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Reference management software

There are a variety of programs that can help you manage your readings and referencing, ranging from the referencing tools available in many word processors to complex programs that will allow you to search for, store, edit and annotate the items you read.

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• 1.1 What do I need to know about my assignment?
• 1.1.1 Identifying the type of assignment
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Identifying the type of assignment

Assignments can vary from a short 5-minute oral presentation, to a technical report, literature review, or thesis. Here are some examples:

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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 July 4, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/annotated-bibliography/

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Assessment Tasks: Annotated Bibliographies

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What is an annotated bibliography?

An ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY is....

an alphabetical list of the sources you have used to research and write your assignment, together with a summary and evaluation of each of the sources.

Examples: Annotated bibliographies

View an example of what an entry in an Annotated Bibliography looks like.

Sample entry

Additional resources

Writing an annotated bibliography - QUT Writing an annotated bibliography - ANU  

(This LibGuides material:  last viewed and checked in August 2020)

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The annotated bibliography: what's in it for you?

The annotated bibliography assignment provides you with opportunities for:

1. BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATIONS

• Include a citation (author, date, title, publisher etc) for each of  your chosen resources
• Organise the entries in your bibliography into alphabetical order, by author's surname
• Consult Melbourne Polytechnic's easy reference tool (ERNI) for expert help in creating accurate citations

2. ANNOTATIONS

• Follow each citation with an annotation
• The annotation may describe or evaluate the information included in the source, or both

(Adapted from: Adams, Paul et al 2006, Score more: essential academic skills for tertiary education , Dunmore Press, South Melbourne)

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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.

• Last Updated: Aug 8, 2023 11:27 AM
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• How to Write an Annotated Bibliography - MLA

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography or Works Cited 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.

Creating an Annotated Bibliography for English

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

• 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
• Provide a literature review on a particular subject
• Describe items that other researchers may find of interest on a topic

To get started:

• 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 sources: Then review the actual sources 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, including the main ideas and arguments
• For what type of audience the work is written
• Its relevance to your topic
• Any special or unique features about the material
• The strengths, weaknesses, or biases in the material

Adapted with permission:

University College Library. "How to Write an Annotated Bibliography." University of Maryland . Accessed January 31, 2014. http://www.umuc.edu/library/ libhow /bibliographytutorial.cfm.

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APA Citation Guide (7th Edition): Annotated Bibliography

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Annotated Bibliography

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

Basic Tips on Formatting

• Start with the same format as a regular References list.
• The first line of the citation starts at the left margin and subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches (hanging indent).
• The annotation begins on a new line and is indented 0.5 inches from the left margin.
• Entries are double-spaced with no extra lines between entries.
• If the annotation consists of more than one paragraph, indent the first line of each successive paragraph an additional 0.5 inches.
• Use the third person (e.g., he, she, the author) instead of the first person (e.g., I, my, me).

Sample Evaluative Annotation

Maak, T. (2007). Responsible leadership, stakeholder engagement, and the emergence of social capital.  Journal of Business Ethics ,  74 , 329-343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9510-5

This article focuses on the role of social capital in responsible leadership. It looks at both the social networks that a leader builds within an organization, and the links that a leader creates with external stakeholders. Maak’s main aim with this article seems to be to persuade people of the importance of continued research into the abilities that a leader requires and how they can be acquired. The focus on the world of multinational business means that for readers outside this world many of the conclusions seem rather obvious (be part of the solution not part of the problem). In spite of this, the article provides useful background information on the topic of responsible leadership and definitions of social capital which are relevant to an analysis of a public servant.

Useful Links for Annotated Bibliographies

The formatting of annotated bibliographies can vary. The University Libraries recommend the format exhibited in the examples below, but if you are still unsure what format to use, ask your professor. 

• Includes a sample of one APA annotation (from the Purdue OWL).
• A guide covering the basics of writing an annotated bibliography.
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Annotated bibliography (10%)

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YOUR TASK: Annotated Bibliography (10%)

Please consult the Assignments section in Canvas  for detailed information on how to complete the  Annotated Bibliography .

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The theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour applied to business decisions: A selective annotated bibliography

Southey, Greg (2011) Correction to: The theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour applied to business decisions: A selective annotated bibliography. Journal of New Business Ideas and Trends , 9 (1), pp. 43-50.

View at publisher

Description

Purpose: This paper provides a selective annotated bibliography that summarises journal articles which have employed either the theory of reasoned action or the theory of planned behaviour to circumstances which are relevant to business activities. Design/methodology/approach: Searches were conducted on the EBSCO Host and ProQuest databases to identify papers that had used either the theory of reasoned action or theory of planned behaviour in their methodology. The bibliography was separated into three categories- financial decision making, strategic decision making, and professional decision making. Implications: The information presented in this paper is intended to assist and facilitate further research by broadening the awareness of the literature and providing examples of the application of the theory as it has been employed in prior research.

Impact and interest:

Citation counts are sourced monthly from Scopus and Web of Science® citation databases.

These databases contain citations from different subsets of available publications and different time periods and thus the citation count from each is usually different. Some works are not in either database and no count is displayed. Scopus includes citations from articles published in 1996 onwards, and Web of Science® generally from 1980 onwards.

Citations counts from the Google Scholar™ indexing service can be viewed at the linked Google Scholar™ search.

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Annotated Bibliography

What is an annotated bibliography.

A list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph (a.k.a. the annotation).

What is the purpose?

The purpose of the annotation is to:

• Help keep track of sources efficiently
• provide a short summary of the reading, including content and focus
• inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the source
• evaluate the methods, conclusions/findings, and reliability
• record your reactions to the source
• state how the source will be used in the paper or project

The Process (how-to)

Writing an annotated bibliography is easier than you think. Here are 4 easy steps to help you accomplish your task:

• Literature search – find materials (books, journals, articles, websites, etc.) that are relevant to the subject/topic. Figure out where to look for them. If you are struggling with finding resources, contact the UNT Dallas Library . 
• Review and examine —before you commit to a source, make sure you briefly examine and review the actual document; read the abstract/summary and look at the conclusion and findings to see if source will be useful. Also, determine if sources meet criteria set by professor (author, date, edition, type, etc.).
• Cite —cite the book, article, or document using the appropriate style. See our citation guides for more information and help with citations.
• Annotation —write your concise annotation. This should include a summary and an evaluation.

Writing a STRONG annotation

The hardest part of this assignment is writing the annotation, but knowing what it entails can make this task less daunting.

First, summarize the central theme and scope of the document (no more than a short paragraph in length). Then, include sentences or a separate paragraph that:

• Evaluates the authority, credibility, and/or background of the author(s)
• Comments on the intended audience ( who was meant to read the document)
• Assesses the source’s strengths and weaknesses ( Interesting? Helpful? Strong/weak argument? Strong/weak evidence ?)
• Compares or contrast this work with others you have cited
• Critiques the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the source
• Evaluates the methods, conclusions/findings, and reliability of the source
• Shares how the source reinforces or contradicts your own argument
• Records your reactions to the reading
• States how the source will be used in your paper

**NOTE: Sometimes, your professor might require some or all of these discussion points. Always clarify with your professor if you have questions about the content of your annotations. Even if these are not required, thinking through these points and including them in your draft may help you with content for your long-term research papers. 

Your annotated bibliography may vary in length depending on how many sources you need to examine. However, for every citation, you will always include a full citation, a short summary of the source, and an evaluation for the source. 

Full Citation (written based on the citation style used--APA, MLA, etc. REMEMBER TO USE A HANGING INDENT !!)

Paragraph/section 1: short summary of article in your own words

Paragraph/section 2: evaluation of source

* SOME annotated bibliographies require an introduction. Ask your professor if this is a requirement. If an introduction is required, it should be less than a page long and should include the following:

• Give a basic summary of the research you’re conducting, why you’re conducting it, and the general direction you think your argument will take

Common Errors

Many students commit the following errors when they write annotated bibliographies.

For a Word-formatted example of an annotated bibliography, click here (it will open in another tab/window).

APA (6 th edition, 2010 Journal) Example:

Waite, L. J., Goldschneider, F. K., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations

among young adults.  American Sociological Review,   51 , 541-554.

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

MLA (8 th edition, 2016 Journal) Example:

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.

https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/AnnotatedBibliography.aspx

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

https://writingcenter.ashford.edu/annotated-bibliography

https://writingcenter.tamu.edu/Students/Writing-Speaking-Guides/Alphabetical-List-of-Guides/Academic-Writing/Annotated-Bibliographies

https://asklibrary.com.edu/faq/57140