Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources, each of which is followed by a brief note or “annotation.”

These annotations do one or more of the following:

  • describe the content and focus of the book or article
  • suggest the source’s usefulness to your research
  • evaluate its method, conclusions, or reliability
  • record your reactions to the source.

How do I format the bibliographic citations?

Check with your instructor to determine which documentation style is required for your class: APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian, CBE, Numbered References, APSA, etc.

Then, remember that the bibliography is an organized list of sources used. The annotation may immediately follow the bibliographic information on the same line, or it may begin on a new line, two lines below the publication information.

But, since style manuals differ, check with your instructor about which one to use concerning form, spacing, and consistency.

If you are using APA documentation, the Writing Center offers a short workshop called “APA Documentation”.

What goes into the content of the annotations?

Below are some of the most common forms of annotated bibliographies. Click on the links to see examples of each.

Indicative

This form of annotation defines the scope of the source, lists the significant topics included, and tells what the source is about.

This type is different from the informative entry in that the informative entry gives actual information about its source.

In the indicative entry there is no attempt to give actual data such as hypotheses, proofs, etc. Generally, only topics or chapter titles are included.

Example

Indicative (descriptive–tell us what is included in the source)

Griffin, C. Williams, ed. (1982). Teaching writing in
all disciplines. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Ten essays on writing-across-the-curriculum programs,
teaching writing in disciplines other than English, and
teaching techniques for using writing as learning. Essays
include Toby Fulwiler, “Writing: An Act of Cognition”;
Barbara King, “Using Writing in the Mathematics Class:
Theory and Pratice”; Dean Drenk, “Teaching Finance Through
Writing”; Elaine P. Maimon, “Writing Across the Curriculum:
Past, Present, and Future.”

(Bizzell and Herzberg, 1991, p. 47)

Informative

Simply put, this form of annotation is a summary of the source.

To write it, begin by writing the thesis; then develop it with the argument or hypothesis, list the proofs, and state the conclusion.

Example

Informative (summary–tell us what the main findings or arguments are in the source)

Voeltz, L.M. (1980). Children’s attitudes toward
handicapped peers. American Journal of Mental
Deficiency, 84, 455-464.

As services for severely handicapped children become
increasingly available within neighborhood public
schools, children’s attitudes toward handicapped
peers in integrated settings warrant attention.
Factor analysis of attitude survey responses of 2,392
children revealed four factors underlying attitudes
toward handicapped peers: social-contact willingness,
deviance consequation, and two actual contact
dimensions. Upper elementary-age children, girls,
and children in schools with most contact with
severely handicapped peers expressed the most
accepting attitudes. Results of this study suggest
the modifiability of children’s attitudes and the
need to develop interventions to facilitate social
acceptance of individual differences in integrated
school settings.
(Sternlicht and Windholz, 1984, p. 79)

Evaluative

In this form of annotation you need to assess the source’s strengths and weaknesses.

You get to say why the source is interesting or helpful to you, or why it is not. In doing this you should list what kind of and how much information is given; in short, evaluate the source’s usefulness.

Example

Evaluative (tell us what you think of the source)
Gurko, Leo. (1968). Ernest Hemingway and the pursuit of
heroism. New York: Crowell.

This book is part of a series called “Twentieth Century
American Writers”: a brief introduction to the man and his
work. After fifty pages of straight biography, Gurko
discussed Hemingway’s writing, novel by novel. There’s an
index and a short bibliography, but no notes. The
biographical part is clear and easy to read, but it sounds
too much like a summary.
(Spatt, 1991, p. 322)


Hingley, Ronald. (1950). Chekhov: A biographical and
critical study. London: George Allen & Unwin.

A very good biography. A unique feature of this book is the
appendix, which has a chronological listing of all English
translations of Chekhov’s short stories.
(Spatt, 1991, p. 411)

Combination

Most annotated bibliographies are of this type.

They contain one or two sentences summarizing or describing content and one or two sentences providing an evaluation.

Example

Combination
Morris, Joyce M. (1959). Reading in the primary school:
An investigation into standards of reading and their
association with primary school characteristics.
London: Newnes, for National Foundation for
Educational Research.

Report of a large-scale investigation into English
children’s reading standards, and their relation to
conditions such as size of classes, types of organisation
and methods of teaching. Based on enquiries in sixty
schools in Kent and covering 8,000 children learning to
read English as their mother tongue. Notable for
thoroughness of research techniques.

Which writing style should I use in the annotations?

The most important thing to understand is that entries should be brief.

Only directly significant details will be mentioned and any information apparent in the title can be omitted from the annotation.

In addition, background materials and references to previous work by the same author usually are not included.

Listed below are three writing styles used in annotated bibliographies. Click on a link to see examples of each.

Telegraphic

(phrases, non-sentences)

Get the information out, quickly and concisely. Be clear, but complete and grammatically correct sentences are unnecessary.

Example

Telegraphic (phrases, non-sentences)
Vowles, Richard B. (1962). Psychology and drama:
A selected checklist. Wisconsin Studies in
Contemporary Literature, 3,(1), 35-48.

Divided by individual authors. Reviews the research
between 1920 and 1961.

(Bell and Gallup, 1971, p. 68)

Complete sentences

In this style you must always use complete sentences.

The length of the sentences varies. Subjects and conjunctions are not eliminated even though the tone may be terse. Avoid long and complex sentences.

Example

Complete sentences

Kinter, W. R., and R L. Pfaltzgraff. (1972). Assessing
the Moscow SALT agreements. Orbis, 16, 34l-360.

The authors hold the conservative view that SALT can not
halt the slipping nuclear advantage of the United States.
They conclude that the United States needs a national
reassessment of defense policy. They further conclude that
the only utility of SALT is in developing a dialogue with
the Soviets. This is a good conservative critique of
SALT I.

(Strenski and Manfred, 1981, p. 165)

Paragraph

When using this form of annotation, you must write a full, coherent paragraph.

Sometimes this can be similar to the form of a bibliographic essay. It goes without saying that you need to use complete sentences.

Example

Paragraph (a little more formal)

Voeltz, L.M. (1980). Children’s attitudes toward
handicapped peers. American Journal of Mental
Deficiency, 84, 455-464.

As services for severely handicapped children become
increasingly available within neighborhood public schools,
children’s attitudes toward handicapped peers in integrated
settings warrant attention. Factor analysis of attitude
survey responses of 2,392 children revealed four factors
underlying attitudes toward handicapped peers: social-
contact willingness, deviance consequation, and two actual
contact dimensions. Upper elementary-age children, girls,
and children in schools with most contact with severely
handicapped peers expressed the most accepting attitudes.
Results of this study suggest the modifiability of
children’s attitudes and the need to develop interventions
to facilitate social acceptance of individual differences
in integrated school settings.

(Sternlicht and Windholz, 1984, p. 79)

Additional information

If you have additional questions, ask your course instructor or consider scheduling an appointment with a Writing Center instructor.

The Writing Center also has information on different documentation systems, such as MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, CBE, Numbered References, and APSA styles of citation.

If you are using APA documentation, you are in luck! The Writing Center offers a short class called “The Basics of APA Documentation”!

References for examples used

Bell, Inglis F., and Jennifer Gallup. (1971). A reference guide to English, American, and Canadian literature. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

Bizzell, Patricia, and Bruce Herzberg. (1991). Bedford bibliography for teachers of writing. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press.

Center for Information on Language Teaching and The English Teaching Information Center of the British Council. (1968). A Language-teaching bibliography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Spatt, Brenda. (1991). Writing from sources. 3rd ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Sternlicht, Manny, and George Windholz. (1984). Social behavior of the mentally retarded. New York and London: Garland Press.

Strenski, Ellen, and Madge Manfred. (1981). The research paper workbook. 2nd ed. New York and London: Longman.