Creating an Annotated Bibliography
Definition
A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, websites, periodicals, etc.) one has
used for researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called “references” or “works
cited” depending on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes
the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).
An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation.
Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of
the sources. Annotations generally do the following:
Summarize: An annotation should 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?
Evaluation: After summarizing a source, briefly assess it. Is it a useful source? How
does it compare with other sources? Is the information reliable, relevant,
convincing? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source?
Explanation of Value: Once you’ve summarized and evaluated a source, you
