be complete sentences too.

In general, the annotation of each source runs only for one paragraph. However, if multiple paragraphs are included, indent the second and subsequent paragraphs without any extra line space between them.

Components of an annotated bibliography

An annotated bibliography consists of two parts:

The citation

The annotation

The citation includes all possible elements of a source so as to enable the reader to locate the source easily. For example, the name of the author, title of the book, publisher, and publication date are essential basic elements to cite a book.

Morritt, Robert D. Beringia: Archaic Migrations into North America . Cambridge Scholars Pub, 2011.

The annotation provides all basic information about the source. The information can be descriptive or evaluative.

Descriptive annotation

Gives a summary of all relevant details about the source.

The author studies the migration of cultures from Asia to North America. The connection between the North American Athabaskan language family and Siberia is presented together with comparisons and examinations of the implications of linguistics from anthropological, archaeological, and folklore perspectives. This book explores the origins of the earliest people in the Americas, including Siberian, Dene, and Navajo Creation myths, linguistic comparisons between Siberian Ket Navajo and Western Apache, and comparisons between indigenous groups that appear to share the same origin.

Reflects the author’s view, shows the relevance of the paper, and provides an evaluation of the paper.

In this book, Barbara Ehrenreich shows how harmful the positive thinking movement is, how it means self-blame, victim-blaming, and national denial, inviting disaster. She shows that it wrecks efforts for education, skills, and reforms.

The book analyzes how the school of mindless optimism was born, fed the subprime scandal, and has come to infect mainstream corporate management thinking. Anyone who has sat through a toe-curling session by a motivational speaker at a company off-site will chuckle in recognition.

Arranging annotated bibliographies

Arrange your annotated bibliography entries in alphabetical order similar to how you would order entries in the works-cited list.

The order of the bibliography can be arranged according to the author, title, publication date, or subject.

Formatting the annotated bibliography

Set the left, right, top, and bottom margins as 1 inch.

Write the running head in the top right of the page at 0.5 inches from the top. Use the running head “Surname Page #.”

Title the page “Annotated Bibliography” or “Annotated List of Works Cited.” Use the former title if you also include sources in the list that are not included in your in-text citations.

The title should be aligned to the center of the page.

Write the title in bold.

Use Times New Roman font of size 12 points.

If any entry runs over more than a line, indent the subsequent lines 0.5 inches from the left margin.

The annotation is indented 1 inch from the start of the entry, that is, 0.5 inches from the hanging indent of the entries that run more than a line.

Give double-line spacing.

Example annotated bibliography

The below are examples of an annotated bibliography:

  • Annotated Bibliography

The author studies the migration of cultures from Asia to North America. The connection between the North American Athabaskan language family and Siberia is presented together with comparisons and examinations of the implications of linguistics from anthropological, archaeological, and folklore perspectives. This book explores the origins of the earliest people in the Americas, including Siberian, Dene, and Navajo Creation myths; linguistic comparisons between Siberian Ket Navajo and Western Apache; and comparisons between indigenous groups that appear to share the same origin.

Ehrenreich, Barbara. Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking has Undermined America . Metropolitan Books, 2009.

Key takeaways

An annotated bibliography can explain the topics covered in the source or evaluate it.

Summary annotation and evaluative annotation are two different types of annotations.

Title the page “Annotated Bibliography” or “Annotated List of Works Cited.”

Annotations for each source should not exceed 100–150 words.

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What is an Annotated Bibliography & Why Write One

Mla annotated bibliography example.

  • Avoiding Plagiarism

What is an Annotated Bibliography

A bibliograph y is a list of sources (books, journals, Web sites, periodicals, etc.) you used for researching your topic. Bibliographies are called "Works Cited" (in MLA Style) and "References" (in APA Style)  Your bibliography will include the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.) that your reader would need to identify and locate the original source you're citing.

An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation of a source.

Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes your citation followed by a summary and/or evaluation of each of your 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?
  • 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.

Be sure to always follow the specific instructions your instructor gives you.

Why Write an Annotated Bibliography

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.

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.

MLA tells us that, you should cite a source in an annotated bibliography just as you would in a list of works cited and then append an annotation to the end of the entry. Annotations describe and/or evaluate sources. Further, annotations should not rehash minor details, cite evidence, quote the author, or recount steps in an argument. Writing an effective annotation requires reading the work, understanding its aims, and clearly summarizing them.

To learn more about annotated bibliographies click on the link below from Purdue OWL

  • Annotated Bibliographies

Sample Annotated Bibliography Using MLA

  • MLA 9 Annotated Bibliography Sample

Annotated Bibliography Template

You may also want to use the template below. Just type over the words in the template with your own information, citations, and annotations.

  • MLA, 9th ed. Annotated Bibliography Template
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Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and CC BY-NC 4.0 Licenses .

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MLA Formatting and Style Guide

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MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

The following overview should help you better understand how to cite sources using MLA  9 th edition, including how to format the Works Cited page and in-text citations.

Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in MLA. See also our MLA vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel .

Creating a Works Cited list using the ninth edition

MLA is a style of documentation that may be applied to many different types of writing. Since texts have become increasingly digital, and the same document may often be found in several different sources, following a set of rigid rules no longer suffices.

Thus, the current system is based on a few guiding principles, rather than an extensive list of specific rules. While the handbook still describes how to cite sources, it is organized according to the process of documentation, rather than by the sources themselves. This gives writers a flexible method that is near-universally applicable.

Once you are familiar with the method, you can use it to document any type of source, for any type of paper, in any field.

Here is an overview of the process:

When deciding how to cite your source, start by consulting the list of core elements. These are the general pieces of information that MLA suggests including in each Works Cited entry. In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order:

  • Title of source.
  • Title of container,
  • Other contributors,
  • Publication date,

Each element should be followed by the corresponding punctuation mark shown above. Earlier editions of the handbook included the place of publication and required different punctuation (such as journal editions in parentheses and colons after issue numbers) depending on the type of source. In the current version, punctuation is simpler (only commas and periods separate the elements), and information about the source is kept to the basics.

Begin the entry with the author’s last name, followed by a comma and the rest of the name, as presented in the work. End this element with a period.

Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.

Title of source

The title of the source should follow the author’s name. Depending upon the type of source, it should be listed in italics or quotation marks.

A book should be in italics:

Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House . MacMurray, 1999.

An individual webpage should be in quotation marks. The name of the parent website, which MLA treats as a "container," should follow in italics:

Lundman, Susan. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow, www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html.*

A periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper) article should be in quotation marks:

Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature , vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 41-50.

A song or piece of music on an album should be in quotation marks. The name of the album should then follow in italics:

Beyoncé. "Pray You Catch Me." Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016, www.beyonce.com/album/lemonade-visual-album/.

*The MLA handbook recommends including URLs when citing online sources. For more information, see the “Optional Elements” section below.

Title of container

The eighth edition of the MLA handbook introduced what are referred to as "containers," which are the larger wholes in which the source is located. For example, if you want to cite a poem that is listed in a collection of poems, the individual poem is the source, while the larger collection is the container. The title of the container is usually italicized and followed by a comma, since the information that follows next describes the container.

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories, edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.

The container may also be a television series, which is made up of episodes.

“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, performance by Amy Poehler, season 2, episode 21, Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2010.

The container may also be a website, which contains articles, postings, and other works.

Wise, DeWanda. “Why TV Shows Make Me Feel Less Alone.”  NAMI,  31 May 2019,  www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/May-2019/How-TV-Shows-Make-Me-Feel-Less-Alone . Accessed 3 June 2019.

In some cases, a container might be within a larger container. You might have read a book of short stories on Google Books , or watched a television series on Netflix . You might have found the electronic version of a journal on JSTOR. It is important to cite these containers within containers so that your readers can find the exact source that you used.

“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation , season 2, episode 21, NBC , 29 Apr. 2010. Netflix, www.netflix.com/watch/70152031?trackId=200256157&tctx=0%2C20%2C0974d361-27cd-44de-9c2a-2d9d868b9f64-12120962.

Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical Journal , vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-96. ProQuest, doi:10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.

Other contributors

In addition to the author, there may be other contributors to the source who should be credited, such as editors, illustrators, translators, etc. If their contributions are relevant to your research, or necessary to identify the source, include their names in your documentation.

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Translated by Richard Howard , Vintage-Random House, 1988.

Woolf, Virginia. Jacob’s Room . Annotated and with an introduction by Vara Neverow, Harcourt, Inc., 2008.

If a source is listed as an edition or version of a work, include it in your citation.

The Bible . Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.

Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. 3rd ed., Pearson, 2004.

If a source is part of a numbered sequence, such as a multi-volume book or journal with both volume and issue numbers, those numbers must be listed in your citation.

Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May 2009.

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria. Translated by H. E. Butler, vol. 2, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980.

The publisher produces or distributes the source to the public. If there is more than one publisher, and they are all are relevant to your research, list them in your citation, separated by a forward slash (/).

Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive, www.artchive.com/artchive/K/klee/twittering_machine.jpg.html. Accessed May 2006.

Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System . American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2006.

Daniels, Greg and Michael Schur, creators. Parks and Recreation . Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2015.

Note : The publisher’s name need not be included in the following sources: periodicals, works published by their author or editor, websites whose titles are the same name as their publisher, websites that make works available but do not actually publish them (such as  YouTube ,  WordPress , or  JSTOR ).

Publication date

The same source may have been published on more than one date, such as an online version of an original source. For example, a television series might have aired on a broadcast network on one date, but released on  Netflix  on a different date. When the source has more than one date, it is sufficient to use the date that is most relevant to your writing. If you’re unsure about which date to use, go with the date of the source’s original publication.

In the following example, Mutant Enemy is the primary production company, and “Hush” was released in 1999. Below is a general citation for this television episode:

“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer , created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, Mutant Enemy, 1999 .

However, if you are discussing, for example, the historical context in which the episode originally aired, you should cite the full date. Because you are specifying the date of airing, you would then use WB Television Network (rather than Mutant Enemy), because it was the network (rather than the production company) that aired the episode on the date you’re citing.

“Hush.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, episode 10, WB Television Network, 14 Dec. 1999 .

You should be as specific as possible in identifying a work’s location.

An essay in a book or an article in a journal should include page numbers.

Adiche, Chimamanda Ngozi. “On Monday of Last Week.” The Thing around Your Neck, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, pp. 74-94 .

The location of an online work should include a URL.  Remove any "http://" or "https://" tag from the beginning of the URL.

Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases , vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 8 Feb. 2009.

When citing a physical object that you experienced firsthand, identify the place of location.

Matisse, Henri. The Swimming Pool. 1952, Museum of Modern Art, New York .

Optional elements

The ninth edition is designed to be as streamlined as possible. The author should include any information that helps readers easily identify the source, without including unnecessary information that may be distracting. The following is a list of optional elements that can be included in a documented source at the writer’s discretion.

Date of original publication:

If a source has been published on more than one date, the writer may want to include both dates if it will provide the reader with necessary or helpful information.

Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine. 1984. Perennial-Harper, 1993.

City of publication:

The seventh edition handbook required the city in which a publisher is located, but the eighth edition states that this is only necessary in particular instances, such as in a work published before 1900. Since pre-1900 works were usually associated with the city in which they were published, your documentation may substitute the city name for the publisher’s name.

Thoreau, Henry David. Excursions . Boston, 1863.

Date of access:

When you cite an online source, the MLA Handbook recommends including a date of access on which you accessed the material, since an online work may change or move at any time.

Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web." A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 16 Aug. 2002, alistapart.com/article/writeliving. Accessed 4 May 2009.

As mentioned above, while the MLA handbook recommends including URLs when you cite online sources, you should always check with your instructor or editor and include URLs at their discretion.

A DOI, or digital object identifier, is a series of digits and letters that leads to the location of an online source. Articles in journals are often assigned DOIs to ensure that the source is locatable, even if the URL changes. If your source is listed with a DOI, use that instead of a URL.

Alonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. "Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of Freshwater Invertebrates." Environmental Toxicology , vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library, doi: 10.1002/tox.20155.

Creating in-text citations using the previous (eighth) edition

Although the MLA handbook is currently in its ninth edition, some information about citing in the text using the older (eighth) edition is being retained. The in-text citation is a brief reference within your text that indicates the source you consulted. It should properly attribute any ideas, paraphrases, or direct quotations to your source, and should direct readers to the entry in the Works Cited list. For the most part, an in-text citation is the  author’s name and the page number (or just the page number, if the author is named in the sentence) in parentheses :

When creating in-text citations for media that has a runtime, such as a movie or podcast, include the range of hours, minutes and seconds you plan to reference. For example: (00:02:15-00:02:35).

Again, your goal is to attribute your source and provide a reference without interrupting your text. Your readers should be able to follow the flow of your argument without becoming distracted by extra information.

How to Cite the Purdue OWL in MLA

Entire Website

The Purdue OWL . Purdue U Writing Lab, 2019.

Individual Resources

Contributors' names. "Title of Resource." The Purdue OWL , Purdue U Writing Lab, Last edited date.

The new OWL no longer lists most pages' authors or publication dates. Thus, in most cases, citations will begin with the title of the resource, rather than the developer's name.

"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL, Purdue U Writing Lab. Accessed 18 Jun. 2018.

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Annotated Bibliography

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Modern Language Association (MLA) Annotations

Creating an annotated bibliography in MLA style

The MLA Handbook is on reserve at the IRC desk on the Ground Floor.

General guidelines

Some anno tatio ns are merely descriptive , summarizing the authors' qualifications, research methods, and arguments.  Your professor might also ask you to identify the authors' theoretical frameworks .

Many annotations evaluate the quality of scholarship in a book or article.  You might want to consider the logic of authors' arguments, and the quality of their evidence.  Your findings can be positive, negative, or mixed.

Your professor might also want you to explain why the source is relevant to your assignment.

Sample Page: MLA-formatted annotated bibliography

  Battle, Ken. “Child Poverty: The Evolution and Impact of Child Benefits.” A Question of Commitment: Children's Rights in Canada . Ed. Katherine Covell and R.Brian Howe. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. 2007. 21-44.

            Ken Battle draws on a close study of government documents, as well as his own research as an extensively-published policy analyst, to explain Canadian child benefit programs.  He outlines some fundamental assumptions supporting the belief that all society members should contribute to the upbringing of children.  His comparison of child poverty rates in a number of countries is a useful wake-up to anyone assuming Canadian society is doing a good job of protecting children.  Battle pays particular attention to the National Child Benefit (NCB), arguing that it did not deserve to be criticized by politicians and journalists.  He outlines the NCB’s development, costs, and benefits, and laments that the Conservative government scaled it back in favour of the inferior Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB).  However, he relies too heavily on his own work; he is the sole or primary author of almost half the sources in his bibliography.  He could make this work stronger by drawing from others' perspectives and analyses.  However, Battle does offer a valuable source for this essay, because the chapter provides a concise overview of government-funded assistance currently available to parents.  This offers context for analyzing the scope and financial reality of child poverty in Canada.

   Kerr, Don and Roderic Beaujot. “Child Poverty and Family Structure in Canada, 1981-1997.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 34.3 (2003): 321-335.

            Sociology professors Kerr and Beaujot analyze the demographics of impoverished families.  Drawing on data from Canada’s annual Survey of Consumer Finances, the authors consider whether each family had one or two parents, the age of single parents, and the number of children in each household.  They analyze child poverty rates in light of both these demographic factors and larger economic issues.  Kerr and Beaujot use this data to argue that 

  Rules! rules! rules!

The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers states the following formatting rules:

  • The text and the works cited list should be double-spaced.
  • Number your pages at the top right of the page.
  • Reference list entries must have a hanging indent (to do this in Microsoft Word 2003, select the citation, click Format, then Paragraph, then Special, and choose Hanging).
  • There should be 1 inch (2.54 cm) margins all around (top, bottom, left, and right) on each page.
  • Use Times Roman font, or a similar serif font.
  • Capitalize each important word (noun or verb) in a book or article title
  • Each paragraph should be indented.

More Sample Annotations

Cornell University Library offers these instructions on preparing an annotated bibliography.

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How to Write Annotated Bibliographies : Steps and Examples

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Basic Steps

Annotated Bibliography

Creating an annotated bibliography involves selecting valid sources, summarizing, and evaluating them in relation to a particular research topic. Here are the basic steps to create an annotated bibliography:

1. Identify your research topic: Determine the subject or theme you're investigating and identify keywords or key phrases related to it. You should have a research question in mind. 2. Locate relevant sources: Conduct a comprehensive search using academic databases, libraries, online catalogs, and search engines to find scholarly sources such as books, journal articles, and reputable websites that are relevant to your topic. 3. Evaluate the sources: Assess the currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and repurpose of each source. Consider factors like the author's credentials, publication date, peer-review status, and the reputation of the publisher or journal. Look for pros and cons of your topic. 4. Include citation details: Create a citation for each source in the appropriate citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago). Include all necessary information such as the author's name, title of the work, publication date, and source details. 5. Read and summarize: Read each source thoroughly and take concise notes. Summarize the main ideas, arguments, methodologies, and findings presented in the source. Focus on the aspects that are most relevant to your research.  

6. Write the annotation: After the citation, write a brief paragraph (around 100-200 words) that provides an evaluation of the source. Describe the relevance of the source to your research topic, discuss the main arguments or ideas presented, and evaluate the source's strengths and weaknesses. Consider the source's methodology, bias, and its contribution to your understanding of the topic.  

7. Revise and proofread: Review your annotated bibliography for any errors, inconsistencies, or omissions. Check the accuracy of your citations and ensure that the annotations are clear, concise, and well-written. Remember to consult any specific guidelines or instructions provided by your instructor or institution, as requirements for annotated bibliographies may vary.

Example Entry

Question: How might knowledge of conspiracy theories impact our understanding misinformation on the internet?

Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy Entry Kurtz, M. L. (1980). Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans: A Reappraisal. Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association, 21(1), 7-22. This article talks about if Lee Harvey Oswald is the real killer of President Kennedy. It displays a lot of facts and witness accounts about the murder suggesting that Lee Harvey Oswald was in fact the shooter on the 6th story of the Texas School Book Deposit. Witness accounts claim to see Oswald standing on the 6th floor just moments before the shooting. It goes to talk about possible connections with the godfather of the mob Carlos Marcello.

This article is very useful because it ties the Mob in with Oswald and the killing of Kennedy. It shows a lot of facts including witness accounts and hard evidence. The mob's connection with Kennedy is very important because of the fact that John F. Kennedy also had a solid connection with the mob through his father. This article helps me cover more material for my paper and gives me a chance to write about Kennedy and Oswald’s connection with the mob. Witness accounts are key to an investigation and when they line up with the hard evidence it gives the theory that Oswald did indeed kill Kennedy.

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How To - Use the MLA Style Guide: MLA Annotated Bibliography

  • Title of source
  • Title of container
  • Other contributors
  • Publication date
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  • Magazine Article
  • Multivolume Works
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  • Websites, Social Media, and Email
  • Works Cited Practice
  • About In-text Citations
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  • MLA Annotated Bibliography
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Annotated Bibliography

What is an annotation.

an•no•ta•tion : n. 1. The act or process of furnishing critical commentary or explanatory notes. 2. A critical or explanatory note; a commentary.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., Houghton Mifflin, 2009.

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

A list of citations for books, articles, websites, and other materials where each citation is accompanied by a brief descriptive and evaluative statement, called an annotation .

Annotations are different from the abstracts you will find accompanying journal article citations in online databases. Abstracts are descriptive. Your annotation must extend beyond the descriptive element to include an evaluation of the book or article.

Why Annotations?

An annotated bibliography is a tool for exploring a topic of interest. The process of reading and reflecting on the materials you find in the gathering part of the research process can help you understand the topic, identify multiple perspectives, explore different methods used to investigate the topic, and give you ideas for developing the thesis for your paper.

How are Annotations Created?

  • Locate and record the citations for articles, books, and other materials you will use for your paper. You need to gather enough sources to represent a range of perspectives on your topic.
  • Create the citation using the MLA Handbook, Ninth Edition . Tools that can help you with this include handouts received in class and in the library.
  • Write the annotation directly below the citation, indented one inch from the start of the entry.
  • Consider the questions below. Keep it short but be very complete.

Questions to consider when evaluating the item and writing your annotation include:

  • What education, experience and/or background does the author have which contributes to their being an authority on the topic?
  • Who is the intended audience for the book or article and how does that influence the presentation of the information?
  • How does this work contribute to your argument or support claims about your topic?
  • What are the main conclusions of the author(s) and what evidence do they use to support them?

The MLA Handbook, Ninth Edition guidelines for an annotation are to indent the annotation one inch from the start of the entry to distinguish it from the half-inch hanging indent of the entry. The annotation is double spaced with no gap between the citation and the annotation.

Annotation should be no more than one paragraph; however, if you need several paragraphs, indent each one but do not add an extra space between paragraphs. Follow your instructor's guidelines on the length and format for your specific assignment. Below is an example of an annotated bibliography in MLA 9th edition style.

Example of Annotated Bibliography showing indentation for citation and annotation.

Annotated Bibliographies. University Libraries, U of Nevada Las Vegas, www.library.unlv.edu/, 2018.

  • MLA 9th Edition Annotated Bibliography Template
  • Annotated Bibliography / Resource List
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annotated bibliography citation mla format

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  • ENGL 1158--Lewis Spring 2024
  • Annnotated Bibliographies

ENGL 1158--Lewis Spring 2024: Annnotated Bibliographies

  • Narrowing a Topic
  • Evaluating Your Sources
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  • Last Updated: Feb 26, 2024 4:16 PM
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Preparing an Annotated Bibliography

A bibliography is a listing of sources on a specific subject, eg. fly fishing, the best Mexican cookbooks of all time, etc. An annotated bibliography is a list of sources with notes ('annotations')  indicating why this source is useful, or interesting, or an important source of quality information on a selected topic. 

Depending on your assignment, you will be asked to identify and evaluate potential sources and then annotate (explain) why you recommend them as important or very useful. 

Finding is the easiest part. There are lots of places to look: the open internet (aka Google), library databases (we have over 100), and so on. 

Evaluating what you find is the next task. First, you have to clarify for yourself what qualities make a source of information desirable:

-- depth of coverage of your topic,

-- currency (how new or old is the source you select? is it up to date?) 

-- audience (is this for beginners to learn about or experts?),

-- point of view (what kind of bias does the writer present to you?) 

-- authority of the author (is the writer an expert with special qualification in this topic? A degree? 20 years of experience?) 

All of the criteria above are worth considering when you evaluate something you find. What you select depends on the goal of your annotated bibliography. Is it to help a beginner learn the context of a subject? Is it meant to help people learn about a specialized narrow topic area?  These are the kind of questions to ask yourself and be able to answer for someone else who looks over your annotated bibliography. No AI can replace human intelligence and evaluation skills--this is why annotated bibliographies are so useful to researchers. Sure, we can search the internet and find a ton of info very quickly. What is harder, requires thought, and is incredibly useful is the evaluation of a real human being. 

Sample Entry of Formatting and Content of an Annotated Bibliography

annotated bibliography citation mla format

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What is an Annotated Bibliography or a research annotation

What is an Annotated Bibliography (AB)?

An annotated bibliography (AB) is a list of citations (journal articles, books, etc) where each citation is followed by a brief (about 120-150 words) evaluative and descriptive paragraph of the article (i.e. a summary of the research article in your own words). The purpose of annotating is for the reader to get the "gist" of the article by reading this one paragraph . I recommend that in your paragraph(s) [i.e., annotation] you expose the author's point of view , key findings , and show how their work is relevant (e.g., strengthens, has opposing views, complements, provides a new perspective) to your topic. As you build your AB ask yourself: (a) is the article/source adding information to your topic , (b) is it contradicting or confirming ideas you may have read previously about , (c) is it a new source , (d) is the author an authority in the area (e.g., published a lot in good journals)? Asking these questions will help you put together a succint annotated bibliography that will later provide key information to put your presentation together. It will also save you: (a) time , since recalling what the article is about will be easier after reading other papers for your topic, and (b) reduce the chances of word-for-word plagiarism because the summary will be in your words (you will still need an in-text citation though).

In general: summarize , assess and reflect on the work you are reading. By doing this you are engaging in the analysis of the article in meaningful ways- it will pay off later when you put your presentation or article together.

FYI: An annotated bibliography is NOT a copy of the ABSTRACT but it can be seen as your first step towards a REVIEW of THE LITERATURE in your selected topic.

For more details on Annotated Bibliographies check out the resources below.

Cornell: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography

Purdue: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/  (Direct LINK )

University of Wisconsin: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/AnnotatedBibliography.html

Literature Review

What is a literature Review? How is this different or the same as a review paper?

A literature review can be: (a) a simple summary of the sources in a narrow topic within a subject area of interest or (b) it can be an organized summary and synthesis of the same topic/subject in the form of a paper. Some literature reviews, if standalone, could become review papers or survey papers. The latter usually relatet papers to one another, present what is the most important things in the field at present and perhaps provides future directions of work in such a field. These papers usually are longer and may have thousands of references associated to them.

Another way of thinking about this is that if the literature review is part of a "thesis or dissertation", it helps provide a context for the research and has less references than an actual review paper. However, if this review is a standalone paper that helps synthesize and summarize information in that particular (subject/field) then we could argue that it is a review paper or survey paper.

What is the Literature Review?

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Example Annotated Bibliography

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Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources you have read about your topic and are considering for your research project. Each entry or annotation is built as a block paragraph of about 7-10 lines of text (the size of your annotation can vary). Each entry should have a citation at the top of the annotation, a summary, and your critical evaluation. This evaluation is crucial to help you decide how important the book or chapter is for your topic. Annotated bibliographies also help other readers assess titles for their projects.

Example of an annotated bibliography.

Elements of an Annotated Bibliography

1. Provide a complete citation using a citation format of your choice. MLA is a standard citation format in the humanities.

2. Provide a summary reflecting what the item is about.

  • Main idea and scope
  • Brief description of the content

3. The next part of the annotation is your assessment.

  • A sentence evaluating the authority of the author
  • Any bias found in the work
  • Value it brings to your research

The example above includes the following assessment:

"...the manual is an excellent source for students new to philosophy. Like other books in this area , the manual contains sections of grammar, writing strategies, introductory logic, and the different types of writing encountered in various areas of philosophy..."

Notice that the annotation in this example is comparing the book to other books in the area.

4. The last part of the annotation is a closing statement referring to the work's value to the research. The example above includes the following closing statement:

"Of particular note, however, is the section on conducting research philosophy. The research strategies and sources of information described there are very much up-to-date..."

annotated bibliography citation mla format

Writing Methods

There are three main effective ways to use the work of others in your writing:  

Summarizing

Brief presentation, in your own words, of another author's main points as related to your writing.

Useful practice when:

  • You need only short passages or sentences to convey the meaning
  • You wish to draw your readers’ attention to particular points, conclusions or observations

Paraphrasing

Your interpretation of another author's words or ideas, usually shorter passages or paragraphs.

  • Meaning is more important than exact phrasing
  • Ideas or resources are more important than exact wording
  • Simplifying concepts will help your reader

Quoting 

Y our use of an author's exact words, terms, or phrases in direct quotes. 

  • Author’s words are very effective or significant
  • Author is a recognized authority
  • Exactness, accuracy, or conciseness matter
  • You are pointing to or analyzing the original text

Mountain Top By Alice Noir for the Noun Project

The more deeply you understand a topic, the better you will be at paraphrasing and quoting.

Read actively! Take notes and make annotations.  

Learn more about when to paraphrase and when to quote.

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Llanera, Tracy.   "Rethinking Nihilism: Rorty Vs Taylor, Dreyfus and Kelly."   

Philosophy & Social Criticism.   vol. 42,   no. 9,     2016,   pp. 937-950.  

doi:10.1177/0191453716645151.   Accessed 1 Jan. 2017.

Lukainoff, Greg and Jonathan Haidt.   "The Coddling of the American Mind."    

The Atlantic,    1 Sept. 2015,   pp. 42-52.

 Learn more:  Citing Periodicals

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  www.colorado.edu/libraries/. Accessed 1 Jan. 2017.

 Learn more:  Citing Electronic Sources

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  2. Annotated Bibliography Mla Format Example

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  3. 7+ Annotated Bibliography Templates

    annotated bibliography citation mla format

  4. MLA Annotated Bibliography Format

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  5. Sample Mla Style Annotated Bibliography

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  6. How To Write A Bibliography Examples In Mla Style

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  5. MLA Annotated Bibliography

  6. Writing an Annotated Bibliography MLA and APA 2023

COMMENTS

  1. MLA Style Annotated Bibliography

    Published on July 13, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on June 14, 2022. An annotated bibliography is a special assignment that lists sources in a way similar to the MLA Works Cited list, but providing an annotation for each source giving extra information.

  2. MLA Annotated Bibliography Format

    ( 101) Citation Generator Source Type Search The MLA Style Center provides the following guidance for formatting an MLA annotated bibliography: Title your reference page as "Annotated Bibliography" or "Annotated List of Works Cited." Include annotations after the full, listed reference. Annotations should typically not exceed a single paragraph.

  3. Annotated Bibliography Samples

    For information on formatting MLA citations, see our MLA 9th Edition (2021) Formatting and Style Guide. Sample APA Annotation Ehrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and dimed: On (not) getting by in America. Henry Holt and Company.

  4. MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Annotated Bibliography

    From the Purdue OWL. Annotations An annotated bibliography is a list of citations for various books, articles, and other sources on a topic. The annotated bibliography looks like a Works Cited page but includes an annotation after each source cited. An annotation is a short summary and/or critical evaluation of a source.

  5. Annotated Bibliography Examples for MLA & APA

    Table of contents What is an annotated bibliography? Why include annotations? Step 1: Analyze your sources Step 2: Write the descriptions Step 3a: Formatting an MLA style annotated bibliography Step 3b: Formatting an APA style annotated bibliography Annotated Bibliography Templates Using the EasyBib Annotation Tool

  6. Annotated Bibliographies

    Definitions 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.

  7. Writing an Annotated Bibliography

    Use the third person (e.g., he, she, the author) instead of the first person (e.g., I, my, me), unless discussing your own research. Sample Annotation London, Herbert. "Five Myths of the Television Age." Television Quarterly, vol. 10, no. 1, Mar. 1982, pp. 81-89.

  8. How to Write an Annotated Bibliography

    UMGC Library Website How to Write an Annotated Bibliography - MLA Style Home What is an annotation? An annotation is more than just a brief summary of an article, book, website, or other type of publication. An annotation should give enough information to make a reader decide whether to read the complete work.

  9. MLA Annotated Bibliography

    Your professor may ask that you create an annotated bibliography in MLA style. An annotated bibliography is similar to the Works Cited page found at the end of a paper. The paper formatting is the same but instead of following a full research paper, the student will write a brief annotation for each source which will directly follow the source ...

  10. MLA Annotated Bibliography Examples and Writing Guide

    Yes, you do. Explore other fun formatting facts for creating your MLA annotated bibliography. Annotated bibliographies don't have specific guidelines in the 8 th edition MLA handbook for making quotes. Therefore, if you need to include quotes, keep them short. Use hanging indents for citations.

  11. MLA Style Guide, 9th Edition: MLA Annotated Bibliography

    The MLA Handbook, Ninth Edition guidelines for an annotation are to indent the annotation one inch from the start of the entry to distinguish it from the half-inch hanging indent of the entry. The annotation is double spaced with no gap between the citation and the annotation. Annotation should be no more than one paragraph; however, if you ...

  12. MLA Citation Guide (8th Edition): Annotated Bibliography

    An annotated bibliography is a list of citations for various books, articles, and other sources on a topic. The annotated bibliography looks like a Works Cited page but includes an annotation after each source cited. An annotation is a short summary and/or critical evaluation of a source and ranges anywhere from 100-300 words.

  13. Annotated Bibliographies in MLA

    Format an annotated bibliography in Word the same way you'd format any paper in MLA style. Your Word document should have: An easily readable font (most professors prefer Times New Roman) 11-13 point size (most professors prefer 12 point font) Double spacing. 1-inch margins. Your last name and page number at the top right of each page header

  14. MLA annotated bibliography

    2 ( 12) An annotated bibliography is a list containing complete information of sources, such as journals, books, and reports, cited in the text, along with a note or annotation for each source. It provides a brief description of each source in about 100-150 words. Objective of an annotated bibliography

  15. MLA annotated bibliography

    An annotated bibliography in MLA format is a bibliography or Works Cited page in which the references to all the sources include annotations (short notes on each source). An annotation can be defined as a summary or analysis of a source that is included in a bibliography or Works Cited page. For help writing your essay, research paper, or other ...

  16. Annotated Bibliography

    Bibliographies are called "Works Cited" (in MLA Style) and "References" (in APA Style) Your bibliography will include the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.) that your reader would need to identify and locate the original source you're citing. An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation of a source.

  17. MLA Formatting and Style Guide

    In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order: Author. Title of source. Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location. Each element should be followed by the corresponding punctuation mark shown above.

  18. LibGuides: Annotated Bibliography: Sample MLA Annotation

    Rules! rules! rules! The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers states the following formatting rules:. The text and the works cited list should be double-spaced. Number your pages at the top right of the page. Reference list entries must have a hanging indent (to do this in Microsoft Word 2003, select the citation, click Format, then Paragraph, then Special, and choose Hanging).

  19. Creating an MLA Bibliography

    MLA bibliography formatting guidelines These are the formatting rules you need to follow to create your bibliography according to MLA's current edition guidelines. Your first page (s) will be your Works Cited page (s) and include the references that you directly refer to in your paper. Usually, this is all that is needed.

  20. MLA Format Citation Generator (Free) & Quick Guide

    12 Min read Writing your first paper in MLA format can be a bit scary. Use this simple yet comprehensive MLA style guide on all things MLA 8 to take you through the step-by-step process of creating your MLA paper. Use the MLA citation generator to create a detailed works cited page with properly formatted MLA citations.

  21. MLA Annotated Bibliography

    1. Book. This is an annotated bibliography example in the MLA format for Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather. Puzo, Mario. The Godfather. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. This text explores the themes of immigration and the pursuit of the American Dream within the framework of organized crime.

  22. How to Write Annotated Bibliographies : Steps and Examples

    Include citation details: Create a citation for each source in the appropriate citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago). Include all necessary information such as the author's name, title of the work, publication date, and source details. 5. Read and summarize: Read each source thoroughly and take concise notes.

  23. How To

    Annotation should be no more than one paragraph; however, if you need several paragraphs, indent each one but do not add an extra space between paragraphs. Follow your instructor's guidelines on the length and format for your specific assignment. Below is an example of an annotated bibliography in MLA 9th edition style. Annotated Bibliographies.

  24. ENGL 1158--Lewis Spring 2024: Annnotated Bibliographies

    A bibliography is a listing of sources on a specific subject, eg. fly fishing, the best Mexican cookbooks of all time, etc.An annotated bibliography is a list of sources with notes ('annotations') indicating why this source is useful, or interesting, or an important source of quality information on a selected topic.. Depending on your assignment, you will be asked to identify and evaluate ...

  25. Annotated Bibliography

    What is an Annotated Bibliography (AB)? An annotated bibliography (AB) is a list of citations (journal articles, books, etc) where each citation is followed by a brief (about 120-150 words) evaluative and descriptive paragraph of the article (i.e. a summary of the research article in your own words). The purpose of annotating is for the reader to get the "gist" of the article by reading this ...

  26. EasyBib®: Free Bibliography Generator

    MLA Format Guide. This is the total package when it comes to MLA format. Our easy to read guides come complete with examples and step-by-step instructions to format your full and in-text citations, paper, and works cited in MLA style. There's even information on annotated bibliographies.

  27. MLA Citation

    MLA Citation; Zotero Citation Management Software; Need Help? Video Tutorials ... MLA Using Google Docs - How to Format Your Essay. Other Citation Formats. Other Citation Formats ... Citation Machine. MLA, APA, Chicago, and more. Scroll down for additional styles. Annotated Bibliographies. Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) - Annotated ...

  28. Research Guides: French-Language Comics (La bande dessinée

    Elements of an Annotated Bibliography. 1. Provide a complete citation using a citation format of your choice. MLA is a standard citation format in the humanities. 2. Provide a summary reflecting what the item is about. Main idea and scope; Brief description of the content; 3. The next part of the annotation is your assessment.