How to Write an Annotated Bibliography

To accompany your research paper, you will need to create an annotated bibliographyfor the sources you used for this paper. You will also use these sources in your final paper for this class.

A bibliography is a list of sources used in research. An annotated bibliography is a list of sources with annotations, or notes.

Therefore, each source in an annotated bibliography contains two parts:

1. Citation
2. Annotation (a paragraph under the citation with information about the source)

You will need to create an evaluative annotated bibliography using the sources you have gathered. In an evaluative annotated bibliography, you will briefly summarize and evaluate the quality of each source (see below).

For each article or book you are including in your annotated bibliography:

Step one: Create a citation for your source. 
Step two: Write an annotation (paragraph) briefly summarizing and evaluating the quality of the source:

1. Briefly summarize the main points of the source (in your own words - one or two sentences)
2. Evaluate quality/reliability of the source by answering some of these questions (two or three sentences):

• Where was the source published? Who is the author and do they have expertise/authority in the subject matter? 
• What evidence is presented?
• Who is the intended audience?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of this source?

3. How is the source relevant to your topic? How does the source help you answer your research question or better understand your topic? (one or two sentences)