How to Write an Annotated Bibliography Sage Library Newbury Park High School

What is it? An annotated bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, websites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic that includes a summary and evaluation of each of the sources.

Purpose The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

Excellent Preparation When you have to write annotations for each source, you're forced to read each source more carefully. You begin to read more critically instead of just collecting information.

Format of the citation MLA style Double space and use the hanging indent. Include a medium designation such as print or web.

Format of the annotation Single space Use the third person – do not use “I..” Use the literary present tense. Examples: “This article discusses…” “In this article the author supports…” “This book gives a detailed view on…” “This article describes…”

Format Source #1 Citation One paragraph –specifically what was learned that further expanded ideas about my thesis or clarified questions about my book. Paraphrased notes (page numbers from books) Direct quotations – statements that are written in a way that they would lose impact if I tried to paraphrase (page numbers from books) One paragraph - evaluation of the source – specifically why it was helpful