Answer
The phrase “annotated bibliography” can sound a little scary!
But it is really just an alphabetical list of citations to books, articles, and web documents (like a regular bibliography, works cited or references page). Each citation is then typically followed by a descriptive and evaluative paragraph (the annotation). The purpose of the annotation paragraph is to give a brief description of the content of the source and to evaluate the source’s methods, conclusions, and usefulness to your research.
Your instructor should tell you if your annotation should be one or two paragraphs, as well as what should be covered in each paragraph. Most instructors will also provide sample annotated bibliographies.
For formatting tips and sample annotations, see:
- Formatting an APA Annotated Bibliography - NWTC APA Citation Guide
- Formatting an MLA Annotated Bibliography - NWTC MLA Citation Guide
- Sample APA Annotated Bibliography - Excelsior OWL (Online Writing Lab)
- Build an Annotated Bibliography Interactive Tutorial - Skidmore College
- How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography - University of Notre Dame
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