Citation Guide - Central Indiana

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An Annotated Bibliography is made up of three parts:

  1. Citation--this is in either APA or MLA format; you include one citation for each source you found in your research
  2. Summary--a short summary of what is included in your source, which may be composed of the reasoning behind their research, research methods, and conclusions reached
  3. Evaluation--a short evaluation of the source from your point of view; would you be able to use it for your paper? Why or why not?

What is included in an Annotated Bibliography?

A bibliography is a list of works (books, articles, films, etc.) on a particular topic.

An annotation can help the reader determine the value of each work on the topic and the contribution it might make to his own research.

An annotated bibliography includes a paragraph following each citation that summarizes the work.

A descriptive annotation may summarize:

  • The main purpose or idea of the work
  • The contents of the work
  • The author’s conclusions
  • The intended audience
  • The author’s research methods
  • Special features of the work such as illustrations, maps, tables, etc.

For more explanation of what an annotated bib is, see The Annotated Bibliography by Michael Engle at Cornell University

APA Annotated Bibliography Example

MLA Annotated Bibliography Example