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Education Research: Annotated Bibliography

Guidance and key resources for doing academic research in Education

Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is simply an expanded bibliography. In addition to the citation you provide at the end of your paper or project, you provide a few sentences about the citation and why/how you plan on using it in your assignment.

The annotations in an annotated bibliography are not summaries. It is information you gather from evaluating the source yourself.

The OWL at Purdue provides a simple recipe for an annotation:

  1. Summarize: What is this source about, and what are the conclusions?
  2. Assess: Evaluate the source based on the CRAAP method.
  3. Reflect: How will this be incorporated into your own research?

 

See also Cornell University https://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography

Annotated Bibliography Examples

Helpful Videos

This is a four-part series given by Mr. David Taylor from Savannah Technical College on how to write an APA-MLA Annotated Bibliography 

Basic Writing and Format Tips

  • First stop? Generate some KEYWORDS

  • Start with the same format as a regular References list.
  • After each citation, the annotation is indented two spaces from the left margin as a block.
  • Each annotation should be one paragraph, between three to six sentences long (about 150-200 words).
  • All lines should be double-spaced. Do not add an extra line between the citations.
  • If your list of citations is especially long, you can organize it by topic.
  • Try to be objective, and give explanations if you state any opinions.
  • Use the third person (e.g., he, she, the author) instead of the first person (e.g., I, my, me).

From Felician University Library's Annotated Bibliographies guide.