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A bibliography is a list of sources that have been used when researching a topic. They are also called "Works Cited" or "References" depending on the style format used.

An annotation is a summary and/or an evaluation.

Therefore, an annotated bibliography is when you write a summary and/or evaluation for each source in your bibliography. This means your bibliography page with include 1) your sources with complete citation in alphabetical order and 2) a summary and/or evaluation and/or reflection along with each source.

Your annotations can include up to three items, depending on the requirements of the assignment:

• Summary - you will summarize the main points of the source, paraphrasing the point of the source as well as the topics covered.
• Evaluation - you will evaluate the source on its usefulness and compare/contrast it with others sources in your bibliography. You will discuss its reliability and credibility as a source, and whether it is bias or objective. You also might discuss the goal of the source.
• Reflection - you will reflect on the overall usefulness of the source for your research. Was the source helpful to you? How can the source be used in your research paper or project? Did the source cause you to think differently about the topic?

Remember, an annotated bibliography may include all or some of these parts, so get specific instructions from your professor.

To learn more about your topic - Engaging in the creation of an annotated bibliography offers valuable benefits for researchers at all levels. Beyond mere information gathering or quote selection, it encourages deeper engagement with each source, promoting critical reading and analysis. This process fosters the development of critical thinking skills and a robust understanding of the chosen topic, ultimately leading to the formulation of a well-defined, debatable, and interesting thesis statement - a cornerstone of any successful research project.

To help other researchers:  Furthermore, annotated bibliographies can extend their impact beyond the individual researcher. When published, they serve as valuable resources for other researchers in the field, providing a comprehensive overview of the chosen topic, facilitating further exploration and understanding.

(Content on this page was borrowed heavily from the Purdue OWL.)

• Annotated Bibliography Sample (Purdue OWL)
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How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography: The Annotated Bibliography

• The Annotated Bibliography
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Explanation, Process, Directions, and Examples

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.

The Process

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.

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.

Critically Appraising the Book, Article, or Document

For guidance in critically appraising and analyzing the sources for your bibliography, see How to Critically Analyze Information Sources . For information on the author's background and views, ask at the reference desk for help finding appropriate biographical reference materials and book review sources.

Choosing the Correct Citation Style

Check with your instructor to find out which style is preferred for your class. Online citation guides for both the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) styles are linked from the Library's Citation Management page .

Sample Annotated Bibliography Entries

The following example uses APA style ( Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7th edition, 2019) for the journal citation:

Waite, L., Goldschneider, F., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults. American Sociological Review, 51 (4), 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 , 9th edition, 2021) for the journal citation. For additional annotation guidance from MLA, see 5.132: Annotated Bibliographies .

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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• What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format

What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format

Published on March 9, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 23, 2022.

An annotated bibliography is a list of source references that includes a short descriptive text (an annotation) for each source. It may be assigned as part of the research process for a paper , or as an individual assignment to gather and read relevant sources on a topic.

Scribbr’s free Citation Generator allows you to easily create and manage your annotated bibliography in APA or MLA style. To generate a perfectly formatted annotated bibliography, select the source type, fill out the relevant fields, and add your annotation.

An example of an annotated source is shown below:

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Table of contents

Annotated bibliography format: apa, mla, chicago, how to write an annotated bibliography, descriptive annotation example, evaluative annotation example, reflective annotation example, finding sources for your annotated bibliography, frequently asked questions about annotated bibliographies.

Make sure your annotated bibliography is formatted according to the guidelines of the style guide you’re working with. Three common styles are covered below:

In APA Style , both the reference entry and the annotation should be double-spaced and left-aligned.

The reference entry itself should have a hanging indent . The annotation follows on the next line, and the whole annotation should be indented to match the hanging indent. The first line of any additional paragraphs should be indented an additional time.

In an MLA style annotated bibliography , the Works Cited entry and the annotation are both double-spaced and left-aligned.

The Works Cited entry has a hanging indent. The annotation itself is indented 1 inch (twice as far as the hanging indent). If there are two or more paragraphs in the annotation, the first line of each paragraph is indented an additional half-inch, but not if there is only one paragraph.

Chicago style

In a  Chicago style annotated bibliography , the bibliography entry itself should be single-spaced and feature a hanging indent.

The annotation should be indented, double-spaced, and left-aligned. The first line of any additional paragraphs should be indented an additional time.

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For each source, start by writing (or generating ) a full reference entry that gives the author, title, date, and other information. The annotated bibliography format varies based on the citation style you’re using.

The annotations themselves are usually between 50 and 200 words in length, typically formatted as a single paragraph. This can vary depending on the word count of the assignment, the relative length and importance of different sources, and the number of sources you include.

Consider the instructions you’ve been given or consult your instructor to determine what kind of annotations they’re looking for:

• Descriptive annotations : When the assignment is just about gathering and summarizing information, focus on the key arguments and methods of each source.
• Evaluative annotations : When the assignment is about evaluating the sources , you should also assess the validity and effectiveness of these arguments and methods.
• Reflective annotations : When the assignment is part of a larger research process, you need to consider the relevance and usefulness of the sources to your own research.

These specific terms won’t necessarily be used. The important thing is to understand the purpose of your assignment and pick the approach that matches it best. Interactive examples of the different styles of annotation are shown below.

A descriptive annotation summarizes the approach and arguments of a source in an objective way, without attempting to assess their validity.

In this way, it resembles an abstract , but you should never just copy text from a source’s abstract, as this would be considered plagiarism . You’ll naturally cover similar ground, but you should also consider whether the abstract omits any important points from the full text.

The interactive example shown below describes an article about the relationship between business regulations and CO 2 emissions.

Rieger, A. (2019). Doing business and increasing emissions? An exploratory analysis of the impact of business regulation on CO 2 emissions. Human Ecology Review , 25 (1), 69–86. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26964340

An evaluative annotation also describes the content of a source, but it goes on to evaluate elements like the validity of the source’s arguments and the appropriateness of its methods .

For example, the following annotation describes, and evaluates the effectiveness of, a book about the history of Western philosophy.

Kenny, A. (2010). A new history of Western philosophy: In four parts . Oxford University Press.

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A reflective annotation is similar to an evaluative one, but it focuses on the source’s usefulness or relevance to your own research.

Reflective annotations are often required when the point is to gather sources for a future research project, or to assess how they were used in a project you already completed.

The annotation below assesses the usefulness of a particular article for the author’s own research in the field of media studies.

Manovich, Lev. (2009). The practice of everyday (media) life: From mass consumption to mass cultural production? Critical Inquiry , 35 (2), 319–331. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/596645

Manovich’s article assesses the shift from a consumption-based media culture (in which media content is produced by a small number of professionals and consumed by a mass audience) to a production-based media culture (in which this mass audience is just as active in producing content as in consuming it). He is skeptical of some of the claims made about this cultural shift; specifically, he argues that the shift towards user-made content must be regarded as more reliant upon commercial media production than it is typically acknowledged to be. However, he regards web 2.0 as an exciting ongoing development for art and media production, citing its innovation and unpredictability.

The article is outdated in certain ways (it dates from 2009, before the launch of Instagram, to give just one example). Nevertheless, its critical engagement with the possibilities opened up for media production by the growth of social media is valuable in a general sense, and its conceptualization of these changes frequently applies just as well to more current social media platforms as it does to Myspace. Conceptually, I intend to draw on this article in my own analysis of the social dynamics of Twitter and Instagram.

Before you can write your annotations, you’ll need to find sources . If the annotated bibliography is part of the research process for a paper, your sources will be those you consult and cite as you prepare the paper. Otherwise, your assignment and your choice of topic will guide you in what kind of sources to look for.

Make sure that you’ve clearly defined your topic , and then consider what keywords are relevant to it, including variants of the terms. Use these keywords to search databases (e.g., Google Scholar ), using Boolean operators to refine your search.

Sources can include journal articles, books, and other source types , depending on the scope of the assignment. Read the abstracts or blurbs of the sources you find to see whether they’re relevant, and try exploring their bibliographies to discover more. If a particular source keeps showing up, it’s probably important.

Once you’ve selected an appropriate range of sources, read through them, taking notes that you can use to build up your annotations. You may even prefer to write your annotations as you go, while each source is fresh in your mind.

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 .

A source annotation in an annotated bibliography fulfills a similar purpose to an abstract : they’re both intended to summarize the approach and key points of a source.

However, an annotation may also evaluate the source , discussing the validity and effectiveness of its arguments. Even if your annotation is purely descriptive , you may have a different perspective on the source from the author and highlight different key points.

You should never just copy text from the abstract for your annotation, as doing so constitutes plagiarism .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, August 23). What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format. Scribbr. Retrieved August 12, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/annotated-bibliography/

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Annotated Bibliographies

What this handout is about.

This handout will explain why annotated bibliographies are useful for researchers, provide an explanation of what constitutes an annotation, describe various types of annotations and styles for writing them, and offer multiple examples of annotated bibliographies in the MLA, APA, and CBE/CSE styles of citation.

Introduction

Welcome to the wonderful world of annotated bibliographies! You’re probably already familiar with the need to provide bibliographies, reference pages, and works cited lists to credit your sources when you do a research paper. An annotated bibliography includes descriptions and explanations of your listed sources beyond the basic citation information you usually provide.

Why do an annotated bibliography?

One of the reasons behind citing sources and compiling a general bibliography is so that you can prove you have done some valid research to back up your argument and claims. Readers can refer to a citation in your bibliography and then go look up the material themselves. When inspired by your text or your argument, interested researchers can access your resources. They may wish to double check a claim or interpretation you’ve made, or they may simply wish to continue researching according to their interests. But think about it: even though a bibliography provides a list of research sources of all types that includes publishing information, how much does that really tell a researcher or reader about the sources themselves?

An annotated bibliography provides specific information about each source you have used. As a researcher, you have become an expert on your topic: you have the ability to explain the content of your sources, assess their usefulness, and share this information with others who may be less familiar with them. Think of your paper as part of a conversation with people interested in the same things you are; the annotated bibliography allows you to tell readers what to check out, what might be worth checking out in some situations, and what might not be worth spending the time on. It’s kind of like providing a list of good movies for your classmates to watch and then going over the list with them, telling them why this movie is better than that one or why one student in your class might like a particular movie better than another student would. You want to give your audience enough information to understand basically what the movies are about and to make an informed decision about where to spend their money based on their interests.

What does an annotated bibliography do?

A good annotated bibliography:

• encourages you to think critically about the content of the works you are using, their place within a field of study, and their relation to your own research and ideas.
• proves you have read and understand your sources.
• establishes your work as a valid source and you as a competent researcher.
• situates your study and topic in a continuing professional conversation.
• provides a way for others to decide whether a source will be helpful to their research if they read it.
• could help interested researchers determine whether they are interested in a topic by providing background information and an idea of the kind of work going on in a field.

What elements might an annotation include?

• Bibliography according to the appropriate citation style (MLA, APA, CBE/CSE, etc.).
• Explanation of main points and/or purpose of the work—basically, its thesis—which shows among other things that you have read and thoroughly understand the source.
• Verification or critique of the authority or qualifications of the author.
• Comments on the worth, effectiveness, and usefulness of the work in terms of both the topic being researched and/or your own research project.
• The point of view or perspective from which the work was written. For instance, you may note whether the author seemed to have particular biases or was trying to reach a particular audience.
• Relevant links to other work done in the area, like related sources, possibly including a comparison with some of those already on your list. You may want to establish connections to other aspects of the same argument or opposing views.

The first four elements above are usually a necessary part of the annotated bibliography. Points 5 and 6 may involve a little more analysis of the source, but you may include them in other kinds of annotations besides evaluative ones. Depending on the type of annotation you use, which this handout will address in the next section, there may be additional kinds of information that you will need to include.

For more extensive research papers (probably ten pages or more), you often see resource materials grouped into sub-headed sections based on content, but this probably will not be necessary for the kinds of assignments you’ll be working on. For longer papers, ask your instructor about their preferences concerning annotated bibliographies.

Did you know that annotations have categories and styles?

Decisions, decisions.

As you go through this handout, you’ll see that, before you start, you’ll need to make several decisions about your annotations: citation format, type of annotation, and writing style for the annotation.

First of all, you’ll need to decide which kind of citation format is appropriate to the paper and its sources, for instance, MLA or APA. This may influence the format of the annotations and bibliography. Typically, bibliographies should be double-spaced and use normal margins (you may want to check with your instructor, since they may have a different style they want you to follow).

MLA (Modern Language Association)

See the UNC Libraries citation tutorial for basic MLA bibliography formatting and rules.

• MLA documentation is generally used for disciplines in the humanities, such as English, languages, film, and cultural studies or other theoretical studies. These annotations are often summary or analytical annotations.
• Title your annotated bibliography “Annotated Bibliography” or “Annotated List of Works Cited.”
• Following MLA format, use a hanging indent for your bibliographic information. This means the first line is not indented and all the other lines are indented four spaces (you may ask your instructor if it’s okay to tab over instead of using four spaces).
• Begin your annotation immediately after the bibliographic information of the source ends; don’t skip a line down unless you have been told to do so by your instructor.

APA (American Psychological Association)

See the UNC Libraries citation tutorial for basic APA bibliography formatting and rules.

• Natural and social sciences, such as psychology, nursing, sociology, and social work, use APA documentation. It is also used in economics, business, and criminology. These annotations are often succinct summaries.
• Annotated bibliographies for APA format do not require a special title. Use the usual “References” designation.
• Like MLA, APA uses a hanging indent: the first line is set flush with the left margin, and all other lines are indented four spaces (you may ask your instructor if it’s okay to tab over instead of using four spaces).
• After the bibliographic citation, drop down to the next line to begin the annotation, but don’t skip an extra line.
• The entire annotation is indented an additional two spaces, so that means each of its lines will be six spaces from the margin (if your instructor has said that it’s okay to tab over instead of using the four spaces rule, indent the annotation two more spaces in from that point).

CBE (Council of Biology Editors)/CSE (Council of Science Editors)

See the UNC Libraries citation tutorial for basic CBE/CSE bibliography formatting and rules.

• CBE/CSE documentation is used by the plant sciences, zoology, microbiology, and many of the medical sciences.
• Annotated bibliographies for CBE/CSE format do not require a special title. Use the usual “References,” “Cited References,” or “Literature Cited,” and set it flush with the left margin.
• Bibliographies for CSE in general are in a slightly smaller font than the rest of the paper.
• When using the name-year system, as in MLA and APA, the first line of each entry is set flush with the left margin, and all subsequent lines, including the annotation, are indented three or four spaces.
• When using the citation-sequence method, each entry begins two spaces after the number, and every line, including the annotation, will be indented to match the beginning of the entry, or may be slightly further indented, as in the case of journals.
• After the bibliographic citation, drop down to the next line to begin the annotation, but don’t skip an extra line. The entire annotation follows the indentation of the bibliographic entry, whether it’s N-Y or C-S format.
• Annotations in CBE/CSE are generally a smaller font size than the rest of the bibliographic information.

After choosing a documentation format, you’ll choose from a variety of annotation categories presented in the following section. Each type of annotation highlights a particular approach to presenting a source to a reader. For instance, an annotation could provide a summary of the source only, or it could also provide some additional evaluation of that material.

In addition to making choices related to the content of the annotation, you’ll also need to choose a style of writing—for instance, telescopic versus paragraph form. Your writing style isn’t dictated by the content of your annotation. Writing style simply refers to the way you’ve chosen to convey written information. A discussion of writing style follows the section on annotation types.

Types of annotations

As you now know, one annotation does not fit all purposes! There are different kinds of annotations, depending on what might be most important for your reader to learn about a source. Your assignments will usually make it clear which citation format you need to use, but they may not always specify which type of annotation to employ. In that case, you’ll either need to pick your instructor’s brain a little to see what they want or use clue words from the assignment itself to make a decision. For instance, the assignment may tell you that your annotative bibliography should give evidence proving an analytical understanding of the sources you’ve used. The word analytical clues you in to the idea that you must evaluate the sources you’re working with and provide some kind of critique.

Summary annotations

There are two kinds of summarizing annotations, informative and indicative.

Summarizing annotations in general have a couple of defining features:

• They sum up the content of the source, as a book report might.
• They give an overview of the arguments and proofs/evidence addressed in the work and note the resulting conclusion.
• They do not judge the work they are discussing. Leave that to the critical/evaluative annotations.
• When appropriate, they describe the author’s methodology or approach to material. For instance, you might mention if the source is an ethnography or if the author employs a particular kind of theory.

Informative annotation

Informative annotations sometimes read like straight summaries of the source material, but they often spend a little more time summarizing relevant information about the author or the work itself.

Indicative annotation

Indicative annotation is the second type of summary annotation, but it does not attempt to include actual information from the argument itself. Instead, it gives general information about what kinds of questions or issues are addressed by the work. This sometimes includes the use of chapter titles.

Critical/evaluative

Evaluative annotations don’t just summarize. In addition to tackling the points addressed in summary annotations, evaluative annotations:

• evaluate the source or author critically (biases, lack of evidence, objective, etc.).
• show how the work may or may not be useful for a particular field of study or audience.
• explain how researching this material assisted your own project.

Combination

An annotated bibliography may combine elements of all the types. In fact, most of them fall into this category: a little summarizing and describing, a little evaluation.

Writing style

Ok, next! So what does it mean to use different writing styles as opposed to different kinds of content? Content is what belongs in the annotation, and style is the way you write it up. First, choose which content type you need to compose, and then choose the style you’re going to use to write it

This kind of annotated bibliography is a study in succinctness. It uses a minimalist treatment of both information and sentence structure, without sacrificing clarity. Warning: this kind of writing can be harder than you might think.

Don’t skimp on this kind of annotated bibliography. If your instructor has asked for paragraph form, it likely means that you’ll need to include several elements in the annotation, or that they expect a more in-depth description or evaluation, for instance. Make sure to provide a full paragraph of discussion for each work.

As you can see now, bibliographies and annotations are really a series of organized steps. They require meticulous attention, but in the end, you’ve got an entire testimony to all the research and work you’ve done. At the end of this handout you’ll find examples of informative, indicative, evaluative, combination, telescopic, and paragraph annotated bibliography entries in MLA, APA, and CBE formats. Use these examples as your guide to creating an annotated bibliography that makes you look like the expert you are!

MLA Example

APA Example

CBE Example

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

American Psychological Association. 2010. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . 6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Bell, I. F., and J. Gallup. 1971. A Reference Guide to English, American, and Canadian Literature . Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

Bizzell, Patricia, and Bruce Herzburg. 1991. Bedford Bibliography for Teachers of Writing , 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford Books.

Center for Information on Language Teaching, and The English Teaching Information Center of the British Council. 1968. Language-Teaching Bibliography . Cambridge: Cambridge University.

Engle, Michael, Amy Blumenthal, and Tony Cosgrave. 2012. “How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography.” Olin & Uris Libraries. Cornell University. Last updated September 25, 2012. https://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/content/how-prepare-annotated-bibliography.

Gibaldi, Joseph. 2009. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , 7th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America.

Huth, Edward. 1994. Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers . New York: University of Cambridge.

Kilborn, Judith. 2004. “MLA Documentation.” LEO: Literacy Education Online. Last updated March 16, 2004. https://leo.stcloudstate.edu/research/mla.html.

Spatt, Brenda. 1991. Writing from Sources , 3rd ed. New York: St. Martin’s.

University of Kansas. 2018. “Bibliographies.” KU Writing Center. Last updated April 2018. http://writing.ku.edu/bibliographies .

University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2019. “Annotated Bibliography.” The Writing Center. Accessed June 14, 2019. https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/annotatedbibliography/ .

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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How to Write an Annotated Bibliography - APA Style (7th Edition)

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 as we will see when we look at the two major types of annotations.

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:

McKinnon, A. (2019). Lessons learned in year one of business.  Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting ,  30 (4), 26–28. This article describes some of the difficulties many nurses experience when transitioning from nursing to a legal nurse consulting business. Pointing out issues of work-life balance, as well as the differences of working for someone else versus working for yourself, the author offers their personal experience as a learning tool. The process of becoming an entrepreneur is not often discussed in relation to nursing, and rarely delves into only the first year of starting a new business. Time management, maintaining an existing job, decision-making, and knowing yourself in order to market yourself are discussed with some detail. The author goes on to describe how important both the nursing professional community will be to a new business, and the importance of mentorship as both the mentee and mentor in individual success that can be found through professional connections. The article’s focus on practical advice for nurses seeking to start their own business does not detract from the advice about universal struggles of entrepreneurship makes this an article of interest to a wide-ranging audience.

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.

McKinnon, A. (2019). Lessons learned in year one of business.  Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting ,  30 (4), 26–28. This article describes some of the difficulty many nurses experience when transitioning from nursing to a nurse consulting business. While the article focuses on issues of work-life balance, the differences of working for someone else versus working for yourself, marketing, and other business issues the author’s offer of only their personal experience is brief with few or no alternative solutions provided. There is no mention throughout the article of making use of other research about starting a new business and being successful. While relying on the anecdotal advice for their list of issues, the author does reference other business resources such as the Small Business Administration to help with business planning and professional organizations that can help with mentorships. The article is a good resource for those wanting to start their own legal nurse consulting business, a good first advice article even. However, entrepreneurs should also use more business research studies focused on starting a new business, with strategies against known or expected pitfalls and issues new businesses face, and for help on topics the author did not touch in this abbreviated list of lessons learned.

Now you are ready to begin writing your own annotated bibliography.

• 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 may be arranged alphabetically or chronologically, check with your instructor to see what he or she prefers.

Please see the  APA Examples page  for more information on citing in APA style.

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What is the difference between an annotation and an abstract?

An abstract is a direct summary of a text. It is a basic description of an article, book, document, etc. Many of the articles you find will have an abstract already written for you. You may not copy an abstract and hand it in as an annotation.

An annotation is an explanation of a text. It includes a description of the article or book, but also has an evaluation of the reliability and usefulness of a source. It may also include your reaction to the information you have found. An annotation is something you must write in your own words.

Don't Forget!

• Read your assignment carefully!
• Don't wait until the last minute!
• Look for your instructor's definition of "Annotated Bibliography," if there is one.
• Underline or highlight specific instructions including:
• How many sources you need.
• What kind of sources you need. Books? Articles? Websites?
• Find out if your instructor wants your opinion included in the annotation.
• Figure out what citation format your instructor wants. MLA? APA?
• If you aren't sure about a certain part of your assignment, ask or email your instructor before the assignment is due!
• Purdue OWL - Annotated Bibilographies

Examples of Good Annotations

• Annotation Example from a CS105 Class I know it's not from an ED class, but it provides a good example of an annotated citation.
• Annotation Example in APA This is an example taken from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (Purdue OWL) for a book.

What is an annotated bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources (articles, books, websites, etc.) being used for research that includes the citation (bibliographic information like title, author, publisher, etc.), a short description of the information in the source, and an evaluation of the source.

The description and evaluation should be  written in your own words and contain information about the research method, the source credibility, conclusions about the source, and its usefullness to your research.

Along with the summary of the information, an annotated bibliography describes how the source directly relates to your research and why the source is trustworthy.

A typical annotated bibliography is around 150 words.

Why should I write an annotated bibliography?

An annotated bibliography may be given as an assignment to help you gain a basic knowledge of a topic you are researching. It can also help you figure out if there is enough relevant information on your topic. It is a good first step in the research process because it lays out your sources and how you are planning to use them. Creating annotations helps you to read your sources more critically and carefully and decide if they are useful. By reading several sources on a topic and evaluating them, you can understand the facts, opinions, and issues surround a topic and form your own point-of-view.

If you are given an annotated bibliography as an assignment, think about the long term. Figure out if you will have a research paper due later on that will incorporate the sources you cited in your bibliography. If so, make sure you are reviewing your sources with your future paper in mind. If you do a good job on your annotations, you will know what sources to focus your paper on, and it will save you time later.

Step by Step Instructions

Step One: Read your assignment!

Make sure you have a clear idea of how many sources you need, how many annotations you need, and what types of sources you are looking for. 

Step Two: Make sure you have a clear and concise topic to research.

Start with a topic that interests you and falls within the requirements of your assignment. Leave room for flexibility. You may not be able to find enough sources for the topic you want, so be willing to change your topic slightly, if necessary. Look up some synonyms (words that have the same meanings) for your topic.

Step Three: Find books, articles, or websites.

Do the research! Compile a list of sources that pertain to your topic.

Make sure you are looking for full text when searching for journal articles in a database. 

Step Four: Read your sources critically and carefully!

Examine and review the items to make sure you can find the information you need. Take notes so you can use them in your summary. Choose the number of sources your assignment requires. 

    Don't just read the abstract . (For more information on abstracts, see the second box on the left side of this page).

Step Five: Create your annotated bibliography. This can be done right in Noodletools (for more information on Noodletools see the box on the top left side of this page).

• Cite the source (book, article, etc.) using the style your instructor requested (MLA, APA, etc.).
• Write a brief summary or description of your article in your own words , in paragraph form.
• Evaluate your source . Make sure to check for guidelines given to you by your instructor. If there are none, try the CRAAP method:
• Currency:  Is this source current? When was it written? Check your assignment for guidelines on dates.
• Relevance:  Write one or more brief sentences that draw conclusions about how this source relates directly to your research. Why did you choose this source for your particular topic. How does it make your paper more accurate, credible, and informative?
• Authority and Accuracy: Write one or more sentences that talk about the credibility of the source. This can include information about the background of the author and/or information about the research methods used, and the intended audience of the research.  Who wrote the article or book? Why did they write this? Who is the content written for? Is the information supported by evidence?  Does the information provided conflict with what you already know about the topic?
• Purpose: Write one or more sentences that draw conclusions about the information in this souce. What did you learn from it? Compare this source to other sources. Why is this source important compared to other sources? Why does this information exist?

Remember you are aiming for around 150 words. So be as concise as possible.

For more information on the CRAAP Method, see the "More Information" box on the bottom left of this page.

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Resources for Creating an Annotated Bibliography

Purdue's OWL (Online Writing Lab) provides guidance on creating an annotated bibliography. Below are a few topics covered by the OWL.

• Annotated Bibliographies - Definitions & Format
• Annotated Bibliography Breakdown
• Annotated Bibliography Samples
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What is An Annotated Bibliography?

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

Each source in the annotated bibliography has a citation - the information a reader needs to find the original source, in a consistent format to make that easier. These consistent formats are called citation styles.  The most common citation styles are MLA (Modern Language Association) for humanities, and APA (American Psychological Association) for social sciences.

Annotations are about 4 to 6 sentences long (roughly 150 words), and address:

•     Main focus or purpose of the work
•     Usefulness or relevance to your research topic 
•     Special features of the work that were unique or helpful
•     Background and credibility of the author
•     Conclusions or observations reached by the author
•     Conclusions or observations reached by you

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.

APA 7th Annotated Bibliography Examples

Journal article.

Alvarez, N. & Mearns, J. (2014). The benefits of writing and performing in the spoken word poetry community.  The Arts in Psychotherapy, 41 (3), 263-268.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2014.03.004 Prior research has shown narrative writing to help with making meaning out of trauma. This article uses grounded theory to analyze semi-structured interviews with ten spoken word poets.  Because spoken word poetry is performed live, it creates personal and community connections that enhance the emotional development and resolution offered by the practice of writing. The findings are limited by the small, nonrandom sample (all the participants were from the same community).

• APA 7th Sample Annotated Bibliography

Literature Review Resources

Literature Review How To  (University Library) offers useful tips on how to write a literature review and provides you with information on things you should and should not do.

Writing a Literature Review (Boston College)

Writing a Literature Review - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University

Review of Literature (University of Wisconsin)

Write a Literature Review (UC Santa Cruz)

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What is an Annotated Bibliography?

A bibliography is an organized list of sources (books, journal articles, web sources, etc.) formatted in a particular citation style (such as MLA, APA, or Chicago).  An annotation is a descriptive paragraph.  So, an annotated bibliography is a bibliography that contains a descriptive paragraph about each of the sources listed in the bibliography.

Why write an annotated bibliography?

Annotated bibliographies demonstrate to your readers the quality and depth of the research you have done for your paper.  The annotations also provide the reader with more information on which of your sources they should read to learn more about specific aspects of your topic.

When preparing for a research paper, writing annotations for your sources compels you to read and understand each source more critically. Annotations help you to examine the relevancy and unique contribution of each source to your topic while at the same time, may identify gaps in your research for further study.

Use an annotated bibliography to:

• Demonstrate to your readers the quality and depth of research you have done on a topic
• Critically evaluate your sources to determine any gaps in research

Annotated Bibliographies: An Illustrated Guide

(Carnegie Vincent Library, 2012, April 18)

Writing the Annotation

The annotation is a short paragraph, 3 -5 sentences long, that follows a citation.  The annotation explains to your reader why you are using that particular source in your paper and how it connects to your paper.  As stated in your assignment the annotation should do the following:

Be able to explain the content of the source in your own words.

Identify the type of source, i.e. academic journal article, book, etc.  Note whether the source is from a peer-reviewed journal, or is written for researchers and professionals.  Does the source include a bibliography for the sources used as support, or at least mention where the author got the information?

Consider and explain how the source is relevant to your research question.  Note whether the source provides an overview, specific examples, or in-depth research that supports or answers your research question.

Example of an Annotation

Example 1: (mla style, book).

Webster, Graham.  Celtic Religion in Roman Britain . Totowa, N.J: Barnes & Noble Books, 1987. Print.

Webster, Reader Emeritus at the Department of Extramural Studies at the University of Birmingham, discusses how the religious beliefs and practices of the Celts were integrated while the Celts were under Roman rule.  The author uses archaeological evidence and mythology to discuss the origins of the Celtic religion, the use of the hero figure, and Roman acculturation of the Celts. The book contains an extensive bibliography, photographs and illustrations that are used by the author to illustrate the evidence presented. The chapter about Celtic sanctuaries, temples, and shrines is especially useful for providing an overview of Celtic burial practices. This book is written for academics but can be read by anyone interested in history.

Example 2: (MLA style, article from a database)

Doniger, Wendy. "The Mythology Of Masquerading Animals, Or, Bestiality."  Social Research  71.3 (2004): 711-732.  Business Source Complete . Web. 22 Jan. 2014.

Doniger, a professor of the History of Religions at the University Chicago provides an overview of bestial masquerades in folktales and mythology and examines the relationship between humans and animals. This article is especially helpful in pointing out the analogy of night and day time transformations, of animals into human, and reality versus fiction. The article contains notes and references. The intended audience is students of mythology, but could also include the layperson.

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An  annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of your sources. It may include any or all of these 3 sections, depending on your assignment requirements:

• Summary:   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?  
• Assessment:  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?  

Credit Courtesy of  Purdue OWL

Sample Annotated Bibliography (in APA):

Trevor, C.O., Lansford, B. and Black, J.W. (2004). Employee turnover and job performance: monitoring the influences of salary growth and promotion. Journal of Armchair Psychology, 113 (1), 56-64.

In this article Trevor et al. review the influences of pay and job opportunities in respect to job performance, turnover rates and employee motivation. The authors use data gained through organizational surveys of blue-chip companies in Vancouver, Canada to try to identify the main causes of employee turnover and whether it is linked to salary growth. Their research focuses on assessing a range of pay structures such as pay for performance and organizational reward schemes. The main limitation of the article is that the survey sample was restricted to mid-level management, thus the authors indicate that further, more extensive, research needs to be undertaken to develop a more in-depth understanding of employee turnover and job performance. The article is useful to my research topic, as Trevor et al. suggest that there are numerous reasons for employee turnover and variances in employee motivation and performance. It will not form the basis of my research; however, it will be useful supplementary information for my research on pay structures.

Credit courtesy of UNSW Sydney

Extra Resources

• Overview of Annotated Bibliographies From Purdue OWL
• What is an Annotated Bibliography? From University of New South Wales
• What's included in an Annotated Bibliography? From University of Alberta
• Annotated Bibliography Samples From Excelsior OWL
• How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography From Cornell University

Citing Your Sources

While writing your annotated bibliography, you will need to list your sources in proper formatting above your annotations.

For help with citations, check out our Citing Sources Guide  

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How to Write an Annotated Bibliography, With Examples

An annotated bibliography is a type of bibliography that includes a comment by the author about the source in addition to the source’s publishing information. The author’s notes, or annotations, can discuss anything relevant to the topic, such as the source’s accuracy, the context in which it was written, or even your personal views on the source.

Annotated bibliographies are sometimes a requirement in assignments, so it’s a good idea to learn their rules. Below, we explain how to write an annotated bibliography in APA, MLA, and Chicago formats. We even include an annotated bibliography example for each.

Give your writing extra polish Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly

What is an annotated bibliography?

Annotated bibliographies are a type of bibliography with notes from the author on each source. These notes are called “annotations” and generally run around 50–150 words . The notes themselves have a very specific format, depending on the style guide used, as explained below.

What do annotated bibliography notes talk about?

Annotations in bibliographies can discuss anything relevant to the paper’s or book’s topic or give context to the reader so they can better understand the source. There are no formal restrictions on what annotations can be about, but in general, they usually fall into these categories:

• a brief overview of the source
• the background of the source’s author
• context about how or why the source was written
• the accuracy of the source
• any biases the source shows
• anything the source doesn’t address
• elements of the source that are particularly useful, like graphs or charts
• your personal views on the source

How to cite sources in an annotated bibliography

Annotated bibliographies cite their sources the same way as any other type of bibliography , including a works cited page or reference list . Simply follow the standard rules for whatever format you’re using when writing the full citation.

If you need help, Grammarly’s auto-citation feature can automatically create a citation if you’re using one of the ten most popular online source websites: Wikipedia, Frontiers, PLOS One, ScienceDirect, SAGE Journals, PubMed, Elsevier, DOAJ, arXiv, or Springer. Otherwise, feel free to use our free citation generator to create a full citation in whatever style you need.

How to write an annotated bibliography in APA, MLA, and Chicago

How to write an annotated bibliography in apa.

Annotated bibliographies in APA follow the same rules for page margins, font, and line spacing as other pages in the APA format , which you can find in the link.

The annotations for an annotated bibliography in APA, however, follow specific formatting rules:

• Annotations appear underneath the source they refer to.
• Use an indentation of 0.5 inches from the left margin (1.5 inches from the edge of the page) for all lines of the annotation, just like a block quote.
• The first line of an annotation does not get indented any further; use the same indentation as the other lines.
• If the annotation spans more than one paragraph, use an extra indentation of 0.5 inches (2 inches from the edge of the page) for the first line of any paragraphs after the first. Again, this follows the same format as block quotes.
• Sources are organized in alphabetical order by the creator’s surname, or last name (which comes first in citation entries).

How to write an annotated bibliography in MLA

The MLA format offers guidelines on both the formatting and content of annotations:

• Annotations should “describe or evaluate sources.” They should not discuss minor details, cite evidence, quote the source, or re-list the points in the source’s argument.
• Annotations can be written in either complete or incomplete sentences.
• Place annotations underneath the citation.
• Indent your annotation an additional 1 inch from the start of the entry (2 inches from the edge of the page). This differentiates it from the citation’s first indent (1 inch from the edge of the page) and its hanging indent (1.5 inches from the edge of the page).
• If the annotation spans more than one paragraph, use an extra indentation of 0.5 inches (2.5 inches from the edge of the page) for the first line of any paragraphs after the first.
• Title the page either “Annotated Bibliography” or “Annotated List of Works Cited.”
• You can choose whether to organize sources by the subject, date of publication, or alphabetically by author or title.

How to write an annotated bibliography in Chicago

Because the Chicago format is designed to be flexible, its rules for annotated bibliographies are more open-ended than the other formats. Here are the guidelines for how to write an annotated bibliography in Chicago style:

• If annotations are short and/or not included for every source, you can place annotations in brackets directly after the full citation, on the same line. If annotations are more detailed, start them on a new line underneath the full citation.
• Each line of an annotation is indented an additional 0.5 inches from the start of the entry (1.5 inches from the edge of the page). It should be equal to the hanging indent of the full citation.
• Annotated bibliographies may contain an author’s note at the top of the page. This should provide context about why the author chose these sources or how the page is organized.

Annotated bibliography examples

Annotated bibliography example for apa.

Diamond, J. (1997). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies . W. W. Norton & Company. This book, which won the Pulitzer Prize, attempts to answer the question of why some civilizations succeeded while others faded away into history. Author Jared Diamond emphasizes the environmental and geographical influences on a civilization as factors for success, more than a civilization’s culture or race. While this book proves scientifically that race is inconsequential in the success of a civilization, critics accuse Diamond of reducing the whole of human history down to “environmental determinism.”

Annotated bibliography example for MLA

Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies . New York, W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. This book, which won the Pulitzer Prize, attempts to answer the question of why some civilizations succeeded while others faded away into history. Author Jared Diamond emphasizes the environmental and geographical influences on a civilization as factors for success, more than a civilization’s culture or race. While this book proves scientifically that race is inconsequential in the success of a civilization, critics accuse Diamond of reducing the whole of human history down to “environmental determinism.”

Annotated bibliography example for Chicago

Diamond, Jared. 1997. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies . New York: W. W. Norton & Company. This book, which won the Pulitzer Prize, attempts to answer the question of why some civilizations succeeded while others faded away into history. Author Jared Diamond emphasizes the environmental and geographical influences on a civilization as factors for success, more than a civilization’s culture or race. While this book proves scientifically that race is inconsequential in the success of a civilization, critics accuse Diamond of reducing the whole of human history down to “environmental determinism.”

Annotated bibliography FAQs

An annotated bibliography is a type of bibliography that includes a comment by the author about each source in addition to the source’s publishing information. The author’s notes, or annotations, discuss anything about the source that’s relevant to the topic, such as its accuracy, bias, or the context in which it was written.

How does it differ from a regular bibliography?

Just like other bibliographies, annotated bibliographies list the sources cited in the work, along with their publishing details. The difference is that annotated bibliographies also include notes from the author with extra information, whereas regular bibliographies do not.

How is an annotated bibliography structured?

The structure of annotated bibliographies depends on the formatting style: APA, MLA, or Chicago. Although each style has its own formatting rules, in general, the annotation comes after the full citation and is often indented in the same manner as block quotes.

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Annotated bibliography

Definition .

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources (articles, books, webpages, etc.) on your research topic.

Each source has its own entry, which includes:

• A citation or reference for the source--usually APA for early childhood education courses.
• An annotation: a paragraph summarizing the source and commenting on how it fits into the world of information on your topic.
• Annotated bibliography: APA sample Open the above document in a new tab or window.

What to include

Professors who assign annotated bibliographies sometimes have specific requirements for:

• The number of sources to include.
• The type of sources to include (i.e. journal articles, webpages, encyclopedia entries, etc.)
• The information to include in the annotation.

Make sure you understand the requirements of your assignment, and get help from a librarian.

Literature review

Definition:  Like an annotated bibliography, a literature review is a paper or section of a paper that reviews what's already been published on your research topic.

Unlike an annotated bibliography, a literature review is written in a standard paper format, with citations grouped together on the last page.

Literature review: a scholarly conversation

Some people think of literature review as being like a party where there are lots of conversations happening at once.

Here's a 2-minute video illustrating this metaphor:

Your literature review is an overview of all the conversations going on at the party, highlighting where guests agree and disagree, and what questions are still unanswered.

• Literature Review Example Open the above document in a new tab or window.
• Find the literature review in this article Schmitt, W. S., & Faas, C. (2016). Alignment of Educational and Occupational Expectations Influences on Young Adult Educational Attainment, Income, and Underemploymentpass:[*]. Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell), 97(5), 1174–1188. https://doi-org.libdb.dccc.edu/10.1111/ssqu.12244

Parts of a research article

In general, the parts of a primary research article should include:

• Abstract : Summary of the research question and findings.
• Introduction : Overview of the context of the research question, including literature review.
• Materials/Methods : Description of the method used to collect data.
• Results : Analysis of data and outcomes of the study.
• Discussion : Description of how the results answer or don't answer the research question.
• Conclusion : Summary, significance of research.
• References : Research papers and other information sources that were referenced in the article, most prominently in the Introduction/Literature review.

Typically these sections are usually called out with headings throughout the article.

Look for these sections in the article above to help you understand the information and its purpose in each section.

Still lost? Find help from a librarian in the Learning Commons.

Tools for organizing ideas

These tools may help you organize ideas from various sources thematically.

• NCSU Lit Review Matrix Need help getting started? Here's a useful guide from North Carolina State University with guidance on how to read and organize your thoughts for a literature review.
• Transitional words and phrases A giant list of words that will jump start your thinking on comparing and contrasting ideas from outside sources.
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How to Write an Annotated Bibliography

Writing annotations.

• Introduction
• New RefWorks
• Formatting Citations
• Sample Annotated Bibliographies

An annotation is a brief note following each citation listed on an annotated bibliography.  The goal is to briefly summarize the source and/or explain why it is important for a topic.  They are typically a single concise paragraph, but might be longer if you are summarizing and evaluating.

Annotations can be written in a variety of different ways and it’s important to consider the style you are going to use.  Are you simply summarizing the sources, or evaluating them?  How does the source influence your understanding of the topic?  You can follow any style you want if you are writing for your own personal research process, but consult with your professor if this is an assignment for a class.

Annotation Styles

• Combined Informative/Evaluative Style - This style is recommended by the library as it combines all the styles to provide a more complete view of a source.  The annotation should explain the value of the source for the overall research topic by providing a summary combined with an analysis of the source.  

Aluedse, O. (2006). Bullying in schools: A form of child abuse in schools.  Educational Research Quarterly ,  30 (1), 37.

The author classifies bullying in schools as a “form of child abuse,” and goes well beyond the notion that schoolyard bullying is “just child’s play.” The article provides an in-depth definition of bullying, and explores the likelihood that school-aged bullies may also experience difficult lives as adults. The author discusses the modern prevalence of bullying in school systems, the effects of bullying, intervention strategies, and provides an extensive list of resources and references.

Statistics included provide an alarming realization that bullying is prevalent not only in the United States, but also worldwide. According to the author, “American schools harbor approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million victims.” The author references the National Association of School Psychologists and quotes, “Thus, one in seven children is a bully or a target of bullying.” A major point of emphasis centers around what has always been considered a “normal part of growing up” versus the levels of actual abuse reached in today’s society.

The author concludes with a section that addresses intervention strategies for school administrators, teachers, counselors, and school staff. The concept of school staff helping build students’ “social competence” is showcased as a prevalent means of preventing and reducing this growing social menace. Overall, the article is worthwhile for anyone interested in the subject matter, and provides a wealth of resources for researching this topic of growing concern.

(Renfrow & Teuton, 2008)

• Informative Style -  Similar to an abstract, this style focuses on the summarizing the source.  The annotation should identify the hypothesis, results, and conclusions presented by the source.

Plester, B., Wood, C, & Bell, V. (2008). Txt msg n school literacy: Does texting and knowledge of text abbreviations adversely affect children's literacy attainment? Literacy , 42(3), 137-144.

Reports on two studies that investigated the relationship between children's texting behavior, their knowledge of text abbreviations, and their school attainment in written language skills. In Study One, 11 to 12 year-old children reported their texting behavior and translated a standard English sentence into a text message and vice versa. In Study Two, children's performance on writing measures were examined more specifically, spelling proficiency was also assessed, and KS2 Writing scores were obtained. Positive correlations between spelling ability and performance on the translation exercise were found, and group-based comparisons based on the children's writing scores also showed that good writing attainment was associated with greater use of texting abbreviations (textisms), although the direction of this association is not clear. Overall, these findings suggest that children's knowledge of textisms is not associated with poor written language outcomes for children in this age range. 

(Beach et al., 2009)

• Evaluative Style - This style analyzes and critically evaluates the source.  The annotation should comment on the source's the strengths, weaknesses, and how it relates to the overall research topic.

Amott, T. (1993). Caught in the Crisis: Women in the U.S. Economy Today . New York: Monthly Review Press.

A very readable (140 pp) economic analysis and information book which I am currently considering as a required collateral assignment in Economics 201. Among its many strengths is a lucid connection of "The Crisis at Home" with the broader, macroeconomic crisis of the U.S. working class (which various other authors have described as the shrinking middle class or the crisis of de-industrialization).

(Papadantonakis, 1996)

• Indicative Style - This style of annotation identifies the main theme and lists the significant topics included in the source.  Usually no specific details are given beyond the topic list . 

Example: 

Gambell, T.J., & Hunter, D. M. (1999). Rethinking gender differences in literacy. Canadian Journal of Education , 24(1) 1-16.

Five explanations are offered for recently assessed gender differences in the literacy achievement of male and female students in Canada and other countries. The explanations revolve around evaluative bias, home socialization, role and societal expectations, male psychology, and equity policy.

(Kerka & Imel, 2004)

Beach, R., Bigelow, M., Dillon, D., Dockter, J., Galda, L., Helman, L., . . . Janssen, T. (2009). Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English.  Research in the Teaching of English,   44 (2), 210-241. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27784357

Kerka, S., & Imel, S. (2004). Annotated bibliography: Women and literacy.  Women's Studies Quarterly,  32 (1), 258-271. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/233645656?accountid=2909

Papadantonakis, K. (1996). Selected Annotated Bibliography for Economists and Other Social Scientists.  Women's Studies Quarterly,   24 (3/4), 233-238. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40004384

Renfrow, T.G., & Teuton, L.M. (2008). Schoolyard bullying: Peer victimization an annotated bibliography. Community & Junior College Libraries, 14(4), 251-­275. doi:10.1080/02763910802336407

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100 Hottest Annotated Bibliography Topics

Updated 17 Jun 2024

Both college and university students frequently receive assignments that require them to create annotated bibliographies. Although basically, it is an extended version of the usual bibliography, this type of bibliography is often more time and energy-consuming because students need to list sources and write short summaries and assessments for each of them. In order to write it really well, it is important to define your topic clearly.

The topics that professors of US colleges provide are often quite broad. Therefore, it is up to students to narrow their individual annotated bibliography topics in scope to choose the most relevant sources. Here are some recommendations on how to choose worthy topics and write a paper that will impress your professors. Need your paper done in a short period of time? Speak with one of our professional essay writers today.

Definition & Purpose of Writing

Before discussing annotated bibliography ideas, let’s clarify its definition and how it differs from a simple bibliography. Bibliographies known as References or Works Cited, depending on the chosen formatting style, only list sources used in a paper. In contrast, annotated bibliographies have more broad purposes as they list and describe and/or evaluate all sources to which students refer in their research papers or other kinds of essays . Don't forget: the struggle is not necessary for the learning process - just buy assignment online and enjoy your college days!

Although annotated bibliographies are often presented at the very end of papers, they should be completed long before paper drafting after reference pages. Students may prepare them with different purposes in mind. Here are some goals students may pursue:

• Topic clarification – annotated bibliography may help clarify topics, narrowing scopes from general subjects to precise questions that may be effectively addressed in works of a requested length.
• Thesis statement development – based on the current state of research, students elaborate their thesis statements, making them arguable and persuasive.
• Collecting relevant evidence – upon reviewing relevant sources, students collect evidence they need to make strong arguments in their research papers.
• Identifying most promising research areas – annotated bibliographies clarify what has already been done; what research and conclusions are still to be made.
• Critical review of existing research – students critically assess existing studies, revealing unspecified biases or limitations.

Disregarding the exact purpose of writing this paper type, one always gains advantages from this kind of work. They enable students to collect the most relevant information along with presenting it in a form that can be quickly reviewed in the future.

What is an annotated bibliography essay?

It is important to distinguish annotated bibliographies from essays as the first are created at the preparation stage for essay or research paper writing. Usually, they require neither introduction nor conclusion, but in some cases, both may be included. If your instructor demands you to write an annotated bibliography essay, keep the introduction and a conclusion rather brief. In the introduction, identify your topic clearly, specify your intentions for an annotated bibliography essay.

Annotated Bibliography Topics List

Here are some topics for annotated bibliography that we’ve prepared for your convenience. They are divided into categories by subjects. Among the presented topics, there are several rather broad, but depending on your paper length, feel free to narrow the scope of your chosen topic. Mind that there are dozens of options for individual approach! Do you need help with your research? Expert research proposal writing services is here.

Annotated bibliography topics related to politics and political science

• How has politics changed due to modernization lately?
• How has terrorism affected US politics?
• Does the increasing focus on presidential candidates suggest that American political parties are becoming weak? Explain why.
• Religion and politics: how religion shapes the United States political space?
• How American foreign policy affects political decisions in neighboring countries?
• Politics and business: how US political decisions affect business worldwide?
• Political decisions and their consequences: how will cutting off Huawei from American technology affect the United States and/or European consumers?
• Is a balance of power still achievable in today’s US politics?
• As there are only two political parties, how democratic is American society, given that other democracies worldwide allow citizens to choose among dozens of parties?
• How has American politics changed due to new social media development and popularity?

Annotated bibliography topics for education 

• Teacher classroom practices and student performance: effects of particular practices on students’ educational outcomes.
• Which educational practices are developmentally appropriate for early childhood education?
• Ethics and politics in early childhood education.
• Racial disparities and the American classroom: how racial discrimination affects racial minority students, white students, or learning altogether?
• Home-schooling versus traditional educational classroom: which one is better?
• Is measurement-driven instruction still relevant today?
• A common curriculum versus individual curriculum: which one is more beneficial for students? Discuss why.
• Who should determine what students learn, schools, parents, or government?
• Race and education: multiculturalism versus color-blindness and their impact on racial bias.
• Racial color blindness and its implications for American classroom.

Annotated bibliography topics for psychology

• How biological processes determine human behavior?
• Is alcoholism a disease that can be cured with psychological interference?
• Is psychotherapy effective?
• Should there be any academic instruction for preschool children?
• Can an individual’s intelligence increase with age?
• Positive psychology and its daily life applications.
• Behavior predictions in personality and social psychology.
• Internet, its implications on personality and social psychology.
• A social constructivist approach and language learning.
• Statistical methods used in psychology.

Annotated bibliography topics examples for healthcare

• Discuss differences between Medicaid and Medicare.
• Can all United States citizens have equal access to healthcare?
• Implications of abortion illegal status: impact of lack of abortion clinic access on women’s health and welfare.
• Veterans’ healthcare: health-related quality of life.
• Modern technology, healthcare: how has US healthcare within the last twenty years due to technology innovations.
• Big data analytics in healthcare.
• Transcultural nursing.
• Workplace stress in nursing.
• Evidence-based practice in healthcare as well as nursing.
• Role of emotional intelligence in healthcare along with nursing practices.

Criminal justice annotated bibliography topics

• Which one is more serious: street crime or white-collar crime?
• Can arrests reduce domestic violence?
• How should juveniles be treated by the US criminal justice system?
• Is the US criminal justice system racially biased?
• Discuss the school-to-prison pipeline concept; its effects on racial minorities.
• Is the death penalty an effective crime deterrent?
• Discuss the death penalty in relation to women, the mentally disabled, the US constitution.
• Does policing in racial minority communities differ from policing in white communities. Discuss how exactly.
• Are there any biological determinants of criminal behavior?
• How social factors promote crime?

Annotated bibliography topics for ethics, morality

• Animal rights in the Information Age.
• Should rich nations financially support poor nations?
• Surrogate motherhood: pros and cons.
• How important is morality? Should it be enforced by law in the United States?
• Teen pregnancy: it's short-term as well as long-term implications.
• Ethics and morality in American high schools.
• Adolescent marriages.
• Moral responsibilities of rehabilitating criminals.
• Is advertising ethical? Discuss moral implications of advertising.
• Ethics and morality in business.

Society, social issues annotated bibliography topics

• Homelessness in the US; its impacts on particular territories; for instance, New York homelessness issue.
• Drunk driving, its implications, as well as effective deterrents.
• Obesity as a social issue. What social factors contribute to obesity?
• The vaccine war: should vaccination be compulsory?
• Capital punishment is a US social issue.
• Consumer culture and people’s supermarket choices.
• The mainstream culture concept. Mainstream culture effects on cultural minorities.
• Women’s bodies objectification: who is there to blame?
• Success in today’s society: meaning, ways of achieving it.
• Society and gender: are women less privileged in modern American society than men?

Annotated bibliography topics examples for technology, social media

• Do modern social media help solve problems in the United States or other countries worldwide? Discuss how exactly.
• Do socials create problems in the US?
• What effects do media have on children's experiences? Does childhood now differ from childhood 20 years ago?
• How media contribute to ever-increasing globalization?
• How modern social media affect American values?
• Is privacy possible in the Information Age?
• How media images impact youth behavior?
• The political power of social media.
• How communication technology and social media changed PR practices?
• Government transparency enabled by social media technology.

Technology, genetic engineering annotated bibliography topics

• How can human cloning affect modern society? Is it good/ morally acceptable or not?
• Law effects on human cloning: what legal regulations should governments worldwide introduce?
• Modern reproductive technologies and religion: how faith affects decision-making?
• How can human cloning be used as a means against genetic diseases?
• How can genetic engineering be regulated?
• Genetic engineering as a means to resolve health-related issues.
• Funding genetic engineering projects: which projects should be prioritized?
• Does genetic engineering change human life value perceptions?
• Genetic engineering ethical implications.
• The spirit of invention versus public opposition to genetic engineering.

Technology, healthcare topics

• What effects does telemedicine technology have on healthcare quality?
• Addressing mental health issues with technology: integrating smartphone technology.
• Healthcare information technology and physicians’ experiences/responses.
• Healthcare information systems: how have they changed within the last several decades?
• Improving the quality of healthcare with technology: innovations in surgery.
• Digitization of healthcare through mobile technology.
• How can speech-recognition technology be applied for healthcare purposes?
• The problem of donor shortage and organ replacement technologies.
• Funding priorities impact technology developments that bring direct medical benefits to US citizens.
• Costs and benefits of health information technology.

Sport annotated bibliography topics

• Should adolescents become engaged in professional sports?
• The political side of the Olympic Games in modern society.
• Should there be a more scientific approach to Yoga practices?
• The influence of chess in relation to pre-school children.
• How to obtain statistics of injuries in team sports.
• The ways of treatment of the most frequent knee traumas.
• The psychological effect of motivation in sports.
• Does aggression have a place to be in a sports competition?
• The comparison of long-term and short-term training sessions.
• How should unintentional mistakes be analyzed in sports.

Annotated bibliography topics for nursing

• What are the dangers of nursing burnout?
• Should the nurses be allowed to share their life experiences with the patients?
• The motivational factors in ER nursing challenges.
• The dangers of biostatistics collection.
• The most common epidemiology precautions since 2010.
• Are the works of nursing theorists of the past still relevant today?
• Should the non-traditional nursing practices be approached more seriously?
• The ways how the typical nursing environment can be improved.
• The roots of antibiotic resistance in schoolchildren.
• The stress and the nursing responsibilities: analysis and prevention.

Medical annotated bibliography topics examples

• The causes of ADHD in children and the attitudes.
• The causes of autism: analysis of the social stigma.
• The challenges of the paramedical team in rural areas.
• The logistics and the distribution of the medical equipment.
• Should people receive more information about the creation of vaccines?
• The pharmaceutical risks when providing medical instructions.
• The herbal medicine solutions vs their chemical counterparts.
• The HIV rates among African-American college students.
• The most successful medical initiatives of the 2000s.
• The behavioral rules of taking one's child to the medical appointment.

Annotated bibliography topics for business

• How does racial discrimination affect modern business opportunities?
• The challenges of expanding business initiatives in the Middle East.
• Should business ethics and politics be separate or can they work well together?
• The role of females in the business environment.
• Should prestige and fame be the leading factors to business success?
• The educational practices that make the business accessible.
• The Nordic practices, which are common for Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
• How should business ethics be formed for finance-focused companies?
• The role of social media and blog posts for business.
• How can the basic knowledge of Psychology help entrepreneurs get rid of stress and anxiety?

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Structure & Formatting Rules You Should Follow

No matter what your topic for annotated bibliography is, you should follow a certain structure and format the information you present in accordance with particular requirements. Although APA and MLA are the two most frequently used formats, annotated bibliographies follow different formatting styles. Therefore, before writing, you should clarify this aspect with your professor.

Usually, all annotated bibliographies contain two major parts: a reference and an annotation. In your reference part, you should specify usual information about a source: author, title, year, place of publication. As for annotations, there are several approaches to their content that will be discussed a bit later. 

Mind that your choice of proper formatting style also depends on subjects. For instance, when preparing annotated bibliography for humanities or arts, you should follow MLA. In contrast, psychology or sociology papers often demand students follow APA formatting requirements. While these styles are quite widespread, with others like CSE, which is used in physics or chemistry papers, Bluebook citation style , used in law assignments, or IEEE, which is applied in IT papers, and AMA, used in healthcare works, students are less familiar.

Luckily, EduBirdie provides its customers with free access to IEEE bibliography generator as well as Turabian bibliography generator . Please, feel free to use them to create references that are often presented before annotations.

How do you write an annotated bibliography in Harvard style?

While writing an annotated bibliography in Harvard style, include a reference that follows this referencing style and annotation that briefly summarizes the content of the source, explains its relevance to your research paper, establishes its credibility, critically assesses the conclusions presented in the source. Limit your descriptions to 100-200 words unless your professor specifies otherwise.

Harvard Annotated Bibliography Essay Example:

Atkins, M., Hoagwood, K., Kutash, K. and Seidman, E., 2010. Toward the Integration of Education and Mental Health in Schools. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research , 37(1-2), pp.40-47.

This particular review focuses on the children's mental health services with a focus on schools by providing crucial ecological models. The article shows that mental health can and should be provided for the healthy functioning of students. The authors provide statistical information and details that help to see things through the lens of various educational reforms and conceptualization. Focusing on strong research points like health promotion and analysis of the outcomes, this research provides important results in terms of emotional and behavioral needs of not only school children but the parents as well.

Note: Remember that you should always consult with your academic counselor regarding the rules and specifics of an annotated bibliography in Harvard style because your length and requirements for the annotation may differ depending on your course and the style of your original research work. One thing that will always remain there is the necessity of citing your source according to the Harvard formatting rules.

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How do you write an annotated bibliography in mla style format.

According to the 8th edition of the MLA Citation Guide, the annotated bibliography will remind you of a Works Cited page but will include an annotation after each source that you cite. It will also have a short summary with the critical evaluation of each source.

Here is how it is written:

• Cite each source using MLA style.
• Provide a description of the main ideas, arguments, themes, theses, or methodology.
• Identify the intended audience.
• Explain the author’s expertise, point of view, and any bias if it is relevant.
• Make a comparison to other sources dealing with the same topic.
• Explain why each source is useful for your research topic and how it relates to your topic.
• Analyze both strengths and weaknesses of each source.
• Identify the list of conclusions of the author.

One of Annotated Bibliography examples in MLA:

Pisano, Gary. "Seven Strategic Thinking Methods in Online Business Environment."

Business Manager , vol. 34, no. 7, May 12, 2007, pp. 36-39. Gary, the instructor at the Harvard Business School and Professor of Business Administration, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development, provides a detailed explanation of how the strategic thinking methods help to determine the clues in the modern business environment where most things happen digitally. He uses specific examples depending on the scenario he is placed in and provides various methods of meeting the challenges and setbacks in online business. The article clearly illustrates his expert knowledge and provides high accessibility in terms of style and vocabulary used, making a perfect example for making business matters accessible for a broad audience.

How Do You Write an Annotated Bibliography in APA Style Format?

According to APA 7th Edition Guide, the crucial components of an annotated bibliography example must include a brief summary with analysis or annotation for each entry. You must include:

• Create your APA Title page
• Pages must be numbered starting with your title page.
• APA formatted reference list must start on its own page.
• The references must be centered and bolded at the top of the page.
• Your entries must be listed in alphabetical order.
• Annotations must start under its associated reference.
• All annotations are indented 0.5 inches from the left margin of the page.
• The entire document is double spaced without extra space between entries.

For example:

Turner, T. (2019, June 11). How to make acoustic waves affect the brain positively.

Engineering Weekly Journal , 45-49. Engineering Audio Portal Rutgers University Library Archive. https://vmpa.camden.rutgers.edu/ This article provides important information regarding the positive effects of acoustic waves used by music producers and TV show producers to improve cognitive functions of the brain and the overall performance of a person. Each strategy used is accompanied by helpful real-life examples and statistical information that is helpful for any application. The data that has been provided is analyzed well and assists in similar analytical work.

How Do You Write an Annotated Bibliography in Chicago Style Format?

Speaking of Chicago Manual of Style rules for an annotated bibliography, follow this formatting and always double-check in case your instructor for the course or a specific assignment has different instructions:

• The text in your bibliography essay example must be double-spaced in Times New Roman, font 12pt unless specified otherwise.
• Numbering should start on the first page of your writing, which means that it is NOT the title page.
• The text should start at the top of the page.
• Your Reference List entries must have a hanging indent. For example, if you are using MS Word, Click on Format, then Paragraph, then Special, and choose a Hanging option.
• There should be 1 inch (2.54cm) margins on all sides of your page (top, bottom, left, and right).
• Indent each paragraph with the help of the TAB key.

Sample Annotated Bibliography:

Kerry, Donald, and Roger Mills. "Child Violence in Middle School Environment, 1994-2004." Journal of Family Psychology 34 , no 2 (2009): 331-347.

The acknowledged sociology experts Kerry and Mills provide extensive research on child violence and the causes of bullying in middle school across the country during the period between 1994-2004. Turning to various surveys, interviews, and reports of school counselors, the report provides sufficient statistics for any research work. The research also has an analysis of poverty and income in terms of demographic factors and the aspects of psychological pressure, which is also essential for the report.

Annotated Bibliography Styles

Annotated bibliographies can be divided into three distinct groups by style:

• Summarizing
• Summarizing annotated bibliography

Annotated bibliographies belonging to this category can be further subdivided into those that describe sources, indicating overall information about the content and those that inform readers, providing more detailed summaries of reviewed sources. For instance, informative annotations of academic articles will clarify the sources’ hypotheses, methods, results, and limitations among other important features.

• Evaluative annotated bibliography

These annotations aim at assessing the quality of sources and arguing regarding the relevance of given sources to the conducted research. Students writing them should also specify any limitations they find that were not acknowledged by authors. Writing such annotations, students need to read sources critically, which suggests that the quality of their pre-writing research increases significantly.

• Mixed annotated bibliography

As evident, these annotations require students to prepare summaries as well as assessments. Usually, students present a brief source summary in the first paragraph of annotation. The assessment follows in the second paragraph. Students may clarify how they should use the reviewed sources in their papers in the third brief paragraph.

College-level annotations are often short. It is enough to write 100-200 words for each source. Although longer annotations are also possible, especially when tasks demand students evaluate sources, it is important to clarify this aspect with your professor before completing assignments.

What should be included in an annotated bibliography?

In their annotations, students should summarize sources’ content, provide an assessment of ideas presented in sources, and explain how reviewed sources will be used in the paper. The exact content of annotations depends on the requested style. Therefore, it is important to clarify this aspect with professors.

How to Choose Good Topics

When choosing among annotated bibliography topics, consider your paper length. The longer your assignment is, the more complex your topic may be. As for shorter papers, it is beneficial to limit topics in scope to make the strongest argument. For instance, the human trafficking topic would be too general, too wide in scope for a 5-page paper.

There is so much information available about human trafficking that it is virtually impossible to squeeze it into five pages of text. Therefore, it is more sound to try and divide this large topic into subtopics.

For instance, in the context of human trafficking, one can discuss particular population groups that are most affected by this phenomenon in a particular country, specific measures introduced by governmental agencies to eliminate this practice within the borders of certain country, police and other agencies’ responses to human trafficking victims in particular states and so on.

Each of these sub-topics may become an excellent start, as it narrows the research scope significantly, enabling students to choose sources more precisely. Additionally, these sub-topics allow students to develop strong argumentative thesis statements, which would be impossible with such a general topic as human trafficking.

What Sources Are Good for Annotated Bibliography?

While the choice of sources often depends on particular assignment guidelines, mind that all sources that you plan to cite in the paper should be present in your annotated bibliography. The sources are rather diverse and include academic articles, books or book chapters, credible websites or governmental agencies’ reports, lecture notes, or blog posts, among many others.

Academic writing demands students to use credible sources. Therefore, Wikipedia and the like websites should be neither cited nor annotated. While choosing among the many options, look for different information sources, but mind that academic articles are often considered most preferred. They usually contain credible, most relevant information on a given topic.

Ask Experts Deal with Your Annotated Bibliography Topics

While annotated bibliography is just a preparation for writing a real research paper, it is time as well as energy-consuming. To write a really good annotated bibliography, students need to review tons of sources and choose a few of them that are most applicable to their research topic. Use expert help to avoid this nightmare. Instead of spending hours in front of a computer screen because your teacher said so, enjoy your day the way you want.

EduBirdie is always here for you! Even if your assignment is as routine as annotated bibliography writing, writers on our  annotated bibliography writing service will do it passionately and accurately because that’s what nerds often do. So press the button and enjoy your customized annotated bibliography in a while without any effort.

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Annotated Bibliography Breakdown

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Stem Cell Research: An Annotated Bibliography

Holland, Suzanne. The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy . Boston: MIT P, 2001.

This is the annotation of the above source, which is formatted according to MLA 2016 (8 th ed.) guidelines for the bibliographic information listed above. If one were really writing an annotation for this source, one would offer a brief summary of what this book says about stem cell research.

After a brief summary, it would be appropriate to assess this source and offer some criticisms of it. Does it seem like a reliable and current source? Why? Is the research biased or objective? Are the facts well documented? Who is the author? Is she qualified in this subject? Is this source scholarly, popular, some of both?

The length of your annotation will depend on the assignment or on the purpose of your annotated bibliography. After summarizing and assessing, you can now reflect on this source. How does it fit into your research? Is this a helpful resource? Too scholarly? Not scholarly enough? Too general/specific? Since "stem cell research" is a very broad topic, has this source helped you to narrow your topic?

Senior, K. "Extending the Ethical Boundaries of Stem Cell Research." Trends in Molecular Medicine , vol. 7, 2001, pp. 5-6.

Not all annotations have to be the same length. For example, this source is a very short scholarly article. It may only take a sentence or two to summarize. Even if you are using a book, you should only focus on the sections that relate to your topic.

Not all annotated bibliographies assess and reflect; some merely summarize. That may not be the most helpful for you, but, if this is an assignment, you should always ask your instructor for specific guidelines.

Wallace, Kelly. "Bush Stands Pat on Stem Cell Policy." CNN . 13 Aug. 2001.

Using a variety of sources can help give you a broader picture of what is being said about your topic. You may want to investigate how scholarly sources are treating this topic differently than more popular sources. But again, if your assignment is to only use scholarly sources, then you will probably want to avoid magazines and popular web sites.

The bibliographic information above is proper MLA format (use whatever style is appropriate in your field) and the annotations are in paragraph form. Note also that the entries are alphabetized by the first word in the bibliographic entry. If you are writing an annotated bibliography with many sources, it may be helpful to divide the sources into categories. For example, if putting together an extensive annotated bibliography for stem cell research, it might be best to divide the sources into categories such as ethical concerns, scholarly analyses, and political ramifications.

For more examples, a quick search at a library or even on the Internet should produce several examples of annotated bibliographies in your area.

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Annotated Bibliographies and Literature Reviews

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What is an Annotated Bibliography?

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• How to Write an Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is simply a bibliography with a paragraph or annotation that evaluates the quality and accuracy of a source.

Annotations are typically 150 words or less, summarizing the central theme of the work, critiquing the author or credibility of the source, and discussing  why   that source is relevant specifically for your research .

Information to consider including:

• Authority of the author
• Accuracy of the research
• Strengths or weaknesses of the article
• How the paper is related to your own research

Why Write an Annotated Bibliography?

Writing an annotated bibliography may seem like busy work, but it can really save you a lot of time!

Imagine you are writing a paper and you remember a really good quote that would be perfect for the section you're writing, but you can't quite remember where you read it. You end up hunting through 10-20 sources to find that quote wasting a lot of time in the process. An annotated bibliography would help you find that source more quickly.

Annotated bibliographies help you:

• See how your research is situated within the larger research conversation (context)
• Reinforce what you just read
• Think of the research in your own words, which is helpful to avoid accidentally plagiarizing some else's work
• Decide if you are interested in a topic area

How do I Write an Annotated Bibliography?

Just remember  CSE : Cite, Summarize, Evaluate.

• Cite your source
• Summarize the source
• Evaluate the source

As you're writing your Annotation, Ask yourself these questions:

• Is the author credible?
• What did I like or not like about the source?
• Are the arguments effective?  Does the author support her arguments?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses?
• How might I incorporate this source into my paper?

Answering these types of questions will help you formulate an effective critique and evaluation of each source.

A color coded example of what your annotation might look like:

Battle, K. (2007). Child poverty: The evolution and impact of child benefits. In K. Covell & R.B. Howe (Eds.),  A question of commitment: Children's rights  in Canada  (pp. 21-44). Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

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 favor 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.    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.  

Additional sources that might help you:

• Annotated Bibliographies , Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
• Writing an Annotated Bibliography , by Deborah Knott, New College Writing Center. University of Toronto
• The Rough Writer's Guide, Chapter 12 - What is an annotated Bibliography
• Writing an Annotated Bibliography , by the Learning Commons Library
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• Education Annotated Bibliography
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An annotated bibliography examples on education is a prosaic composition of a small volume and free composition, expressing individual impressions and thoughts on a specific occasion or issue and obviously not claiming a definitive or exhaustive interpretation of the subject.

Some signs of education annotated bibliography:

• the presence of a specific topic or question. A work devoted to the analysis of a wide range of problems in biology, by definition, cannot be performed in the genre of education annotated bibliography topic.
• The annotated bibliography expresses individual impressions and thoughts on a specific occasion or issue, in this case, on education and does not knowingly pretend to a definitive or exhaustive interpretation of the subject.
• As a rule, an essay suggests a new, subjectively colored word about something, such a work may have a philosophical, historical, biographical, journalistic, literary, critical, popular scientific or purely fiction character.
• in the content of an annotated bibliography samples on education , first of all, the author’s personality is assessed - his worldview, thoughts and feelings.

The goal of an annotated bibliography in education is to develop such skills as independent creative thinking and writing out your own thoughts.

Writing an annotated bibliography is extremely useful, because it allows the author to learn to clearly and correctly formulate thoughts, structure information, use basic concepts, highlight causal relationships, illustrate experience with relevant examples, and substantiate his conclusions.

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